Sipser's Introduction to the Theory of Computation
Ask HN: What are some of the best well-written books on computer science?
51–60 of 62 posts
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best well-written books on computer science?
#52Interpreting "CS books" to include books about programming languages, I'd like to add The AWK Programming Language [1] to the list. This is a style of book I'd like to see for many other languages and paradigms: It doesn't assume that it has to teach you the basics. You know what a variable is, you know how loops work. You're reading it to learn AWK, not to learn programming basics. And it's remarkably readable. I fo…
I also believe this is why the Awk book is so thin, and easy to hold. It gets right to the point teaching the language itself. I wish more books were the size of that book.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best well-written books on computer science?
#53My all-time favorite is not a exactly a book, but a tutorial on compiler construction: https://compilers.iecc.com/crenshaw/
It is dated in its choice of assembly, but I really enjoyed this style of crystal-clear explanations when I was a young kid learning how to program.
Other extremely well-written books include TaPL (Types and Programming Language), by Benjamin Pierce: https://www.cis.upenn.edu/~bcpierce/tapl/.
Benjamin Pierce's writing style is very good and you can enjoy it in the free series on Software Foundations (using a theorem prover like Coq to develop programs): https://softwarefoundations.cis.upenn.edu/.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best well-written books on computer science?
#54Knuth's "art of Computer Programming", especially and specifically for the way it communicates things. I'm quite weak when it comes to reading advanced maths, but the code communicated to me, and taught me most of what i ever learned about how to read the weird squiggles.
This book is recommended (and heavily upvoted) on every such thread about good software books but I would very much doubt more than 5% have read more than a few chapters, probably less than 1% have read one book in the series and probably less than 0.1% have read the entire series. This is one of those series that everyone thinks they should read but few actually do.
The book is certainly approachable to read and understand. Especially with some amount of background math. I think the book is hyped so much because people don't have the right background and/or find it difficult at the beginning and give up. Same goes for SICP. And people think the books are really good just because it's hard. It's not, it's approachable given the right effort.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best well-written books on computer science?
#55The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, by Abelson and Sussman.
That one is often recommended, but when I checked it out some time ago (read a few pages from different parts IIRC), I didn't get the point of the book for someone who isn't a beginner. What's supposed to be great about it? I like technical nitty-gritty as well as more abstract or "human factors" material but somehow it seemed to be none of these.
It's a good book if you have started out with say python and know basic programming. If you have functional programming exposure or if you have gone a bit beyond basic programming, it's not that much of an addition to your knowledge. This is my takeaway from the book.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best well-written books on computer science?
#56If the person has some good-ish math background, then a good intro book for CS would be Sedgewick/Kayne's https://introcs.cs.princeton.edu/java/home/. The exposition is succinct.
If math is not a strong suit then https://htdp.org/ and https://dcic-world.org/ are good books to take up. The exposition is really good.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best well-written books on computer science?
#57If the person has some good-ish math background, then a good intro book for CS would be Sedgewick/Kayne's https://introcs.cs.princeton.edu/java/home/ . The exposition is succinct. If math is not a strong suit then https://htdp.org/ and https://dcic-world.org/ are good books to take up. The exposition is really good.
Would upvote HTDP as a great book to read before starting SICP, if you only begin your programming journey.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best well-written books on computer science?
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
That one is often recommended, but when I checked it out some time ago (read a few pages from different parts IIRC), I didn't get the point of the book for someone who isn't a beginner. What's supposed to be great about it? I like technical nitty-gritty as well as more abstract or "human factors" material but somehow it seemed to be none of these.
It's a good book if you have started out with say python and know basic programming. If you have functional programming exposure or if you have gone a bit beyond basic programming, it's not that much of an addition to your knowledge. This is my takeaway from the book.
Thank you. I really wasn't sure if I missed something.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best well-written books on computer science?
#59Designing Data-Intensive Applications: The Big Ideas Behind Reliable, Scalable, and Maintainable Systems
by Martin Kleppmann
https://www.amazon.com/Designing-Data-Intensive-Applications...
You can learn a lot of algorithms. It's useless unless you start to create architecture and use them in practice.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best well-written books on computer science?
#60If the person has some good-ish math background, then a good intro book for CS would be Sedgewick/Kayne's https://introcs.cs.princeton.edu/java/home/ . The exposition is succinct. If math is not a strong suit then https://htdp.org/ and https://dcic-world.org/ are good books to take up. The exposition is really good.
Would upvote HTDP as a great book to read before starting SICP, if you only begin your programming journey.
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