comp.lang.c FAQ list · Question 11.2

Q: How can I get a copy of the Standard?

A: An electronic (PDF) copy is available on-line, for US$18, from www.ansi.org. Paper copies are available in the United States from

American National Standards Institute
11 W. 42nd St., 13th floor
New York, NY  10036  USA
(+1) 212 642 4900

and

Global Engineering Documents
15 Inverness Way E
Englewood, CO  80112  USA
(+1) 303 397 2715
(800) 854 7179  (U.S. & Canada)

In other countries, contact the appropriate national standards body, or ISO in Geneva at:

ISO Sales
Case Postale 56
CH-1211 Geneve 20
Switzerland

(or see URL http://www.iso.ch or check the comp.std.internat FAQ list, Standards.Faq).

The mistitled Annotated ANSI C Standard, with annotations by Herbert Schildt, contains most of the text of ISO 9899; it is published by Osborne/McGraw-Hill, ISBN 0-07-881952-0, and sells in the U.S. for approximately $40. It has been suggested that the price differential between this work and the official standard reflects the value of the annotations: they are plagued by numerous errors and omissions, and a few pages of the Standard itself are missing. Many people on the net recommend ignoring the annotations entirely. A review of the annotations (``annotated annotations'') by Clive Feather can be found on the web at http://www.lysator.liu.se/c/schildt.html .

The text of the original ANSI Rationale can be obtained by anonymous ftp from ftp.uu.net (see question 18.16) in directory doc/standards/ansi/X3.159-1989, and is also available on the web at http://www.lysator.liu.se/c/rat/title.html . That Rationale has also been printed by Silicon Press, ISBN 0-929306-07-4.

Public review drafts of C9X were available from ISO/IEC JTC1/SC22/WG14's web site.