usenet@mcdchg.UUCP (05/29/87)
This internal McDonnell Douglas-Inco memo is posted in response
to a request for C language references which appeared in the
comp.lang.c group during April or May of 1987. We preparing
for several C/Unix related software development contracts. This
book list was prepared for the purpose of "converting" FORTRAN
and PASCAL programmers to C/Unix. The selection of textbooks
for this list and the comments on these books are my own and
do not reflect any McDonnell Douglas-Inco policy or practices.
Please send any comments, additions, recommendations etc. to
me by mail. If these mail responses result in significant
revisions to this list, I will post the revised list during June
or July.
Date : May 19, 1987
Revised : May 26, 1987
1. Reference Cards. An excellent set of C/Unix reference
cards is available from
Specialized Systems Consultants
PO Box 7, Northgate Station
Seattle, Washington 98125-0007
Phone: (206)FOR-UNIX
I recommend that we provide each member of a project team
with the following cards:
(1) C Reference Card (BSD 4.3)
(2) Unix Command Summary (BSD 4.3)
(3) vi Command Summary
2. Introductory Books. The following books are targeted
toward individuals with little or no Unix or C exposure.
(1) Unix Primer Plus, Mitchell Waite, Donald Martin, and
Stephen Prata, Howard W Sams & Co., 1986, $19.95. -
suitable for the introduction of a new user to Unix. A
vi (full screen editor) and Unix command prompt card is
included.
(2) C Programming Guide, 2nd Edition, Jack Perdum, Que
Corp, 198?, $19.95. - A good introductory tutorial.
(3) C Self Study Guide, Jack Purdum, Que Corp, 198?,
$16.95. - This book and the C Programming Guide, 2nd
Edition can be used in a "first course" in C for an
experienced programmer.
(4) The C Programming Language, Brian W. Kernigham and
Dennis Ritchie, Prentice-Hall, 1978, $17.95. - the
classic C reference. I think that this excellent book
is a bit outdated.
(5) C Programmer's Library, Jack J. Purdum, Timothy C.
Leslie, and Alan L. Stegemoller, Que Corp, 1984,
$21.95. - contains an excellent treatment of data
types and declarations. Complete packages include a
general terminal library and an ISAM library. The pub-
lisher offers all of the code in the text on a PC disk
for $124.95. Other media formats are offered via spe-
cial request to the publisher.
3. Intermediate and Advanced C Language. The following
books provide an excellent coverage of software engineering,
programming and standards for C programming.
(1) A C Reference Manual, Samuel P. Harbison and Guy L
Steele Jr., Prentice-Hall, 1984, $19.95. As the title
implies, this is a reference manual. It covers all
aspects of the language and is well organized.
(2) C Programming Practices, Thommas Plum, Prentice-Hall,
1984, $26.00. - contains a "startup" set of C program-
ming standards. The publisher offers a machine read-
able copy (PC disks or tape) for $1000 to allow adap-
tion and expansion to meet the requirements of a
specific organization.
(3) Applied C, Strawberry Software Inc, Edited by Bonnie
Derman, Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1986, $37.95. - excel-
lent software engineering guide for task leaders and
project managers. The chapters, by various contribut-
ing authors, provide the basis for the detailed
software methodology planning of a C software project.
(4) Advanced C Techniques and Applications, Gerald E.
Sobelman and David E. Krekelberg, Que Corp, 1985,
$21.95. C software engineering is presented through
large, detailed examples. The graphics and user inter-
face examples are directly applicable to the
development of deliverable graphics applications. The
publisher offers a machine readable copy (PC disks) of
the published code (about 50% of the text).
(5) Debugging C, Robert Ward, Que Corporation, 1986,
$19.95. - highly readable, it covers a lot of terri-
tory, and has a number of debug routines. It also has
a nice reference list in it.
4. Intermediate and Advanced C/Unix Books. The books
listed in this section assume that the user has some familu-
larity with the C Language.
(1) The Unix Programming Environment, Brian W. Kernighan
and Rob Pike, Prentice-Hall, 1984, $19.95. - covers
the Unix shell, shell programming, and C program
development under Unix. The reader is introduced to
the commonly used Unix system calls and small "example
programs" are used to illustrate use of these calls.
The chapter on filters covers some of the most commonly
used Unix utilities such as grep, sed, and awk. I
classify this as an "intermediate level" text.
(2) Advanced Unix Programming, Marc J Rochkind, Prentice-
Hall, 1985, $24.95. As the title implies, this is an
advanced text. From my own experience, the only way to
benefit from this book is to do all of the example pro-
grams and recommended extensions on a Unix computer.
This text is a must have for any programmer responsible
for software development on a Unix system. The author
covers System V, BSD 4.xx, Xenix, and Unix 7.
(3) Advanced Programmer's Guide To Unix System V, Rebecca
Thomas, Lawrence R. Rodgers, and Jean L. Yates,
McGraw-Hill, 1986, paperback (no price). - a good
reference to look up specific System V features. The
book contains many well engineered shell script and C
code examples. The coverage of the new System V inter-
process communications features (with examples) is
excellent.
(4) The Design Of The Unix Operating System, Maurice J.
Bach, Prentice-Hall, 1986, hardcover (no price). I
have used this book as a reference to lookup details on
specific System V operating system features. This book
will be useful to programmers responsible for System V
ports and kernel modifications.
5. Other Related Textbooks. The following are some
related textbooks that I have found useful for software
development under Unix:
(1) Unix For Superusers, Eric Foxley, Addison Wesley, 1985,
paperback (no price). - covers Unix from the system
administrators viewpoint.
(2) Design of User Friendly Programs For Small Computers,
Henry Simpson, McGraw Hill, 1985, $18.95. - gives pro-
grammers a condensed and easy to read introduction to
the "user view".
(3) Unix System Security, Patrick H Wood and Stephen G.
Kochan, Hayden 1985, hardcover (no price). - a unified
presentation of Unix security issues and procedures.
(4) Tricks of The Unix Masters, Russell G. Sage, Howard W.
Sams & Co., 1987. - presents some highly useful
"tricks". This book will help the experienced user to
become even more productive under Unix.
(5) Artificial Intelligence Using C, Herbert Schuldt,
McGraw Hill, 1986, $21.95. - an excellent introduction
to AI that is comprehensable to those who are not lisp
freaks. The author's treatment of natural language
parsing is directly useful in the design of a user
friendly command language.
(6) Introduction To Compiler Construction With Unix, Axel
T. Schreiner and H. George Friedman Jr., Prentice Hall,
1985, $25.95. - detailed examples of compiler design
using lex and yacc.
--
Bill Hatch
McDonnell Douglas-Inco
8001 Greensboro Drive
McLean Va 22102
(703)442-7960 (800)368-4626
[This article arrived from: "hadron!inco!bill". I've done the best I
can with the "From:" header. "inco" doesn't seem to be in
the current UUCP maps, so I had to keep "hadron" in there.
Bill, Have your admin get your site put into the UUCP maps! -mod]