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Ask HN: Examples of good technical writing?

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Re: Ask HN: Examples of good technical writing?

#111

Post by vram22 »

Beltalowda wrote: post #22
noufalibrahim wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seconded. However, I would add that most books which have Brian Kernighan as an author are of comparable quality. I'm yet to find a book that hasn't taught me something useful written by the man. I can quite confidently say that if he wrote a cook book, I'd go and buy it. Other books by him. 1. The UNIX programming environment 2. The Practice of Programming 3. The Go Programming Language

The AWK book is also pretty good; I read through it a few months ago, and pretty much all of it still works with a modern AWK (such as GNU AWK). The Go book was mostly written by Alan Donavan, according to Kernighan anyway (as stated in some interviews), but he's not the bragging sort so he might be underselling his contribution.

Some might not know that the K in AWK stands for Kernighan.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/AWK

And Brian Kernighan has done a lot more than what I've read in this thread so far (though I've not read the full thing yet, and of course, it changes over time).

His overall influence on the field of software also extends far beyond his own direct work.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Kernighan

He is one of my top software gurus, since early in my career, since I worked a lot with Unix, from early on, but not only due to his Unix work and writing. I've used the knowledge and wisdom in some of his books to great advantage, throughout my career, and will be forever thankful to him and the rest of the early as well as later Unix "gang" for that.

Re: Ask HN: Examples of good technical writing?

#112

Post by raddan »

This is my favorite CS paper. The writing is clear (almost “simple”), the idea is brilliant, and the entire thing is beautifully presented.

https://m-cacm.acm.org/magazines/2018/6/228044-coz/fulltext

Full disclosure: I know both authors well so I’m probably a little biased.

Re: Ask HN: Examples of good technical writing?

#113

Post by raddan »

GrumpyYoungMan wrote: post #13

K&R (" The C Programming Language ") still stands out, at least to me, for its clarity and conciseness. I have yet to see a programming language manual that equals it.

I’ve read K&R and it failed to resonate with me. The problems have always seemed like the type you’d run into if you were the kind of person writing an operating system… in the 70’s… on a minicomputer.

I learned C from “Practical C Programming” by Steve Oualline. I remember reading it on bus rides home from work and just itching to try out the code myself. I loved that the author motivated many of the exercises with the weird corners of C that eventually bite you if you only have a naive understanding of the language. There’s even a fun one on the cover itself.

Re: Ask HN: Examples of good technical writing?

#116

Post by raddan »

randcraw wrote: post #82

Anything by Bill Bryson, but especially “At Home” and “One Summer: America, 1927”. Both are brilliant. “John Adams” by David McCullough. Possibly the best historical bio ever. “The Making of the Atomic Bomb” by Richard Rhodes. The best recounting of the founding of Los Alamos. “Hackers” by Steven Levy. The best book on the birth of creatine coding. “The Soul of a New Machine” by Tracy Kidder. The best tale of hardwar…

Tracy Kidder is a wonderful writer. If you liked “The Soul of a New Machine” you might also like “House” which is on a totally different subject. Is it technical? Sort of. I think about it every time I work on my own house. It’s my favorite Kidder book, and I LOVED “The Soul of a New Machine.”

Re: Ask HN: Examples of good technical writing?

#117

Post by TaylorAlexander »

Well, it is a novel rather than what you would typically consider "technical writing", but the book "The Martian" was written by an engineer and is chock full of technical stuff with a very engaging presentation! I don't normally read books, but that one I could not put down and I read the whole thing in a week, which is very fast for me.

Re: Ask HN: Examples of good technical writing?

#118

Post by vram22 »

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.

You found Larry Wall's Perl book rambling and incoherent? And you a professed book-lover? Are you aware that different book authors have different styles? (Ofc you do.) Or that Perl is a language, a set of creators and authors, and an ecosystem that does not feel the need to toe the line of the conventional, in fact, disregards it in favor of exploring different styles / options / methods? Explain yourself, Sir Noufal, or pistols at dawn in Buckingham Park. Okay, your choice of weapons. I shall come armed with the Camel book, nothing else ;)
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