

Ask HN: what sources should I read ? - karim

Hi,<p>I'm trying to become a better C programmer so I began to read the 4.4bsd source code. Are there other interesting sources to read ?
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bayareaguy
I'm assuming you have a FreeBSD box handy. If not then you should :-)

If you're just getting started with unix and C I'd say start with /usr/src/bin
and /usr/src/usr.bin since there are plenty of easy things there like cat,
date, etc.

Next I'd head over to /usr/src/lib/libc, do a grep for "Chris Torek".
Everything he writes is good. Learning low level details about how libc works
on whatever platform you're on is always a good thing if you're doing any real
C programming.

After that it's a matter of taste. Find something that interests you and read
that (e.g. if you like kernel stuff head over to /usr/src/sys).

------
wallflower
"Code reading requires its own set of skills, and the ability to determine
which technique to use when is crucial. In this indispensable book, Diomidis
Spinellis uses more than 600 real-world examples to show you how to identify
good (and bad) code: how to read it, what to look for, and how to use this
knowledge to improve your own code.

Fact: If you make a habit of reading good code, you will write better code
yourself."

Check out this next time you are in the bookstore:

<http://www.spinellis.gr/codereading/>

