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Ask HN: Examples of good technical writing?

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Re: Ask HN: Examples of good technical writing?

#101

Post by ahartmetz »

noufalibrahim wrote: post #79
donquichotte wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Came here wanting to mention The Practice of Programming. It seems to be out of print, but I got my hands onto a copy of it some years ago and really enjoyed the clarity, humility and technical depth (mainly in the later parts) of the piece. I enjoy clowning around and joking in personal interactions (if appropriate) and used to do it in my writing, but have come to believe that the humble, dry, concise style of the…

I think so too. I remember reading Larry Wall's Perl book. I found it rambling and incoherent. Didn't hold my interest for too long. Kernighan's books are quite different.

The book is not too different from the language, ahem. OTOH, C is not my favorite language, but the K&R C book is the best technical writing I remember reading.

Re: Ask HN: Examples of good technical writing?

#103

Post by acherion »

vehemenz wrote: post #45

I am a fan of PHP's official documentation. It's well organized, terse, and relies heavily on exemplification. As a bonus, you get more examples in the comments—kind of like Stack Overflow, but attached to a particular feature or process of PHP.

The PHP documentation is excellent. I wish other PHP projects / frameworks like Laravel had clear, concise, down to earth documentation like PHP.net's, and doesn't require me to have a degree in computer science to understand the terminology.

Re: Ask HN: Examples of good technical writing?

#106

Post by ImageXav »

charlieflowers wrote: post #100
ImageXav wrote: post #69

Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software by Charles Petzold is an excellent work that very clearly guides the reader through the components and steps that lead to the sophisticated computer systems we have nowadays. Each step is explained with no logical leaps and could be followed by a young child. Improving almost anything by George Box blew my mind. As children and even as university students we…

What’s the george box reference? Sounds interesting.

The book is "Improving almost anything - Ideas and essays" and can be found on Amazon, but I think the Wiley description [0] does it more justice. His writing is accessible and full of witticisms such as "When Murphy speaks, listen" (referring to Murphy or Sod's Law). His works are good building blocks for all kinds of research.

[0]https://www.wiley.com/en-gb/Improving+Almost+Anything%3A+Ide...

Re: Ask HN: Examples of good technical writing?

#108

Post by carb »

wkschwartz wrote: post #54

James Gleick‘s “Chaos”[0] (history of chaos theory) and “The Information”[1] (history of information theory) are so beautifully and artfully written you might forget they’re technical. As close as (history of) science writing comes to poetry. A lot drier but top marks for clarity: “Linear Algebra Done Right” by Axler.[2] It got me through both undergraduate and PhD math degrees. When something was confusing in a lect…

Thank you for the recommendations! These look wonderful.

Re: Ask HN: Examples of good technical writing?

#110

Post by lhoff »

Not IT related and more scientific then technical but imho it somehow fits your description.

Bas Kast: The Diet Compass: The 12-Step Guide to Science-Based Nutrition for a Healthier and Longer Life

The title sounds clickbaity but the book isn't. Very toned down, unidological description of the curent state of the science in regards to diet and nutrition.

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