K & R - The C programming Language

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Pigeon
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K & R - The C programming Language

Post by Pigeon » Wed Jun 04, 2014 6:31 pm

The C Programming Language (sometimes referred to as K&R, after its authors' initials) is a well-known computer programming book written by Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie, the latter of whom originally designed and implemented the language, as well as co-designed the Unix operating system with which development of the language was closely intertwined.

The book was central to the development and popularization of the C programming language and is still widely read and used today. Because the book was co-authored by the original language designer, and because the first edition of the book served for many years as the de facto standard for the language, the book was regarded by many to be the authoritative reference on C.

The first edition of the book, published in 1978, was the first widely available book on the C programming language. C was created by Dennis Ritchie. Brian Kernighan wrote the first C tutorial. The authors came together to write the book in conjunction with the language's early development at AT&T Bell Labs. The version of C described in this book is sometimes referred to as K&R C (after the book's authors), often to distinguish this early version from the later version of C standardized as ANSI C.

The C Programming Language has often been cited as a model for technical writing, due to the book's clear presentation and concise treatment. In just 228 pages (272 pages in the second edition), the book covers C comprehensively. Examples generally consist of complete programs of the type one is likely to encounter in daily usage of the language, with an emphasis on system programming. The technical details of C are balanced by the authors' observations on good programming practice, which are immediately illustrated with concrete, realistic examples.

The C Programming Language has often been cited as a model for technical writing, due to the book's clear presentation and concise treatment. In just 228 pages (272 pages in the second edition), the book covers C comprehensively. Examples generally consist of complete programs of the type one is likely to encounter in daily usage of the language, with an emphasis on system programming. The technical details of C are balanced by the authors' observations on good programming practice, which are immediately illustrated with concrete, realistic examples.

The influence of The C Programming Language on programmers, a generation of whom first worked with C in universities and industry, has led many to accept the authors' programming style and conventions as recommended practice, if not normative practice. For example, the coding and formatting style of the programs presented in both editions of the book is often referred to as "K&R style" or the "One True Brace Style" and, significantly, became the coding style used by convention in the source code for the Unix and Linux kernels.


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