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       #Post#: 126--------------------------------------------------
       INFLUVENSE OF C
       By: eba95 Date: July 30, 2010, 7:14 am
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       Influence
       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. As the
       authors write in the preface to the
       second edition:[3]
       We have tried to retain the brevity
       of the first edition. C is not a big
       language, and it is not well served
       by a big book. We have improved
       the exposition of critical features,
       such as pointers, that are central to
       C programming. We have refined
       the original examples, and have
       added new examples in several
       chapters. For instance, the
       treatment of complicated
       declarations is augmented by
       programs that convert declarations
       into words and vice versa. As
       before, all examples have been
       tested directly from the text, which
       is in machine-readable form.
       Perhaps the most famous example
       program from the book is its " hello
       world" program, which just prints
       out the text "hello, world" to the
       terminal, as an illustration of a
       minimal working C program.
       Numerous texts since then have
       followed that convention for
       introducing a programming
       language.
       Before the advent of ANSI C, the first
       edition of the text served as the de
       facto standard of the language for
       writers of C compilers. With the
       standardization of ANSI C, the
       authors more consciously geared the
       second edition toward programmers
       rather than compiler writers; in the
       authors' own words (again in the
       preface to the second edition[3]):
       Appendix A, the reference manual,
       is not the standard, but our
       attempt to convey the essentials of
       the standard in a smaller space. It
       is meant for easy comprehension
       by programmers, but not as a
       definition for compiler writers—
       that role properly belongs to the
       standard itself. Appendix B is a
       summary of the facilities of the
       standard library. It too is meant for
       reference by programmers, not
       implementers. Appendix C is a
       concise summary of the changes
       from the original version.
       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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