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<a name="lintvsansi">
<h1>
comp.lang.c FAQ list
<font color=blue>&middot;</font>
<a href="../../resources/lintvsansi.html"><!-- qtag -->Question 18.8</a>
</h1>
<p>
<font face=Helvetica size=8 color=blue><b>Q:</b></font>
Don't ANSI function prototypes render <TT>lint</TT> obsolete?
</p><p><hr>
<p>
<font face=Helvetica size=8 color=blue><b>A:</b></font>
Not really.
First of all,
prototypes work
only if
they are present and correct;
an inadvertently incorrect prototype is worse than useless.
Secondly,

<TT>lint</TT> checks consistency across multiple source files,
and checks data declarations as well as functions.
Finally,
an independent program like <TT>lint</TT> will probably always
be more scrupulous at enforcing compatible, portable coding practices
than will any particular, implementation-specific,
feature- and extension-laden compiler.

</p><p>If you do want to use function prototypes instead of <TT>lint</TT>
for cross-file consistency checking,
make sure that you set the prototypes up correctly in header files.
See questions <a href="faqcatd3c2.html?sec=decl#decldef">1.7</a> and <a href="faqcat204f.html?sec=cpp#hfiles">10.6</a>.
<hr><hr><hr>
<a name="tutorials">
<h1>
comp.lang.c FAQ list
<font color=blue>&middot;</font>
<a href="../../resources/tutorials.html"><!-- qtag -->Question 18.9</a>
</h1>
<p>
<font face=Helvetica size=8 color=blue><b>Q:</b></font>
Are there any C tutorials
or other resources
on the net?

</p><p><hr>
<p>
<font face=Helvetica size=8 color=blue><b>A:</b></font>
There are
several
of them:

</p><p>Tom Torfs has a nice tutorial at
<a href="http://cprog.tomsweb.net/"><TT>http://cprog.tomsweb.net</TT></a>.
</p><p>


``Notes for C programmers,''
by Christopher Sawtell,
are


available by ftp from
<a href="ftp://svr-ftp.eng.cam.ac.uk/misc/sawtell_C.shar">svr-ftp.eng.cam.ac.uk
</a>
and
<a href="http://www.eskimo.com/forbidden.html">garbo.uwasa.fi</a>,

or on the web at
<a href="http://www.fi.uib.no/Fysisk/Teori/KURS/OTHER/newzealand.html">www.fi.uib.no
</a>.
</p><p>Tim Love's ``C for Programmers''
is




available
by ftp
from svr-ftp.eng.cam.ac.uk in the misc directory.



An html version is
at



<a href="http://www-h.eng.cam.ac.uk/help/tpl/languages/C/teaching_C/teaching_C.html"><TT>http://www-h.eng.cam.ac.uk/help/tpl/languages/C/teaching_C/teaching_C.html</TT></a>.

</p><p>The
<a href="http://www.coronadoenterprises.com/">Coronado Enterprises</a>
C tutorials
are
available on Simtel mirrors in pub/msdos/c
or on the web at
<a href="http://www.coronadoenterprises.com/tutorials/c/index.html"><TT>http://www.coronadoenterprises.com/tutorials/c/index.html</TT></a>.
</p><p>There is a web-based course
by Steve Holmes 
at
<a href="http://www.strath.ac.uk/IT/Docs/Ccourse/"><TT>http://www.strath.ac.uk/IT/Docs/Ccourse/</TT></a>.
</p><p>Martin Brown
has C course material on the web at
<a href="http://www-isis.ecs.soton.ac.uk/computing/c/Welcome.html"><TT>http://www-isis.ecs.soton.ac.uk/computing/c/Welcome.html</TT></a>.
</p><p>On some Unix machines you can try typing 
``<TT>learn&nbsp;c</TT>''
at the shell prompt
(but the lessons may be quite dated).
</p><p>Finally,
the author of this FAQ list
once taught
a couple of
C&nbsp;classes
and has
placed
their notes on the web;
they are at
<a href="http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/cclass/cclass.html"><TT>http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/cclass/cclass.html</TT></a>.
</p><p>[Disclaimer:
I
have not reviewed
many of
these tutorials,
and
I gather that they tend to contain
errors.
With the exception of the one with my name on it,
I can't vouch for any of them.
Also, this sort of information rapidly becomes out-of-date;
these addresses may not work by the time you read this and
try them.]
</p><p>Several of
these tutorials,
plus a great deal of other information about C,
are accessible via the web at
<a href="http://www.quut.com/c/"><TT>http://www.quut.com/c/</TT></a>.
</p><p>Vinit Carpenter
maintains
a list of resources for learning C and C++;
it is posted
to comp.lang.c and comp.lang.c++,
and
archived where
this FAQ list
is
(see question <a href="faqcat38c2.html?sec=misc#faqavail">20.40</a>),
or on the web at



