

Must-read programming books? - mippie_moe

Other than classics such as "Design Patterns", "Art of Computer Programming", and "SICP" what are some modern gems?
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dgunn
I see this question constantly on HN. Maybe off topic, but do people read
books to learn programming? There are a lot of great sources online for
learning even the most obscure concepts. Online sources also have the benefit
of not being old information. When one begins writing a book, it could be
years before it's in the hands of readers. Just seems like a weird way to
learn something (especially programming) these days.

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AlexFromBelgium
I get my recommendations from stackoverflow mostly, so I know the books I read
are good. My brain knows the information is legit and takes it all in.

On the internet I spend too long reading short pieces, reviews, articles... A
book is nice and LONG :)

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cldrope
Anytime I'm going to poke into a topic I like to nab one of the Head First
books. They're a fast, easy way to learn a topic and after I'm done with it
and into it deeply I'll find a dry reference.

The Pragmatic Programmer Meta-programming at it's finest. Be a better
programmer.

Joel on software blog: Here's an example post.
<http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000043.html>

There's quite a bit to learn in there.

Many other books available free online. Primarily I suggest you read to an
end, and as you get to a stagnation point you alternate between reading to
learn new technologies or languages and reading to improve yourself as a
programmer.

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rhomboss
Even if you have no real interest in C, check out K&R if you haven't. It's a
near flawless (imo) example of technical writing and language introduction.

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zkan
I would recommend "The Art of Readable Code" by Boswell. It is very well-
written and enjoyable.

[http://www.amazon.com/The-Readable-Code-Dustin-
Boswell/dp/05...](http://www.amazon.com/The-Readable-Code-Dustin-
Boswell/dp/0596802293)

