I wonder what happened to _why
Quirky computing books
31–40 of 121 posts
Re: Quirky computing books
#32Expert C Programming: Deep C Secrets
https://www.amazon.com/Expert-Programming-Peter-van-Linden/d...
Entertaining and informative. Highly recommended.
Re: Quirky computing books
#33Braitenberg, "Vehicles: Experiments in Synthetic Psychology", 1984. https://www.amazon.com/dp/0262521121/
This was one of the required books in Leslie Kaelbling's intro AI or robotics courses.
The preview on Amazon might cut a little too early before (IIRC) some seemingly complex behavior emerging from very simple mechanics really clicks.
Re: Quirky computing books
#34After going to college for journalism and graphic design in the early 90s, I decided to become a programmer, despite not having done it since I was in grade school (though, I was pretty hot shit on my TRS-80). My first book on the topic was, in retrospect, pretty crazy, but I've been a tech professional for 25+ years now, so it must have been useful. I'm speaking of The Cartoon Guide to Computers [1][2]. If there's a more quirky (but useful!) computing book than that, I'd be pretty surprised.
I remember specifically learning about flip-flops from the book, and wondering what sort of crazy magical physics made it work. It took me 20 years to finally learn it simply has to do with the timing of the electrical signal as it propagates around the gates [3].
Re-reading it again now, it's actually a surprisingly thorough overview of the history and fundamentals of computer science. I had forgotten.
1. http://www.larrygonick.com/titles/science/the-cartoon-guide-...
2. https://archive.org/details/TheCartoonGuideToComputerScience
Re: Quirky computing books
#35Let Over Lambda
The Little Schemer series
Land of Lisp
Why’s Poignant Guide to Ruby
Re: Quirky computing books
#36While at the library a while ago, I ran into a book on VRML (the Virtual Reality Modeling Language from the ‘90s). That was a doozy.
It looked like they hadn’t bought any new programming books in a while either; there didn’t seem to be any newer than about 2010. They also had a book on programming with Python on Symbian (Nokia’s pre-iPhone/Android smartphone OS)!
Re: Quirky computing books
#37Mr. Bunny's Big Cup o' Java, by Carlton Egremont III.
I don't know if Carlton Egremont III is a real person, but this book, at the time, tweaked all the noses.
Re: Quirky computing books
#38Expert C Programming: Deep C Secrets https://www.amazon.com/Expert-Programming-Peter-van-Linden/d... Entertaining and informative. Highly recommended.
It was a brilliant book, but I feel it's too stuck in the early 90s to recommend today. It's a pity.
Re: Quirky computing books
#39One of my early favorites was Donald Alcock's Illustrating BASIC https://books.google.com/books/about/Illustrating_BASIC.html... It's entirely hand-lettered. The author's afterword remarks that an attentive reader will notice the shakier lettering toward the end of the book. He wrote a couple other books on programming (I think he did Illustrating Pascal). It's a quirky approach, but very friendly and unintimidating…
I came here to ask if anyone could remember this weird handlettered book on BASIC which illustrated all kinds of concepts including linked lists using arrays of boxes and arrows. I believe this must have been it unless there’s another book that was like this. I vividly remember as a kid reading all these different books about computers and programming. I found that I had to read a bunch of books in order to find the right mix of explanations that gelled in my mind. Instead of reading one or two books on BASIC and getting frustrated, I probably read a dozen. This one really appealed to my visual brain.
Re: Quirky computing books
#40No _why's Poignant Guide to Ruby ? That's like, maximum quirk. Zooey Deschanel can pose with that book in her hands and not look out of character.
This is an ongoing project so there are many in my personal library that need coverage. That said, _why’s guide is probably too well known for this list.
To me, something can be both quirky and well-known. Robin Williams and Mitch Hedberg's standup comedy both come to mind in this respect.
But if the idea is both quirky and rare/obscure, I can understand why¬_why.