--- product_id: 48257324 title: "The C Programming Language (2nd Edition)" price: "£44.25" currency: GBP in_stock: true reviews_count: 13 url: https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/48257324-the-c-programming-language-2nd-edition store_origin: GB region: United Kingdom --- # Definitive C guide Deep programming insights ANSI standard compliant The C Programming Language (2nd Edition) **Price:** £44.25 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Summary > ⚡ Code like a legend with the original C bible! ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The C Programming Language (2nd Edition) - **How much does it cost?** £44.25 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.uk](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/48257324-the-c-programming-language-2nd-edition) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Key Features - • **ANSI Standard Certified:** Stay current with the official ANSI C standard ensuring your skills are industry-relevant. - • **Build Real-World Skills:** Exercises and examples designed to challenge you and foster hands-on programming expertise. - • **Comprehensive Yet Concise:** Crisp tutorials and reference manual that balance depth with clarity for efficient learning. - • **Timeless Programming Wisdom:** Decades of proven techniques and logic that remain essential for modern software development. - • **Master the Language of Systems:** Learn C from its creators, Kernighan & Ritchie, for unmatched authenticity and authority. ## Overview The C Programming Language (2nd Edition) by Kernighan and Ritchie is the definitive, ANSI-standard reference and tutorial for C programmers. It offers a clear, concise guide to mastering C’s core concepts, control structures, pointers, and libraries, blending practical exercises with deep insights from the language’s creators. Ideal for those with some programming background, this classic remains a must-have for anyone serious about systems-level programming and software craftsmanship. ## Description The definitive reference guide to C programming from K&R for writing good code that works and is easy to modify Learn how to program in C from the developers of C, Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie. Intended for those with at least some experience with one other language (even if you are a novice), this book contains a tutorial introduction to get new users started as soon as possible and separate chapters on each major feature: Types, operators, and expressions Control flow Functions and program structure Pointers and arrays Structures Input and output This second edition of The C Programming Language describes C as defined by the ANSI standard and includes a reference manual that conveys the essentials of the standard in a smaller space for easy comprehension for programmers. " K&R is one of my favorite books. The style of the tutorial chapters is so deceptively light and simple and the manual so crisp. Much of C's reputation of simplicity comes from the clarity and great little examples from this book. My 1978 copy has lost its cover and my K&R2 is somewhat dog eared. Above all, K&R is a useful book." Bjarne Stroustrup, designer and original implementer of C++, and author of The C++ Programming Language Review: Definitely Recommend don't be fooled by age of the book. - As someone reading through this the first time it really is amazing despite the fact it was printed years ago my skill has already started increasing. The book shows you really helpful things and tips and tricks that online tutorials miss out (Not surprising since this is from the creators of the language themselves) it is much more detailed and gives you much more useful information and functions than you'll find online, and it also give you understanding and logic behind it and explains why you do some stuff and not others. The Language used in this book is intermediate so it's not dumbed down, meaning It will not teach you programming absolutely from 0% Scratch you need to have some familiarity with the terms and ideas like Variables, Strings, Functions, Compilers all the basic things. Any basic familiarity understanding or experience in other basic languages will do like Python, Java, Lua or whatever. Other than that you should be alright and the book explains the more complex concepts and gradually you'll gain the skills needed to write more complex programs. If you want to be an expert I'd definitely recommend this book. This book also gives example programs and tutorials and explains every line it writes, but don't over explain it, as in they come back to some things later on in the book as not to distract from the main thing being taught at the point you are at. This book also tries not to do too much hand holding and gives you exercises to write programs for yourself and lets you figure out some stuff by yourself as it acknowledges that the best way to learn to program is to actually do it rather than just read about it. I haven't ran into any compatibility issues yet meaning that none of the things the books have taught me so far hasn't worked because of the age of the book, all the things I've learnt so far you are still able to apply when coding without running into errors when compiling and running, if you do they're usually minor and can be fixed with a quick google search but its rare when you do. Anyhow this book has a nice clear contents page and references to things like useful libraries and functions you can include when coding, so you can find the section relevant to you if you wish. This book also has a lot of content to cover so you'll always be learning new things and getting better, it starts of with a nice tutorial introduction to ease you in. Other books I've read on C are usually very very basic and underwhelming and you end up already knowing like 90% of the things taught, whereas this book actually shows you everything. Although don't expect it to constantly hold your hand. If you have a drive for learning and you're determined to write programs this book is definitely for you if you're lazy and want a (Learn programming language in 24hrs or 7days) guide and shortcuts this isn't for you, neither is that even realistic. I'm definitely gonna stick with this book! Review: Beautifully concise, informative description of the C programming language. - I was handed this book (ok - then I had to get my mother to pay for it) back in 1981 when I was first exposed to UNIX and computers in my one-of-a-kind high school in Massachusetts. Previously I had been learning logo but I really wanted to know how computers work and the C/UNIX combination is a really good way to go about it. I am rereading the book now because I just bought it for my daughter who just completed her first year of programming classes for college in the States using C++ (amazingly enough) but who will be learning C next year so she can "learn how computers actually work". It's hard to overstate just how good this book is. It's written by computer scientists who also grok programming, by one of the creators of the language itself. It contains countless useful bits of information you can use as a reference the rest of your life. I used to interview supposed C programmers by asking them the simple question: "Do you know how to implement strcmp or strcpy" and if they had ever read this book, the answer would always be yes. And if you do know how those are implemented, you are well on your way to understanding how computers do what they do, how amazing it all is. From 35+ years ago I can remember that from this book you will learn how strcmp works, how to write a simple memory allocator, how to implement printf, a beautifully simple implementation of quick sort, and how to write the stdio library, and many others. These things have all helped me be a better than average programmer with a lower average IQ than many of the people I have worked with in Silicon Valley over the years. It is a beautiful example of concise, accurate writing. And for me it also brings back incredibly fond memories of my high school years and the excitement that has continued ever since. ## Features - New Store Stock ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | 121,204 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) 55 in Programming Languages & Tools 94 in Introduction to Programming | | Customer Reviews | 4.7 out of 5 stars 4,218 Reviews | ## Images ![The C Programming Language (2nd Edition) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71bEFrADiUL.