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A book club. Where we sit in a circle and read out loud, chapter by chapter, the C Programming Language, 2nd Edition. And at the end of each session we stand up and call out names of Open Source and Free Software written in C without which our modern society wouldn't run. Dress code: 1970s.

After the reading session we gather for food and drinks in a room full of whiteboards (no computers!) where we discuss what we heard. With real code printed out from the projects we named.

1/6

#COnThe3rd

Front page, Second Edition, the C Programming Language by Bian W Kernighan and Dennis M Ritchie, Prentice Hall Software Series.
#conthe3rd
This entry was edited (1 month ago)

reshared this

in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷

Adam Katz
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Adam Katz
• •
also: today is coauthor Dennis Ritchie's birthday (though he passed in 2011)
in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷

Eric Goodwin
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Eric Goodwin
• •
I have my dad’s first edition of that.. pre-ANSI. Got caught once even because of something they’d fixed
in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷

The Penguin of Evil
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The Penguin of Evil
• •
Doing beer party readings of the current COBOL standard is fun, but probably a different atmosphere. 1970s dress code surely is K&R, and arguing if "struct" and "void" are bloat.
in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷

Jan Wildeboer 😷
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Jan Wildeboer 😷
• •

You can join at any time. You can go at any time. You can stay just for the reading (which will be without interruptions, no discussions, no questions). Guest speakers that wrote the code on the whiteboards and printouts. Birds of a feather, lightning talk style. No fundamental discussions. Just celebrating the language and the code in an open and inviting way. It could actually work 😀

2/6

#COnThe3rd

#conthe3rd
This entry was edited (1 month ago)
in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷

Jan Wildeboer 😷
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Jan Wildeboer 😷
• •

The first rule is: You have to bring your own copy of the book. That's the entrance badge. No book, no problem, though. You can still join. But when you return for more than one time, you should get a copy. We will help with that. (Just kidding, but I really do love the book)

The second rule is: No computers. Paper and whiteboard only. People that interact. That's the goal.

3/6

#COnThe3rd

#conthe3rd
This entry was edited (1 month ago)
in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷

Jan Wildeboer 😷
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Jan Wildeboer 😷
• •

The meetings are always on the 3rd of the month. (C is the third letter in the alphabet). And having it on the third and not something like every 2nd Wednesday means that it will be on different days of the week, giving more people that chance to join. Some people just never can go on a Wednesday.

4/6

#COnThe3rd

#conthe3rd
This entry was edited (1 month ago)
in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷

Jan Wildeboer 😷
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Jan Wildeboer 😷
• •

And if we get this concept up and running at various places all over the world, you can join a C Reading when you travel and meet new people 😀 Wherever you are on the third, there might be a C Reading you can join!

5/6

#COnThe3rd

#conthe3rd
This entry was edited (1 month ago)
in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷

Jan Wildeboer 😷
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Jan Wildeboer 😷
• •

No sponsoring. No money involved. The readings can and should be in living rooms. Guests can bring food. And drinks. Everyone is welcome. We could even split it up in C Major for the Elder of The C and C Minor for the younger folks. You get the idea. Let's just do it. I will open my living room on the 3rd of October and hope others will too 😀. So. #Munich. 3rd of October. I can host around 10-15 people max.

6/6

#COnThe3rd

#munich #conthe3rd
This entry was edited (1 month ago)
in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷

Obot 50549535
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Obot 50549535
• •
Oh, shoot, I don't have the 2nd edition. I only have the 1st edition. 🙁
in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷

Steve Kohls
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Steve Kohls
• •
it’s an 8+ hour flight but I might be able to make it 😆
Or maybe I’ll just read along from here
A copy of the book, The C Programming Language by Kernighan and Ritchie, second edition
in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷

Herman Roozen
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Herman Roozen
• •
Perhaps I should start looking for a copy of the book. Used to have one. Never programmed much in C. (On a side note: we have our board game meetings every 8th, 18th and 28th of the month for the same reason: different days of the week.)
in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷

David Palk#RejoinEU 💖🇪🇺🕊🌈
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David Palk#RejoinEU 💖🇪🇺🕊🌈
• •
Can I be excused. I have a sick note from my Insanity Co-ordinator which read "prior learning has left this old git with no more bandwidth , all used up by Fortran"
in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷

The Penguin of Evil
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The Penguin of Evil
• •

After which you retire to a bar and argue about how to interpret the standards and whose code is compliant.

