Sams Teach Yourself C for Linux Programming in 21 Days

This is one of the best programming books I have ever worked with/used. I had a program which I had written in Perl to parse and search unformatted log files. It worked, but very slowly. I picked up this book and thought I would try and rewrite it in C during the holidays. Four days latter it was done. I felt like I had really accomplished something, rewritten my program (which is now over a 100 times faster), and learned some C. The best thing was that I never ran into an example that didn't work and the examples were so straight forward I didn't have to write and try every one. ( I'm of the ilk that usually writes and tries all the examples). I wish they could all be this good.

This book is beyond as good as i said in my last review, well this is an update. After finishing this book, i have an entirely new outlook on why this book is so good! I always find myself looking back for a reminder; if there's something i need a refresh or rescale on, it's got it. it teaches compiling all the way to deployment. This book is desirably the best in my GNU/Linux stash. There are so many extras in this book, you would b surprised why they priced it so low! COVERED- Pointers (in depth), functions, all forms of data structures, GTK/GTK+, and more- If you the reader are taking any introductory courses in programming, for goodness and gpa get this book! Especially if you have a[bad]teacher as i once did ;)Hope this was helpful

This text was my first real encounter with programming (besides, as some others have written, BASIC and LOGO on the Apple II many moons ago...)I am a linux/unix hobbyists always trying to understand more, and this book was a great intro to programming in general. I also highly recomend "Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software" by Charles Petzold. I read this a few months before really digging into this C book. Code is a much more conceptual book, but has great simple analogies that make you really understand what makes computing possible, and how basic logic gates work, and their potential. de Castro Lopo's book gave me a great real-life intro to programming and C in general. Variables, loops, and basic decision making are explained clearly and illustrated with great examples of actual C code, which you can write, compile, and run to test. (and then change around to really understand whats going on...) I have since been able to pick up books on Ruby, Python, and BASH scripting, and at least understand what is going on with variables and loops without even knowing the details of these languages. Admittedly, I am not at the point where I am fluently solving problems with any of these languages, but I now have the confidence to take it to that next step. If I had spent more time with the examples in this book, I probably would be writing more programs. Thanks!

I have been learning C++ for a while on a linux platform, and started to look at some C stuff in the kernel and other programs to broaden my knowledge. I saw that that although C++ is derived from C it doesn't necessarily do stuff the same way, so I picked up this book. It was right on the mark! and explained some peculiar C stuff right away and in a good easy to read style. It consolidated my knowledge well an added to my understanding, particularly with pointers to pointers by including well thought out text and pictures well done. It also provides a good tutorial into basic GCC usage and the peculirities of programming for Linux, I recomend it.

Aside from teaching myself BASIC on my Commodore 64 way-back-when...this is the first programming language I have learned and I owe it all to this book. It is fantastic. Step-by-step, they take you from defining/describing what C is, to writing real-world programs.You would do well to ignore the ignorant reviewers who complain about the title "21 days" (or 24 hours). These people are only looking for excuses. All the 'Teach yourself in 21 Days' books should be seen as 21 LESSONS (and the 24 hours as 24 LESSONS). Could I do it in 21 days? Yes, following the book's plan I could. Easily. But, I have a full time job, family, etc. and these factors can NOT be held accountable by the authors. 21 Excellent Lessons.Days, Hours, months...whatever YOUR pace is, this book does an EXCELLENT job of teaching you what you need to know to write real-world, practical C Programs. I first learned Unix with using of the 'Teach yourself' books and have been a devoted reader ever since.Some days I have time to go through 2 lessons while other times a single lesson may take me a day or 2 due to time constraints. Bottom line: I LEARNED C FROM THIS BOOK AND YOU CAN TOO.I am NOT a computer science major. I am a self-taught Linux hacker who never wrote a line of code (except for a little BASIC 15 years ago) and I am now writing C code and tinkering with Open Source programs. (I'm running Slackware and Debian, if you were wondering).Other tutorials are fine but many assume you are using Windows 95/98. "C is C is C", but this book is written in 'Linuxland' for Linux users; GCC is carefully explained and used here. I use and love the Nedit editor which was one of several recommended in the book.New to C? Or want a fresh start from the beginning while in a Linux environment? GET THIS BOOK and digest all 21 LESSONS at your own pace!