Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

TAOCP is awesome. If I had been advised to read it when I was 15, I probably would have either studied it as hard as I could, or given up after the first few pages. It's pretty intense material for a beginner, in my opinion. But only you can judge for yourself. Take a look at a copy of it, if you can, before you buy it. TAOCP focuses on algorithms and other microscopic aspects of programming; it may not offer much insight into building whole software applications.

Also, you might consider looking at Don Knuth's book Concrete Mathematics, which is a somewhat more casual coverage of the math chapter in the first volume of TAOCP.

You mention in a comment that you want to learn software architecture. I really like this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Software-Architecture-Primer-John-Reek...

If you're into web applications at all, perhaps the best book to understand the basics of design is:

http://philip.greenspun.com/seia/

Either way, don't give up on TAOCP. Whether if you're ready for it now, or if you want to wait a few years, it's great that you're interested in reading it, and I would encourage you to study it as much as you can, if you discover that you are indeed intrigued by the topics it covers.




Thanks, and which language should I focus on the most? Currently I know PHP and lately have started playing around with python too. Should I stick with pyhton or try out C or C++ before too as I have really less experience with C.


I suggest Python. PHP is okay enough for web applications, but suboptimal for just about anything else. C is certainly worth learning, but can be challenging to use. Python is a pretty good language to learn with, and is perfectly usable for real projects.


What are the best books for pyhton, I have started reading How to Think Like a Computer Scientist, is it good enough or should I start with some other book? P.S. I know pyhton, but want to further improve my skills in it.


I'd go with C. The fact that it's challenging is exactly why you should learn it at this stage.

Many of my generation went Basic -> Assembly, and PHP -> C is not a dissimilar sequence.




Join us for AI Startup School this June 16-17 in San Francisco!

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: