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Best programming books ?

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mouser:
I maintain that the hardest part for a new programmer is staying motivated.  So when people ask me the best book to get I usually say go to a bookstore, spend some time looking at books, and find the book that really seems to speak to you and inspire you and make you want to code, and go with that one.

This is an especially good technique if you are interested in programming but don't know yet what language you want to learn.

kartal:
Hey thanks for the list, some of them are already in my local library, lucky me :)

mouser, I am going for python  for now mainly because of the interactive shell and and fun syntax. But  eventually I will move to C. I have used c like script language for my daily work in the past so I am little c aware but I can not write an application with it at this point :)

xtabber:
Although the syntax looks similar because most derive in some way from C, C is conceptually very different from object-oriented languages like Python. The critical essence of C lies in the programmer's control over memory management and data structures, both of which are handled for you in most "modern" languages.

While Kernighan & Ritchie, "The C Programming Language" laid the foundation and is a remarkable book, I really would not consider it the best way to learn C. Probably the best introduction to C, if you have some programming experience, is Kenneth Reek, "Pointers on C" which does a superb job of explaining how C works. A good and thorough tutorial approach is Stephen Prata, "C Primer Plus"  5th edition. If you get serious about programming in C, you will want to get Harbison & Steele "C: A Reference Manual" which is exactly what its name indicates.

My choice for "best" book on programming, as opposed to using a specific language to program, would probably be Kerngihan & Pike, "The Practice of Programming" which is somewhat C-oriented, but very general in application and unsurpassed, IMHO, at elucidating the fundamentals of good programming practice.

kartal:
xtabber, thank you for the suggestions, it all sounds great. When I get to that point I will use this list.

I never thought Python as a jumping point and I know they are radically different.  The reason I choose python is that I do not want to struggle with certain things in the beginning so for example it feels like in Python I can study algorithms and try to come up with quick mockups if you will.Generally it is a smooth experience.

The reason I want to learn C later is that most of the applications I use daily(like 3d applications)  have plugin architectures based on C or written in C. So I am hoping that having a grasp of C will help my professional developement. I doubt I will ever be a full featured developer but being able to develop tiny tools to make things easier for myself or others is a good thing in the long run.

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