swilson%thetone@Sun.COM (Scott Wilson) (09/30/88)
>>Which reminds me: are there any good books out yet giving a complete >>description of the dpANS? ... > >Not unless you count K&R2. How can there be? The dpANS is still changing! >(There is a hope that it won't change much more, but that is a hope only.) >Once there is a real, true ANSI C standard, you can expect a flood of books >about it. I'm already starting to see several books at bookstores that claim to be based on ANSI C or draft-proposed ANSI C. In an effort to be first, aren't the authors of these books doing the C community a disservice by putting in print information that could change in the near future? If I run out and buy K&R 2nd ed. (which I did) and then something changes between the writing of the book and the final standard I'm not likely to spend more money for a new book. I therefore wind up with an incomplete reference. Of course no one is twisting my arm to buy the book so it will be my own fault. I just wonder why the authors of ANSI C based books can't wait a few months. Wouldn't you rather have a book that said "based on ANSI C" than "based on draft-proposed ANSI C"? What will Kernighan and Ritchie do if the standard is different in at least one significant way from the draft at the time of writing of their book? Will we see K&R 3d ed. published six months after the 2d ed? -- Scott Wilson arpa: swilson@sun.com Sun Microsystems uucp: ...!sun!swilson Mt. View, CA
tneff@dasys1.UUCP (Tom Neff) (10/03/88)
The Harbison & Steele 2nd edition has been out for six months or so -- it is based on the last-but-one ANSI draft and ought to carry any careful reader for years to come. "PS Don't use NOALIAS" is all the update you really need. I really think things are stable enough at this point that we can trust the leading names in C textbooks. -- Tom Neff UUCP: ...!cmcl2!phri!dasys1!tneff "None of your toys CIS: 76556,2536 MCI: TNEFF will function..." GEnie: TOMNEFF BIX: t.neff (no kidding)
wes@obie.UUCP (Barnacle Wes) (10/06/88)
In article <6773@dasys1.UUCP>, tneff@dasys1.UUCP (Tom Neff) writes: > The Harbison & Steele 2nd edition has been out for six months or so -- it > is based on the last-but-one ANSI draft and ought to carry any careful > reader for years to come. The second edition of Kernighan and Ritchie, "The C Programming Language" has been out for about the same amount of time. I consider this "The New Testament" for C programming. Best to get the information straight from the horses... uh... whatever. :-) -- {hpda, uwmcsd1}!sp7040!obie!wes "How do you make the boat go when there's no wind?" -- Me --
reggie@pdn.UUCP (George W. Leach) (10/10/88)
In article <205@obie.UUCP> wes@obie.UUCP (Barnacle Wes) writes: >In article <6773@dasys1.UUCP>, tneff@dasys1.UUCP (Tom Neff) writes: >> The Harbison & Steele 2nd edition has been out for six months or so More like a little over a year. >The second edition of Kernighan and Ritchie, "The C Programming >Language" has been out for about the same amount of time. It only came out a few months ago. But that is besides the point. Besides possessing those two gems (as well as the first editions of them) I also obtained Tom Plum's "Notes on The Draft C Standard", which was published in 1987 either at the same time as H&S or prior to it. I wrote to the folks at Plum Hall about my concern of the standard changing and invalidating the book. They promptly sent me three pages of revisions and changes per the January 1988 Draft of X3J11. Perhaps the other publishers will do the same? -- George W. Leach Paradyne Corporation ..!uunet!pdn!reggie Mail stop LF-207 Phone: (813) 530-2376 P.O. Box 2826 Largo, FL USA 34649-2826