Maybe a good proofreader would be worth the bother....
|
This book is so full of typographical errors, missing or diagramswhich do not correspond to the text, that it's nearly useless. Predko was obviously in such a hurry to get the book to press, that he totally skipped checking that it even made sense! My favorite is the chapter on "pointers" He begins by stating that they're the most difficult part [for him, apparently] and misunderstood part of using C++. Then a scant 4 paragraphs later, maybe 200 words or so later, he blithely says: "and that's all there really is to them". WHAT??!! is he crazy? I bought a good book (by Wiley ansd Sons) on C programming that spends 10 pages, and several examples, and does an admirable job explaining them, but Predko's account of pointers is nearly incomprehensible. He just gets through a bare-bones explanation on C PICC lite programming, then launches into covering the same ground, with his usual non illuminating style, this time using Assembly language.
I'd say teach one language or the other, preferably in enough depth that the student can have all his or her questions answered, but this book is totally half-assed, and McGraw-Hill really should do a whole lot better...
And this is my third computer language!
|
|
|
Too many typos!
|
|
The author has poor communication skills. If you do not have any previous programming experience then I would suggest that you think twice before purchasing this book. In addition, I truly believe that the number of typographical mistakes will cause you grief. There really isn't anything nice that I can say about the book.
|
|
A good PIC / C starter book
|
This book looks good for someone with background knowledge in programming and electronics who wants to start using the PIC microcontroller family. To make use of it you need to buy the PicKit 1 (very cheap) and also get your hands on some other components to play with.
I was disappointed that the book is almost entirely devoted to the PIC16F684 chip whereas the starter kit comes with 12F275. I haven't been able to find the other chip yet so the book hasn't been of much use yet. However presumably when it was written the kit did include this device.
|
|
|
United States | 
United Kingdom | 
Canada