![]() Leaving declarations behind us, the story gets more elaborate: i) when used in an expression an array name is converted to a pointer, and ii) a subscript is always equivalent to an offset from a pointer. As a result, even though arrays are not modifiable lvalues, you can use assignment inside a function since the argument will have been converted to a pointer. Later, the author returns to the root of the confusion, namely that even though arrays and pointers are distinct entities in declarations/definitions, there is one major exception: a function can have an array parameter, but the argument will be converted to a pointer before the call (though this rule isn't recursive). Starting with arrays & pointers: the book includes 3 chapters on the subject, first tackling the classic "defined as array / external declaration as pointer" problem. The Good: Dennis Ritchie, in his essay on "The Development of the C language", wrote that "Two ideas are most characteristic of C among languages of its class: the relationship between arrays and pointers, and the way in which declaration syntax mimics expression syntax." In the book under review, van der Linden is at his finest when discussing precisely these two topics. ![]() Given the nature of this text, any review of its good and bad points needs to get down to the nitty-gritty. Of course, C is a much smaller language than C++ but, even so, it does have some non-trivial aspects, which are precisely what van der Linden zeroes in on. In that sense, it is similar to Scott Meyers' "Effective C++" (originally published in 1991). It explicitly assumes the reader knows how to program in C (according to the author, this "should be every programmer's second book on C"). Peter van der Linden's "Expert C Programming: Deep C Secrets", published in 1994, is already a classic. ―John Barry, author of Sunburst, Technobabble, and other books In a genre too often known for windy, lifeless prose, van der Linden's crisp language, tongue-in-cheek attitude, and real-world examples engage and instruct." Platt, Rolling Thunder Computing "In Expert C Programming, Peter van der Linden combines C language expertise and a subtle sense of humor to deliver a C programming book that stands out from the pack. I also love the job interview test questions on C." I knew that it didn't work despite their superficial equivalence, but I didn't know why. ―Professor Jack Beidler, Chairman, Department of Computer Science, University of Scranton "So that's why extern char *cp isn't the same as extern char cp. Appendix A alone would make the purchase of this book a must. However, the tone of this book will make it very popular with undergraduates. The tone and style of this text should make this a popular book with professional programmers. "Not just clearly written, but fun to read. Expert C Programming is a must read for anyone who wants to learn more about the implementation, practical use, and folklore of C. Covering both the IBM PC and UNIX systems, it is an entertaining and educational romp through C showing how experts really use it. It relates C to other languages, and includes an introduction to C++ that can be understood by an programmer without weeks of mind-bending study. The C code for a complete BASIC interpreterĮxpert C Programming reveals the coding techniques used by the best C programmers.Why programmers can't tell Halloween from Christmas day.The C bug that shut down the entire AT&T phone system. ![]()
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