Re: csapp, really good?

[Andrew Luke Nesbit <ullbeking%andrewnesbit.org@localhost>]

On 09/07/2019 09:09, Dan LaBell wrote:
> UNIX for Programmers, and Users, a Complete Guide.
> (NOT THE 2nd edition, the 1st ) Graham Glass

Why do you like the 1st edition more than the 2nd?

I understand many reasons why an earlier edition is preferable.  I have 
several examples of titles too, where I prefer an earlier edition.  For 
example, when a beautiful chapter on an obscure, underrated, or 
overlooked topic is removed to make room for information on new 
developments.  (And I appreciate this.  Publishing is full of tradeoffs 
like this.)

Note that there seems to be a 3rd edition of Glass available.

> And, Practical C Programming, Steven Oualline
> (which I will part with in moment, and never really needed, but I will
> still recommend it) because it contains every scold you would know by 
> heart,
> if you learned programming, in the unix lab.

I see this book often and have skimmed through it once or twice.  I 
never saw anything particularly compelling about it.  I will have a 
closer look next time.

Understanding the dark corners of C is essential to understanding the 
language properly.  More importantly, it's important to know how to 
protect oneself against widely propagated misinfomation.  An example of 
this kind of _misinformation_ is that arrays and pointers are the same.

There aren't many of these dark corners but most of them have a profound 
influence.  I highly recommend getting a copy of "Expert C Programming: 
Deep C Secrets" by Peter van der Linden and reading it with K&R's 2nd 
edition close by, which it makes meaningful references to.

As for the original book you asked about, CS:APP3e, I think it looks 
fantastic.  It's been on my list of books to read for about a year. 
From what I've seen it's completely different to the Unix book by Bach.

Andrew
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