<a href="http://www.cyberdiem.com/vin/learn.html"><TT>http://www.cyberdiem.com/vin/learn.html</TT></a>.
</p><p>See also
questions <a href="faqcatccbd.html?sec=resources#tutsources">18.9b</a>, <a href="faqcatccbd.html?sec=resources#books">18.10</a>, and <a href="faqcatccbd.html?sec=resources#miscsrcs">18.15c</a>.
<hr><hr><hr>
<a name="tutsources">
<h1>
comp.lang.c FAQ list
<font color=blue>&middot;</font>
<a href="../../resources/tutsources.html"><!-- qtag -->Question 18.9b</a>
</h1>
<p>
<font face=Helvetica size=8 color=blue><b>Q:</b></font>
Where can I find some good code examples to study and learn from?
</p><p><hr>
<p>
<font face=Helvetica size=8 color=blue><b>A:</b></font>
Although studying existing source code is indeed a very good way of learning,
it's unfortunately hard to recommend any truly good examples,
because so much of the actual code out there
is either pedagogical (i.e. not real-world),
or all too real-world
(i.e. too voluminous and complicated for mere mortals to understand).
</p><p>With that said, here
are a
couple of
links to explore:
<UL>


<li><a href="ftp://garbo.uwasa.fi/pc/c-lang/"><TT>ftp://garbo.uwasa.fi/pc/c-lang/</TT></a>
(and <a href="ftp://garbo.uwasa.fi/pc/c-lang/00index.txt">index</a>)

<li><a href="http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/src/"><TT>http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/src/</TT></a>
</UL></p><p>A word of warning:
there is some excellent code out there to learn from,
but there is plenty of
truly bletcherous code,
too.
If you find yourself perusing some code
which is scintillatingly clear and
which accomplishes its task as easily as it ought to
(if not more so),
do learn everything you can from that code.

But if you come across some code that is unmanageably confusing,
that seems to be operating with ten bandaged thumbs
and boxing gloves on,
please do <em>not</em> imagine that that's the way it has to be;
if nothing else,
walk away from such code having learned only that
you're not going to commit any such atrocities yourself.
</p><p>See also
questions <a href="faqcatccbd.html?sec=resources#tutorials">18.9</a>, <a href="faqcatccbd.html?sec=resources#stdlibsrc">18.13</a>, <a href="faqcatccbd.html?sec=resources#miscsrcs">18.15c</a>, and <a href="faqcatccbd.html?sec=resources#sources">18.16</a>.
<hr><hr><hr>
<a name="books">
<h1>
comp.lang.c FAQ list
<font color=blue>&middot;</font>
<a href="../../resources/books.html"><!-- qtag -->Question 18.10</a>
</h1>
<p>
<font face=Helvetica size=8 color=blue><b>Q:</b></font>
What's a good book for learning C?
What about advanced books and references?
</p><p><hr>
<p>
<font face=Helvetica size=8 color=blue><b>A:</b></font>
There are far too many
books on C
to list here;
it's impossible to rate them all.
Many people believe that the best
one
was also the first:
<I>The C Programming Language</I>,
by
Brian
Kernighan and
Dennis
Ritchie
(``K&amp;R,''
now in its second edition).
Opinions vary on
K&amp;R's suitability as an initial programming text:
many of us did learn C from it, and learned it well;
some, however,
feel that it is a bit too clinical
as a
first

tutorial 
for those
without much programming background.
Several sets of annotations and errata are available on the net,
by
<a href="http://www.csd.uwo.ca/~jamie/.Refs/.Footnotes/C-annotes.html">J. Blustein</a>,
<a href="http://www.eskimo.com/~scs/cclass/krnotes/top.html">this FAQ list's author</a>,
and
<a href="http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/cs/cbook/2ediffs.html">K&amp;R themselves</a>.

</p><p>Many comp.lang.c regulars recommend
<I>C: A Modern Approach</I>,
by K.N. King.
</p><p>An excellent reference manual is
<I>C: A Reference Manual</I>,
by Samuel P. Harbison and Guy L. Steele,
now in its fourth edition.
</p><p>Though not suitable for learning C from scratch,
<a href="http://www.aw.com/cseng/authors/summit/cfaq/cfaq.html"><TT>this FAQ list</TT></a>
has been published in
<a href="http://www.aw.com/cseng/authors/summit/cfaq/cfaq.html"><TT>book form</TT></a>;
see the Bibliography.
</p><p>The
<a href="http://www.accu.org/">Association of C and C++ Users</a>
(ACCU)
maintains a
<a href="http://www.accu.org/bookreviews/public/index.htm">comprehensive set of bibliographic reviews of C/C++ titles</a>.

