Based on the GREAT books you mention, I gather you
are thinking about using C... yes?
IMHO an excellent choice. However, if you are new to C,
those books may be more confusing than helpful.
I would suggest a "friendlier" book. There are so many
books out there I would be hard pressed to recommend
any particular one. You may want to search through the FAQs
on this forum for some book titles.
If C is not your cup of tea... you can also use perl.
Anyway, sounds like a great learning project and with those
books, you are on the right track.