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Definitely Recommend don't be fooled by age of the book. *by J***H on 19 January 2018* As someone reading through this the first time it really is amazing despite the fact it was printed years ago my skill has already started increasing. The book shows you really helpful things and tips and tricks that online tutorials miss out (Not surprising since this is from the creators of the language themselves) it is much more detailed and gives you much more useful information and functions than you'll find online, and it also give you understanding and logic behind it and explains why you do some stuff and not others. The Language used in this book is intermediate so it's not dumbed down, meaning It will not teach you programming absolutely from 0% Scratch you need to have some familiarity with the terms and ideas like Variables, Strings, Functions, Compilers all the basic things. Any basic familiarity understanding or experience in other basic languages will do like Python, Java, Lua or whatever. Other than that you should be alright and the book explains the more complex concepts and gradually you'll gain the skills needed to write more complex programs. If you want to be an expert I'd definitely recommend this book. This book also gives example programs and tutorials and explains every line it writes, but don't over explain it, as in they come back to some things later on in the book as not to distract from the main thing being taught at the point you are at. This book also tries not to do too much hand holding and gives you exercises to write programs for yourself and lets you figure out some stuff by yourself as it acknowledges that the best way to learn to program is to actually do it rather than just read about it. I haven't ran into any compatibility issues yet meaning that none of the things the books have taught me so far hasn't worked because of the age of the book, all the things I've learnt so far you are still able to apply when coding without running into errors when compiling and running, if you do they're usually minor and can be fixed with a quick google search but its rare when you do. Anyhow this book has a nice clear contents page and references to things like useful libraries and functions you can include when coding, so you can find the section relevant to you if you wish. This book also has a lot of content to cover so you'll always be learning new things and getting better, it starts of with a nice tutorial introduction to ease you in. Other books I've read on C are usually very very basic and underwhelming and you end up already knowing like 90% of the things taught, whereas this book actually shows you everything. Although don't expect it to constantly hold your hand. If you have a drive for learning and you're determined to write programs this book is definitely for you if you're lazy and want a (Learn programming language in 24hrs or 7days) guide and shortcuts this isn't for you, neither is that even realistic. I'm definitely gonna stick with this book! ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Beautifully concise, informative description of the C programming language. *by J***E on 13 May 2016* I was handed this book (ok - then I had to get my mother to pay for it) back in 1981 when I was first exposed to UNIX and computers in my one-of-a-kind high school in Massachusetts. Previously I had been learning logo but I really wanted to know how computers work and the C/UNIX combination is a really good way to go about it. I am rereading the book now because I just bought it for my daughter who just completed her first year of programming classes for college in the States using C++ (amazingly enough) but who will be learning C next year so she can "learn how computers actually work". It's hard to overstate just how good this book is. It's written by computer scientists who also grok programming, by one of the creators of the language itself. It contains countless useful bits of information you can use as a reference the rest of your life. I used to interview supposed C programmers by asking them the simple question: "Do you know how to implement strcmp or strcpy" and if they had ever read this book, the answer would always be yes. And if you do know how those are implemented, you are well on your way to understanding how computers do what they do, how amazing it all is. From 35+ years ago I can remember that from this book you will learn how strcmp works, how to write a simple memory allocator, how to implement printf, a beautifully simple implementation of quick sort, and how to write the stdio library, and many others. These things have all helped me be a better than average programmer with a lower average IQ than many of the people I have worked with in Silicon Valley over the years. It is a beautiful example of concise, accurate writing. And for me it also brings back incredibly fond memories of my high school years and the excitement that has continued ever since. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A thorough introduction (and reference) to the C programming language *by L***H on 3 May 2014* This is, as of 2014, over 25 years old (and over 35 years old if you count its first edition), but there is still no better reference guide to C than this book. It is written in a clear and concise way, covers everything you should ever need to know and goes into just the right level of detail to make it by far the absolute best book available on C (with the obvious exceptions of the changes made in C99 and C11, but that can be attributed to its age and not the quality of this book). Would I recommend this book to someone just starting out to learn the basics off programming? Probably not; the book makes no point in hiding that readers should at least know the basic fundamentals of programming before attempting to read this book, and for those readers I would recommend "C All-In-One Desk Reference for Dummies", another truly excellent book on C. But, even for novice readers, it is still significantly better than the majority of other books available, and for slightly more advanced readers completely unbeatable. There's a reason this book served as the absolute standard on C for many years - the late Dennis Ritchie wrote the language in the first place, not just this book, and I wholeheartedly believe he left behind one of the greatest legacies in Computer Science. If you don't already own this, I can't recommend it highly enough. ## Frequently Bought Together - C Programming Language, 2nd Edition - Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces - The Linux Programming Interface: A Linux and UNIX System Programming Handbook --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/48257324-the-c-programming-language-2nd-edition](https://www.desertcart.co.uk/products/48257324-the-c-programming-language-2nd-edition) --- *Product available on Desertcart United Kingdom* *Store origin: GB* *Last updated: 2026-06-27*