ISBN0201498413

The contents and the theory is really interesting,but IMHO literate programming is Horrible and Confusing and with it you really suffer to follow and understand the code.Also the style is really Horrible,something like that of Microsoft,with all those useless macros used just for being lazy.If you compare the style of the code(the way to present it on the book and the code's style itself) used on this book and that used on the book "Linux Kernel Development" by Robert Love,you could find yourself busy deciding where to expose the latter on your own house to multiply the house's value and where to throw the first just to have no nightmares!(I know that they are 2 completely different books,but here I'm talking only about the style,not the contents)

When I migrated from C to Java, one of the clear advantages of the latter was the interface. Built into Java, this is crucial in letting you separate design from implementation. It is very nice to use in Java. Now along comes Hanson with this book. He explains that with care, you can have what amount to interfaces in C.

His methods are by no means as simple as merely using interfaces in Java. Because there is no inherent programmatic construct for it in C. But he describes techniques that you can learn and discipline yourself to follow. The promised end effect is more modular C code.

Note however that this book came out in 96, the same year that Java was released by Sun. At that time, C had a vastly greater base of code, and many more programmers. Yet it is unclear that this book has had much effect on helping C programmers use interfaces. The massive rise of Java implies that the book's efforts were not adequate.

I borrowed this book from the company library and now proudly own a copy of my own. Designing large modules of C code isn't a very easy task and the author does a commendable job at instilling a strong sense of OO design in C Code. This book stands at the top of my heap of programming/design books and I would consider it a must read for anyone serious about learning C and Software Design. Yes, do work through an introductory text on C before you get to this. And then dive into the fun ...

I felt there were too many specific examples. I was hoping for more theory about HOW to make your code reusable. It seemed he talked as much about writing an efficient algorithm as he did about reusability. I expected a bit more theory on what causes well-intentioned code to end up getting rewritten because it cannot be reused. I also did not really understand his pseudocode notations. I'm not faulting him on that, just making a statement.

I purchased this book through Amazon on October 16 2006 11:05 PDT. I finally killed the order this morning because they still can't seem to get it in stock.

Don't get me wrong, this is a great book with many good examples. However, if you want it this century, go check your local computer bookstore because most online retailers are out of stock (including Addison-Wesley themselves).