The Art and Science of C: A Library Based Introduction to Computer Science [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

The book emphasizes good programming methodology rather than just concentrating on memorizing the syntactical. You can easily look up standard ansi C syntax in reference books like "The C Programming Language" by Kernighan and Ritchie (which I highly recommend), but you can't always find a book that covers basic programming concepts in general. The use of libraries instead of standard ANSI functions allows you to think flexibly, realizing that there are many levels of abstraction and that there are many ways of programming the same thing. This is especially beneficial when/if you go on to learn other languages. However, I would say that C is a good language to start out with because it encompasses more of the lower level details that may be hidden in other languages but are essential for understanding why your program works, isn't optimized, etc.

Once you've finished this book, you can easily ease into the second book in this introductory series, Programming Abstractions in C, which takes you to the next step in becoming a good programmer. It explains many standard algorithms liked hashtables, linked lists, etc. The two books combined build a solid foundation for programming in C and leave you prepared to go into more complex algorithms and other languages. I highly recommend this book (I always keep it close at hand).

C can be learned on your own. Make sure you have the desire, to actually make time and learn. Other books will become a necessity along the way; no book is that complete - yet. I recommed you also get the book : Assembly Language Step-By-Step : Programming With DOS and Linux. No programmer should program any language without knowing at least rudiments of assembly; it WILL be useful, at one point make the difference in efficiency and speed of certain programs you will end-up writing, regardless.

The Art and Science of C, I purchased first; then another book on C; for a more complete introduction, called: Beginning C. As mentioned above, you WILL need to at least peruse different books on C; should you be just starting with no programming experience, whatsoever. It is no big deal; just do it.

C can be learned on your own. Make sure you have the desire, to actually make time and learn. Other books will become a necessity along the way; no book is that complete - yet. I recommed you also get the book : Assembly Language Step-By-Step : Programming With DOS and Linux. No programmer should program any language without knowing at least rudiments of assembly; it WILL be useful, at one point make the difference in efficiency and speed of certain programs you will end up writing, regardless.

The Art and Science of C, I purchased first; then another book on C; for a more complete introduction, called: Beginning C. As mentioned above, you WILL need to at least peruse different books on C; should you be just starting with no programming experience, whatsoever. It is no big deal; just do it.