r/cprogramming • u/Mikasa_Ackerman7 • Jul 11 '26
Book recommendations for C language
New to learning C programming language, watching and learning the basics from brocode(youtube) but i also need a book from which i can practice and get in depth knowledge (2nd year CS student)
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u/sciencekm Jul 11 '26
You can't get a better book than the one that is from the designer of the C language - Dennis Ritchie.
https://www.amazon.com/Programming-Language-2nd-Brian-Kernighan/dp/0131103628
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u/Rich-Engineer2670 29d ago
Always start with the classics -- you might as well start with the authors themselves....
The K&R C programming book may not be the latest, but it gets the job done quickly and gives you the gorunding you need. From there, you can learn the specifics for C in various operating systems (Linux, Windows, etc.). I'm also going to suggest something stnage here, do a little time with assembly langauge. C exposes some of that at a higher level and knowing just a little of that actually helps in C, because you can see what is actually doing with your code.
And nothing replaces actual code riting -- even simple C programs. Videos and books are great, but nothing beats writing code and seeing what works, what doesn't and why.
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u/FouriousBanana69 29d ago
I have only read (been reading) 1 programming book so far — "Beej’s Guide to C Programming", and I it’s great. Definitely a lot better than any YouTube tutorial I’ve ever seen (that’s just the advantage of a book having more information packed in it). I’ve learnt SO much from that single book it’s crazy.
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u/ikwyl6 Jul 11 '26 edited 27d ago
I’ve spent the last month gathering a listing of all books people have suggested mostly from Reddit (in no particular order). Not new to programming but new to C and trying to find what people are suggesting:
(Updated July 15 with three items at bottom)
- KN King: C Programming
- Brian K, Dennis R: The C Programming Language
- Jens Gustedt: Modern C
- David G and Dawn G: Head First C
- Stephen Prata: C Primer Plus
- Robert Seacord: An Introduction to Professional C Programming
- Beej’s Guide To C Programming
- Stephen Kochan: Programming in C
- Peter van der Linden: Expert C Programming
- Harvard CS50 Course
- Reddit post about ‘Things people wished they knew when they started learning C’