Programming books you might want to consider reading
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Re: Programming books you might want to consider reading
#2We had "Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs" by Abelson/Sussman when I was at university, which I found a good introductory book.
For a more thorough understanding I would recommend Donald Knuth's "The Art of Computer Programming".
Re: Programming books you might want to consider reading
#3I often here comments about finishing a mathematical/technical book over the course of a "few" weekends.
But I don't see how thats possible if it includes completing all (or even most of) the given exercises. Especially when you have a full-time job.
Re: Programming books you might want to consider reading
#4Dan Luu's style is so impressive for his ability to be super objective about pros and cons of things. There's a post he wrote where he traces his career and lists out possible missteps and successes. His ability to dispassionately look at situations and evaluate them on their merits rather than allow their connotations into his judgement is quite enjoyable to read.
Also his talk at strange loop was spectacular.
Re: Programming books you might want to consider reading
#5The idea is good: a list of general topics, a "why should you care" section for each (the part I really liked) and a few specific titles.
I would love an expanded list of topics (the current one is short) e.g., compilers, comms, security, Arduinos/ raspberry Pi / IoT. I personally did not like long lists of specific books -- I'd rather know about the topic and browse bookshelves at a Barnes and Noble to pick a couple that I like, but that's just my preferences.
Re: Programming books you might want to consider reading
#6We had "Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs" by Abelson/Sussman when I was at university, which I found a good introductory book. For a more thorough understanding I would recommend Donald Knuth's "The Art of Computer Programming".
SICP is still a very good book for learning abstraction techniques, although it does sort of throw you in at the deep end in some ways.
TAoCP is great as a set of reference books that you can take a look at when stuck on a problem, but I don't think it's really designed to be read from cover(s) to cover(s).
Re: Programming books you might want to consider reading
#7I often here comments about finishing a mathematical/technical book over the course of a "few" weekends. But I don't see how thats possible if it includes completing all (or even most of) the given exercises. Especially when you have a full-time job.
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Re: Programming books you might want to consider reading
#8We had "Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs" by Abelson/Sussman when I was at university, which I found a good introductory book. For a more thorough understanding I would recommend Donald Knuth's "The Art of Computer Programming".
SICP is still a very good book for learning abstraction techniques, although it does sort of throw you in at the deep end in some ways. TAoCP is great as a set of reference books that you can take a look at when stuck on a problem, but I don't think it's really designed to be read from cover(s) to cover(s).
I certainly don't think TAOCP is designed to be a reference. If so, it wouldn't be full of excellent exercises.
Re: Programming books you might want to consider reading
#9I often here comments about finishing a mathematical/technical book over the course of a "few" weekends. But I don't see how thats possible if it includes completing all (or even most of) the given exercises. Especially when you have a full-time job.
Some people are able to do it. But most are exaggerating or not doing the exercises. It takes me weeks to properly finish a good technical book due to time constraints. Either way, just do your best and forget about anybody else.
Re: Programming books you might want to consider reading
#10I often here comments about finishing a mathematical/technical book over the course of a "few" weekends. But I don't see how thats possible if it includes completing all (or even most of) the given exercises. Especially when you have a full-time job.
Mmm. Besides, I find my programming/work/etc. improves when I read novels in my spare time :)