4 ms·

Ask HN: What are some must read books for computer programmers?

14 points by apexkid 9y ago

WalterSear 9y ago
This is a bit of a how long is a piece of string question. However, here are a bunch of articles regarding papers every programmer should read: https://web.archive.org/web/20121024173845/http://blog.objectmentor.com/articles/2009/02/26/10-papers-every-programmer-should-read-at-least-twice https://web.archive.org/web/20121024173845/http://blog.objec... http://blog.fogus.me/2011/09/08/10-technical-papers-every-programmer-should-read-at-least-twice/ http://blog.fogus.me/2011/09/08/10-technical-papers-every-pr...
mindcrime 9y ago
Gosh, there's so many. But these come to mind: 1. Neuromancer - William Gibson 2. Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson 3. Hackers - Heroes of the Computer Revolution - Steven Levy 4. How to Measure Anything - Douglas Hubbard 5. Godel, Escher, Bach - Douglas Hofstadter 6. The Pragmatic Programmer - Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas 7. The Soul of a New Machine - Tracy Kidder 8. Code - Charles Petzold 9. The Shockwave Rider - John Brunner 10. Ambient Findability: What We Find Changes Who We Become Book - Peter Morville 11. Don't Make Me Think - Steve Krug 12. The Design of Everyday Things - Donald A. Norman 13. The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering - Fred Brooks 14. Decline and Fall of the American Programmer - Ed Yourdon 15. Cube Farm - Bill Blunden 16. The Philip K. Dick Reader 17. The Cuckoo's Egg - Clifford Stoll 18. The Prince - Niccolò Machiavelli 19. The 48 Laws of Power - Robert Greene 20. The Atrocity Archives - Charles Stross 21. Business @ the Speed of Thought: Using a Digital Nervous System - Bill Gates
code_Whisperer 9y ago
Some choice fiction: Daemon, by Daniel Suarez Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson Gold Bug Variations, by Richard Powers Galatea 2.2, by Richard Powers Off to Be the Wizard, by Scott Meyer Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline Neuromancer, by William Gibson The Adolescence Of P-1, by Thomas J. Ryan (from when I was just a kid)
shubhamjain 9y ago
Slightly off-topic but around a month back, I curated all Hacker News book related threads on a web page[1]. There have been multiple discussion related to technical books; lots of awesome recommendations. [1]: https://stuff.shubhamjain.co/hn-book-threads/ https://stuff.shubhamjain.co/hn-book-threads/

14 points by apexkid 9y ago

This is a bit of a how long is a piece of string question. However, here are a bunch of articles regarding papers every programmer should read: https://web.archive.org/web/20121024173845/http://blog.objectmentor.com/articles/2009/02/26/10-papers-every-programmer-should-read-at-least-twice https://web.archive.org/web/20121024173845/http://blog.objec... http://blog.fogus.me/2011/09/08/10-technical-papers-every-programmer-should-read-at-least-twice/ http://blog.fogus.me/2011/09/08/10-technical-papers-every-pr...

mindcrime 9y ago

Gosh, there's so many. But these come to mind: 1. Neuromancer - William Gibson 2. Snow Crash - Neal Stephenson 3. Hackers - Heroes of the Computer Revolution - Steven Levy 4. How to Measure Anything - Douglas Hubbard 5. Godel, Escher, Bach - Douglas Hofstadter 6. The Pragmatic Programmer - Andy Hunt and Dave Thomas 7. The Soul of a New Machine - Tracy Kidder 8. Code - Charles Petzold 9. The Shockwave Rider - John Brunner 10. Ambient Findability: What We Find Changes Who We Become Book - Peter Morville 11. Don't Make Me Think - Steve Krug 12. The Design of Everyday Things - Donald A. Norman 13. The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering - Fred Brooks 14. Decline and Fall of the American Programmer - Ed Yourdon 15. Cube Farm - Bill Blunden 16. The Philip K. Dick Reader 17. The Cuckoo's Egg - Clifford Stoll 18. The Prince - Niccolò Machiavelli 19. The 48 Laws of Power - Robert Greene 20. The Atrocity Archives - Charles Stross 21. Business @ the Speed of Thought: Using a Digital Nervous System - Bill Gates

code_Whisperer 9y ago

Some choice fiction: Daemon, by Daniel Suarez Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson Gold Bug Variations, by Richard Powers Galatea 2.2, by Richard Powers Off to Be the Wizard, by Scott Meyer Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline Neuromancer, by William Gibson The Adolescence Of P-1, by Thomas J. Ryan (from when I was just a kid)

shubhamjain 9y ago

Slightly off-topic but around a month back, I curated all Hacker News book related threads on a web page[1]. There have been multiple discussion related to technical books; lots of awesome recommendations. [1]: https://stuff.shubhamjain.co/hn-book-threads/ https://stuff.shubhamjain.co/hn-book-threads/