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Learn C the Hard Way: Practical Exercises on the Computational Subjects You Keep Avoiding (Like C)
book

Learn C the Hard Way: Practical Exercises on the Computational Subjects You Keep Avoiding (Like C)

by Zed A. Shaw
July 2015
Intermediate to advanced content levelIntermediate to advanced
380 pages
10h 15m
English
Addison-Wesley Professional
Content preview from Learn C the Hard Way: Practical Exercises on the Computational Subjects You Keep Avoiding (Like C)

Exercise 23. Meet Duff’s Device

This exercise is a brain teaser where I introduce you to one of the most famous hacks in C called Duff’s device, named after Tom Duff, its inventor. This little slice of awesome (evil?) has nearly everything you’ve been learning wrapped in one tiny, little package. Figuring out how it works is also a good, fun puzzle.

Warning!

Part of the fun of C is that you can come up with crazy hacks like this, but this is also what makes C annoying to use. It’s good to learn about these tricks because it gives you a deeper understanding of the language and your computer. But you should never use this. Always strive for easy-to-read code.

Discovered by Tom Duff, Duff’s device is a trick with the C compiler that actually shouldn’t ...

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Publisher Resources

ISBN: 9780133124385Purchase Link