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Quirky computing books

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Re: Quirky computing books

#71

Post by nextos »

larve wrote: post #60

My list: - The Plenitude - Rich Gold Not a computing book with code but it taught me a lot about what can be done with computers, and that they are marvelous machines. - Architecture of Symbolic Computers - Kogge An ode to what could have been if RISC and x86 hadn't steamrolled the landscape. - Thinking Forth - Leo Brodie Forth is wild, this book is wild, it's really a different world. After multiple attempts over 25…

> All Mathematica Guidebooks - Michael Trott

> Mathematica is wild, these books are wild, they are old but still oh so inspiring.

Great recommendation. Are these so old? I skimmed through [1] and they seem still on print and relevant?

What is other inspiring Mathematica literature? I have been considering Mathematica to cover some of the gaps Julia (and R or Python have). Particularly in the symbolics camp [2].

It's also nice Mathematica is free on Raspberry Pi, but it might be too slow to be of any practical use.

[1] http://www.mathematicaguidebooks.org

[2] https://www.12000.org/my_notes/CAS_integration_tests/reports...

Re: Quirky computing books

#72

Post by roywiggins »

Somehow my second or so book that I read on computers was "Bebop Bytes Back: An Unconventional Guide to Computers," which made an impression. An absolute doorstop of a book (nearly 900 pages), it starts from logic gates and builds from there.

Re: Quirky computing books

#73

Post by rramadass »

larve wrote: post #60

My list: - The Plenitude - Rich Gold Not a computing book with code but it taught me a lot about what can be done with computers, and that they are marvelous machines. - Architecture of Symbolic Computers - Kogge An ode to what could have been if RISC and x86 hadn't steamrolled the landscape. - Thinking Forth - Leo Brodie Forth is wild, this book is wild, it's really a different world. After multiple attempts over 25…

Nice list.

The Architecture of Symbolic Computers by Kogge looks very interesting; covering Function-based computing and Logic-based computing.

Re: Quirky computing books

#74

Post by rramadass »

Two of my favourites;

* Confessions of a Used Program Salesman: Institutionalizing Software Reuse by Will Tracz.

* The Elements of Networking Style: And Other Essays & Animadversions on the Art of Intercomputer Networking by Mike Padlipsky.

Re: Quirky computing books

#75

Post by gone35 »

larve wrote: post #60

My list: - The Plenitude - Rich Gold Not a computing book with code but it taught me a lot about what can be done with computers, and that they are marvelous machines. - Architecture of Symbolic Computers - Kogge An ode to what could have been if RISC and x86 hadn't steamrolled the landscape. - Thinking Forth - Leo Brodie Forth is wild, this book is wild, it's really a different world. After multiple attempts over 25…

Excellent list! Thank you.

Re: Quirky computing books

#76

Post by pyuser583 »

roganp wrote: post #32

Expert C Programming: Deep C Secrets https://www.amazon.com/Expert-Programming-Peter-van-Linden/d... Entertaining and informative. Highly recommended.

That book is a joy to read. Doesn’t matter if it’s even accurate. Read it because it’s fun!

Re: Quirky computing books

#77

Post by JoachimS »

My quirky book that I think deserved more attention (the book as well as the subject) is "Stack Computers: the new wave by Philip J. Koopman, Jr":

https://users.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/stack_computers/index.htm...

(The book is free to download by the author.)

Fairly fresh into comp arch, this book really highlighted for me the interaction of HW and SW, and how from a minimal arch we can build and improve it. I'm still sad that stack modern architectures didn't take off as Koopman envisioned it.

Re: Quirky computing books

#80

Post by andyjohnson0 »

Could add The Systems Bible (aka Systemantics) by John Gall. It certainly qualifies as quirky - I think I saw it described somewhere as the book that system designers read under a sheet with a torch at night to avoid being seen with it.
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