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Slashdot Asks: What Are Some Programming Books You Wish You Had Read Earlier?

Posted by msmash on from the let's-get-this-going dept.

A blog post from developer turned writer Marty Jacobs caught my attention earlier this morning. In the post, Jacobs has listed some of the programming books he says he had discovered and read much sooner. He writes, "There are so many programming books out there, sometimes it's hard to know what books are best. Programming itself is so broad and there are so many concepts to learn." You can check out his list here. I was curious what books would you include if you were to make a similar list?

3 of 137 comments (clear)

  1. Kernighan by brausch · · Score: 5, Interesting

    They are old, but all of the books that Brian Kernighan was involved with: Software Tools, The Elements of Programming Style, etc. The writing and editing in these books is excellent. Too bad there isn't a new generation of them.

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  2. Personal favorites: by whh3 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The Art of UNIX Programming by Eric Raymond

    and

    Expert Programming: Deep C Secrets

    The former does a good job, I thought, of outlining what it means to program in the UNIX style. The latter is perfect for a geek like me who wants to learn all about the ins/outs of semantics of a language that I love!

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  3. Martin Fowler's Refactoring by acroyear · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Every fresh-out-of-college kid's first jobs are basically fixing the bugs left behind by the architects and experienced coders who either have left the company or have better things to do with their time.

    Understanding how to make code changes safe is a vital part of that job, so the sooner a kid (I'm 48, they're all kids) is comfortable with the ways to restructure code safely for fixing issues and adding features, the better. It is a core part of modern software engineering, but is rarely taught in schools, at least not actively.

    I developed a habit of this, but would have done so faster and with more confidence had I had the book and the vocabulary in mind.

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