"Generally, textbooks on topics such as C programming are evolutionary, not revolutionary. In contrast, Harry Cheng's entry is an innovative textbook and programming environment that defines a new interactive paradigm for learning and using C and C++ that's particularly well suited for scientists and engineers.
In my January 2010 programming course, the students were almost equally split between Mac and PC users. Cheng's software and textbook package let us all focus on developing programs, without concerns about merging computer tools --- that is, compilers and plotting and analysis packages --- on multiple platforms.
...
The bottom line for a post-use review is one question: Would I use the text again? In the case of C for Engineers and Scientists. An Interpretive Approach, the answer is yes.
Students agreed with this assessment; in their post-use survey, when asked whether the book should be used in future course offerings, all students answered "yes."
After using this textbook and the Ch interpreter, I have a new respect for the role of interpreters as an alternative to traditional compilers for introducing computer programming."
--- Excerpts from the book review by Professor Thomas M. Huber, "An Introduction to C and Ch: Your One-Stop Shop for Scientific Computing", IEEE Computing in Science and Engineering. Vol. 12, No. 4, July/August 2010.
