I'm curious if you have a favorite CS book specifically for the way it was written and how the author communicated their ideas.
Ask HN: What are some of the best well-written books on computer science?
1–10 of 62 posts
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best well-written books on computer science?
#2N. Wirth: Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best well-written books on computer science?
#3not sure i know (or remember) any book that covers the entire field. but i never miss a chance to tell people about "the c programming language" by k&r.
one of a kind and, for some of us, the best book on programming ever written. i would love to see it updated to modern c.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best well-written books on computer science?
#4The C programming Language
By Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M. Ritchie.
It will change your life. Or at least your approach to programming.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best well-written books on computer science?
#5The Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, by Abelson and Sussman.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best well-written books on computer science?
#6The Pragmatic Programmer is still the standard handbook of best engineering practices.
Test Driven Development by Example, by Kent Beck is a great book, and it's aged well too. There's a lot of good 3rd party material on most concepts, but for TDD the first source is still the best.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best well-written books on computer science?
#7The C Programming Language, 2nd edition.
Introduction To Operating System Abstractions Using Plan9 From Bell Labs.
https://doc.cat-v.org/plan_9/9.intro.pdf
Today you can just use 9front.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best well-written books on computer science?
#8not sure i know (or remember) any book that covers the entire field. but i never miss a chance to tell people about "the c programming language" by k&r. one of a kind and, for some of us, the best book on programming ever written. i would love to see it updated to modern c.
What do you like about K&R so much? I was excited to dive into it during the C systems programming class I took in school, and it was fine, but I didn’t understand the hype. And I loved learning C / usually care about things like this.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best well-written books on computer science?
#9not sure i know (or remember) any book that covers the entire field. but i never miss a chance to tell people about "the c programming language" by k&r. one of a kind and, for some of us, the best book on programming ever written. i would love to see it updated to modern c.
What do you like about K&R so much? I was excited to dive into it during the C systems programming class I took in school, and it was fine, but I didn’t understand the hype. And I loved learning C / usually care about things like this.
For at least some people, K&R just "clicks". It's written in a way that is crystal clear (to at least some people).
In my case, I read K&R over a Thanksgiving weekend, and I understood all of it[1], even without a compiler to try things out on.
[1] Except for passing command-line arguments into a program (argc and argv). Couldn't understand that one without experimental results.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best well-written books on computer science?
#10Knuth'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.