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Ask HN: Books you should have read when you start a career in SE / CS?

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Re: Ask HN: Books you should have read when you start a career in SE / CS?

#22

Post by Itaxpica »

Back when I was just graduating from college I picked up a book called "Coder to Developer: Tools and Strategies for Delivering Your Software". It was basically written for people who knew how to write code, but not all the stuff that comes with it in a professional setting - unit testing, build systems, version control, deployment and monitoring, etc.

I'd have a hard time recommending it per se, because it relies heavily for examples on specific technologies that were dated even when I was reading it half a decade ago, but I think something like it with that kind of content is a must-read for anyone starting in SE, especially coming from a CS degree that might have been light on those areas. If I could find a version that's more recent I'd recommend it to every new grad I know.

Re: Ask HN: Books you should have read when you start a career in SE / CS?

#23

Post by busterarm »

_hardwaregeek wrote: post #20

Don't Make Me Think by Steve Krug and The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman. While they're not strictly software or programming related, I really like the concepts of making interfaces that require minimal thought to use and empathizing with your users. I've seen an unfortunate amount of "programming machismo" where a confusing or poorly engineered system is used and accepted because "that's just how things wor…

Don't Make Me Think is a good one, but I always felt like its lessons could have been summed up in an infographic...though I guess that would be missing the context to get people over that hill. I guess if you don't know that intuitively, you're the kind of person that needs that book.

Re: Ask HN: Books you should have read when you start a career in SE / CS?

#24

Post by humbleMouse »

pcprincipal wrote: post #10

Some I haven't seen mentioned here: 1. Coders at Work Peter Seibel does an amazing job of asking programmers questions that make them explain their methodology. The interview with Donald Knuth is awesome; really enjoyed hearing him talk about literate programming. 2. The Soul of a New Machine Tracy Kidder's 1981 Pulitzer Prize winner I think is a brilliant case study on how engineers work together and the things that…

+1 to Coders at Work. That book does an excellent job of showing the human side of programming.

I think too many people approach the industry thinking programmers are god-like deities who have an unlimited amount of time and brain power. Coders at Work does a great job breaking down the "imposter syndrome" plaguing new people coming into the industry.

Re: Ask HN: Books you should have read when you start a career in SE / CS?

#28

Post by organsnyder »

busterarm wrote: post #9

I've read most of the recommended books, but as far as what I think has delivered immediate real value, I'm going to go with: 1) Clean Code 2) The Phoenix Project 3) UNIX and Linux System Administration Handbook I'm sure #2 will be something folks want to fight over shrug . If you want to sidestep years of headache it's a must-read though.

Another vote for The Phoenix Project. It really helps to set the right mindset for identifying and addressing the multitude of non-technical challenges that quickly become the focus of many (I'd venture most) developers' careers.

Re: Ask HN: Books you should have read when you start a career in SE / CS?

#30

Post by mfrw »

My take on some which I think should be atleast read once:

  1) The unix programming environment
  2) The design of the unix operating system
  3) The Pragmatic Programmer
  4) Programming Pearls
  5) Computer Systems: A Programmers Prespective
  6) K & R C
  7) The art of Unix Programming.
PS: I admit my bias towards systems.
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