</p><p>See also question <a href="faqcatccbd.html?sec=resources#tutorials">18.9</a>.
</p><p>Additional links:
<a href="../../resources/sd19.html" rel=subdocument>Ian Hay's recommended book list</a>
<hr><hr><hr>
<a name="kranswers">
<h1>
comp.lang.c FAQ list
<font color=blue>&middot;</font>
<a href="../../resources/kranswers.html"><!-- qtag -->Question 18.11</a>
</h1>
<p>
<font face=Helvetica size=8 color=blue><b>Q:</b></font>
Where can I find answers to the exercises in
K&amp;R?
</p><p><hr>
<p>
<font face=Helvetica size=8 color=blue><b>A:</b></font>
They have been written up
(a)
by various netters
and collected by <a href="http://www.rjgh.co.uk/">Richard Heathfield</a>
at <a href="http://users.powernet.co.uk/eton/kandr2/"><TT>http://users.powernet.co.uk/eton/kandr2/</TT></a>,
and (b)
in
<I>The C Answer Book</I>;

see the Bibliography.



<hr><hr><hr>
<a name="booksrcs">
<h1>
comp.lang.c FAQ list
<font color=blue>&middot;</font>
<a href="../../resources/booksrcs.html"><!-- qtag -->Question 18.12</a>
</h1>
<p>
<font face=Helvetica size=8 color=blue><b>Q:</b></font>
Does anyone know where the source code from
books
like
<I>Numerical Recipes in C</I>,
Plauger's
<I>The Standard C Library</I>,
or
Kernighan and
Pike's
<I>The UNIX Programming Environment</I>
is available on-line?
</p><p><hr>
<p>
<font face=Helvetica size=8 color=blue><b>A:</b></font>
Books containing large quantities
of potentially-useful source code,
including
the ones
mentioned
in the question,
usually
make explicit mention of the availability of source code
and policies for its use.
Published source code
is
copyrighted,
and may generally not be used,
or especially redistributed,
without permission
(and perhaps a few restrictions,
though presumably the publisher doesn't mind
your
typing it in for personal use).
Often a diskette is available from the publisher;
also,
many publishers
have set up
ftp sites and web pages.
</p><p>Some of the routines from
<I>Numerical Recipes</I>
have been released to the public domain;
see
<a href="http://www.numerical-recipes.com/public-domain.html">the Numerical Recipes website</a>
for details.

<hr><hr><hr>
<a name="stdlibsrc">
<h1>
comp.lang.c FAQ list
<font color=blue>&middot;</font>
<a href="../../resources/stdlibsrc.html"><!-- qtag -->Question 18.13</a>
</h1>
<p>
<font face=Helvetica size=8 color=blue><b>Q:</b></font>
Where can I find the sources of the standard C libraries?
</p><p><hr>
<p>
<font face=Helvetica size=8 color=blue><b>A:</b></font>
The GNU project has a complete implementation at

<a href="http://www.gnu.org/software/libc/"><TT>http://www.gnu.org/software/libc/</TT></a>.


Another source
(though not public domain)
is
<I>The Standard C Library</I>,
by P.J. Plauger
(see the Bibliography).
See also
questions <a href="faqcatccbd.html?sec=resources#tutsources">18.9b</a>, <a href="faqcatccbd.html?sec=resources#miscsrcs">18.15c</a>, and <a href="faqcatccbd.html?sec=resources#sources">18.16</a>.
<hr><hr><hr>
<a name="onlinecref">
<h1>
comp.lang.c FAQ list
<font color=blue>&middot;</font>
<a href="../../resources/onlinecref.html"><!-- qtag -->Question 18.13b</a>
</h1>
<p>
<font face=Helvetica size=8 color=blue><b>Q:</b></font>
Is there an on-line C reference manual?
</p><p><hr>
<p>
<font face=Helvetica size=8 color=blue><b>A:</b></font>
Two possibilities are
<a href="http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/standard_c/_index.html"><TT>http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/standard_c/_index.html</TT></a>
and
<a href="http://www.dinkumware.com/htm_cl/index.html"><TT>http://www.dinkumware.com/htm_cl/index.html</TT></a>.
<hr><hr><hr>
<a name="ansiavail">
<h1>