Do what you think is interesting, do something that you think is fun and worthwhile, because otherwise you won't do it well anyway.

Get the weirdnesses into the data where you can manipulate them easily, and the regularity into the code because regular code is a lot easier to work with

Some compilers allow a check during execution that subscripts do not exceed array dimensions. This is a help, but not sufficient. First, many programmers do not use such compilers because They're not efficient. (Presumably, this means that it is vital to get the wrong answers quickly.)

The most effective debugging tool is still careful thought, coupled with judiciously placed print statements.

As we said in the preface to the first edition, C "wears well as one's experience with it grows." With a decade more experience, we still feel that way.

Believe the terrain, not the map

An effective way to test code is to exercise it at its natural boundaries