It would be like a religious meeting - read from the old, apocrypha, or new testament, followed by a long missing the point and futile argument about semantics.

in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷

Stefan Marx
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Stefan Marx
• •
name the venue and a date 😉
Can we add some flavor with copies of
UNIX programming stuff by W. Richard Stevens ?
Unknown parent

Peter Jakobs ⛵
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Peter Jakobs ⛵
• •
you could be a little more objective
Unknown parent

Gyroplast
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Gyroplast
• •

@etchedpixels
And don't get me started on those insufferable C99 reformists and their "flexibility"! It's utter chaos! Nobody should be allowed to put init statements in for-loops!

Madness!

@The Penguin of Evil
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release_candidate
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release_candidate
• •

@_tillwe_ What in the Pastafarian heck I've just read?

I've never wanted so bad to join a church.

@Till Westermayer
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Øjvind Fritjof Arnfred
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Øjvind Fritjof Arnfred
• •
Just tested it with a (not quite in tune) acoustic piano, and that tune might be in C!
@johnrohde
@John Rohde Jensen
This entry was edited (1 month ago)
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John Rohde Jensen
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John Rohde Jensen
• •
I'll go with Trax:
youtube.com/watch?v=igNBeo3QSq…

PHUTURE - ACID TRACKS (1987) VINYL

A - Acid Tracks (Vocal Mix) 00:00B - Phuture Jacks 12:12B1 - Your Only Friend 19:57Label: Trax Records ‎– TX142Format: Vinyl, 12", 33 ⅓ RPM, Reissue, Remaste...
YouTube
in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷

Uckermark MacGyver
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Uckermark MacGyver
• •
wild idea. I'm curious how this works out. I already have some folks in mind who'd do this in Berlin...
in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷

Unus Nemo
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Unus Nemo
•

@Jan Wildeboer 😷

That book is probably one of the most influential programming books I have ever studied. It is a great example of how to write a programming language book. My current copy of it is an eBook. I live in a camper and space is limited. I do have a ton of dead tree books though and I will no doubt eventually get another paperback copy of 'The C Programming Language by Brian W. Kernighan & Dennis M. Ritchie'. Though that is not a priority at the moment.

I would not consider discussing any programming books without development systems at the ready. Replace the whiteboards with a room full of development computers and I am in. You do not learn programming by theorizing on whiteboards. You learn programming by programming. Here are a few more books in my library we can add to the list for discussion. I have plenty more when those are completed!

Image of books laid out on my camper floor: 'The Design of Unix by Maurice J Bach', 'Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs by Niklaus Wirth', 'Systematic Programming: An Introduction by Niklaus Wirth', 'Introduction to Compiler Construction by Thomas W. Parrson', 'The Unix Programming Environment by Brian W. Kernighan & Rob Pike', 'Discrete Optimizations with Pascal Programs by MacieJ M Syslo, Narsingh Deo & Janusz S Kowalik', and 'Programming Pearls by Jon Bentley'
@Jan Wildeboer 😷
in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷

BabaLooey
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BabaLooey
• •
OG programmers with the first edition. Plus the scribble notes for writing and linking assembler function libraries. Keep everything in a Planet of the Apes lunchbox.
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Alison Chaiken
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Alison Chaiken
• •
@adamhotep Auch als dmr bekannt.
@Adam Katz
in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷

filid
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filid
• •
I personally can’t join at the first meeting. But I support this.
Done this little image with #blender. No #AI harmed in the process.
A glowing neon sign displaying "The C Language Book Club" against a textured red brick background. The text is highlighted with a neon „C“ design.
#ai #blender
in reply to Jan Wildeboer 😷

Mason Loring Bliss
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Mason Loring Bliss
• •

If you're looking for cultural significance, I have to ask - why not the first edition?

#tcpl #books

A photograph of the book "The C Programming Language" by Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M. Ritchie - Prentice-Hall Software Series. This copy is (as they all are now) quite old and well-loved, with three pieces of cloth tape holding the outer cover to the spine. The book is photographed against a bacdrop of a dark-coloured wooden desk, a wooden wrist rest, and an aluminum-cased keyboard with white keys.
#books #tcpl
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Mason Loring Bliss
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Mason Loring Bliss
• •
To be fair, I've only read the first edition cover to cover, and I just use the ANSI version as a reference, and to prevent wear and tear of my beloved first edition. My friend and mentor when I was young learned C from the first edition, and then gave me his copy, which is filled with his highlighting and notes. I like seeing his annotations, as he died years ago but it's a way to feel connected to him still.
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