5 ms·
Brian Kernighan's new book: D is for Digital
- dsr_ 15y agoNobody reading HN is in the target audience for this book. However, we probably have acquaintances and relatives who could benefit.
- brudgers 15y agoThere are probably more than a few HN'ers who are interested in Dennis Richie's take on these things because of their interest in what he thinks. It is analogous to the reasons HN'ers are interested in PG's thoughts about High School.
- dragonquest 15y agoUmmm...the book is authored by Brian Kernighan, not dmr. But I can see that the crux of your argument still holds if you substitute Kernighan back.
- graeme 15y agoA book like that can also be useful for understanding what you take for granted. If Kernighan explains a concept that seems obvious, it's almost certainly because most people haven't a clue about it.
- kalid 15y agoI'm getting it for myself -- Kernighan is a wonderful writer, and I want to see how a master can explain technical concepts gracefully.
- Kartificial 15y agoPerfect gift for my girlfriend :)
- AntiRush 15y agoYep, I just bought it for my girlfriend's Kindle. We've been talking about how computers work lately - this seems like a great supplement. I'm sort of curious to read it, too.
- AntiRush 15y agoYep, I just bought it for my girlfriend's Kindle. We've been talking about how computers work lately - this seems like a great supplement. I'm sort of curious to read it, too.
- blairbits 15y agoAfter a cursory glance, it seems a lot like Code by Petzold[1], or at least a similar concept in less detail. I loved that book, and I know most others did as well. I'd love to take a look at it. [1] http://www.charlespetzold.com/code/ http://www.charlespetzold.com/code/
- graeme 15y agoI read both. D is for Digital takes up where Code leaves off. It's an easier read, Code gets harder near the end. I just starting learning programming in January, and both Code and D is for digital were indispensable for the context they gave me.
- thepumpkin1979 15y agoWhen I read the title my initial though was that this was a new book about D programming language from Digital Mars...
- ocdprogrammer 15y agoMe too. I discovered D ~4 months ago and I liked it a lot. But last week I found Google's Go lang, and after days of bench marking I had to admit that Go is much more suitable for almost anything you would do in D (except inline assembly). Save yourself some time and take a look at Go. You will thank yourself later.
- spinchange 15y agoSome other neat things by and about Mr. Kernighan linked to on this page. Even though this book focuses on rudimentary concepts, I feel like I have to have it on my shelf.
- octopus 15y agoHope to see an updated edition of "The C programming language" for C99.
- luriel 15y agoSadly that is unlikely now that DMR is dead :( But another collaboration with Rob Pike on a book about Go is likely.
- pjmlp 15y agoI had hoped for it as well, but it might never happen. Now we have already C11, and AFAIK there isn't a single compiler that fully supports C99, let alone C11. Then we have companies like Microsoft which nowadays care only about C++, and won't improve the C standard support beyond C89 on their compiler.
- octopus 15y agoI think gcc and (maybe) clang have good support for C99: http://gcc.gnu.org/c99status.html http://gcc.gnu.org/c99status.html
- pjmlp 15y agoGood support is not 100%. Plus not all projects are allowed to use gcc or clang. Case in point, I worked in a project where the UNIX compilers used had to be the standard vendor ones for Aix, HP-UX and Solaris.
- koeselitz 15y agoIn 1978, he co-wrote "The C Programming Language." 34 years later, he's published "D Is For Digital." At this rate, he'll be done with the whole alphabet by the year 2760.
- mahmud 15y agoKnuth-esque ..
- dangravell 15y agoIn the wake of the ignorance highlighted by SOPA et al this book seems prescient. It sounds like a useful tome to pass on to older, yet intelligent, relatives so they can better understand how and what information they enter or leave on the Internet is collected.
- skrebbel 15y agoAm I the only one who thought that Kernighan was yet another D (the programming language) convert upon reading the title?
- k4st 15y agoYup, I thought D (for the language) and Digital for DigitalMars (for the compiler).
- A_A 15y agoThanks! I'm getting the book for myself, as well as for my young nephews/nieces who I'd like to introduce to CS.