There are several books that every programmer- student or professional should have in their library. Master them and you will know the inner way of geekdom!
The Art of Computer Programming- Knuth, Donald. This is an ongoing multi-volume set by one of the legends in the field. The first three books are Fundamental Algorithms, Seminumerical Algorithms and Sorting and Searching. Dr. Knuth is working on more of these books but I can only vouch for the first three.
The C Programming Langauge- Kerninghan & Ritchie. C has become almost a ubiquitous programming langauge covering all sorts of applications from hard core systems components to user applications. Who better to learn it from than its designers? (I suggest the 2nd edition.) Even if you plan on programming in C++, a strong familiarity with C is very useful. Where do you think all those nifty library routines in C++ come from?
The UNIX Programming Environment- Kernighan & Pike. UNIX and its derivitives account for sizable percentage of the worlds servers. Knowing how to develop software in and for the UNIX environment goes a very long way towards successful employment. This book is a bit dated but its is a good start in learning about development environments.
The Design of the UNIX Operating System- Bach, Maurice. This book is often used as a textbook for undergraduate and graduate level courses in operating systems. It shows you how UNIX works from an under-the-hood viewpoint that many Operating Systems hide like Granny's bloomers.
Numerical Recipes..- Vetterling & Press. There are several versions of this book covering computational numerical methods in FORTRAN, C and C++. Most courses teach the C and C++ versions of this book but the FORTRAN version can come in handy if you have to deal with legecy FORTRAN code.
Introduction to Algorithms (2nd edition)- Cormen, Leiserson, Rivest & Stein. I have been in the business of programming for over 20 years. I still have all my hair and most of my wits because of Knuth's Art of Programming series and this book.
O'Reilly Books- Over the years I've watched this publisher rise from a small geek-press to a publishing powerhouse. Their books maintain a rigorious level of excellence and cover a diverse number of topics. If you must deal with any given software, compiler, operating system or database; chances are that O'Reilly has several indespensable books about it. In fact their book on Sendmail has become the defacto documentation for that vital utility. Bookmark these guys.
I have not covered the topics of Objected-Oriented Programming, Analysis and Design, C++ or JAVA. These are important topics which deserve much more attention than I could give them here. Nicholas Wirth is also an author who deserves a look- Literate Programming is a worthy book.
You may have noticed that the list is UNIX/C oriented because IMHO that is Computer Science. All other OSs are disposable or redundant.
Oh yeah- you don't have to spend a $1000 bucks and get them all new. Check out E-bay, Half.com or Amazon's used books sections for very deep discounts. Just be clear on the edition that you are buying.
With some talent and hard work, this list will take you far.
Best of luck,
OB
why does Sony think the PS3 will sell at $600?
on
How the PS3 Hit $600
·
· Score: 2, Insightful
Because there are enough spoiled kids, dumb parents and gaming yuppies that will buy it for Sony to make a profit.
I have no use for console gaming systems. They are bad model for consumers but the target market just hasn't figured it out yet.
Why would so many bright people that use OPEN SOFTWARE buy PROPRIETARY gaming systems?
For $600, why not buy a PC that can run games and do useful stuff too?
>>Legislating in the absence of real understanding of the issue
Is what is typically done.
Congress has a very bad habit of allowing "industry experts" (lobbyist) to consult (write), legislation about matters in which they have no understanding.
If the lobbyist have their way, they'll do the same thing to the internet that they did to energy policy.
Is the RIAA on acid? They have apparently taken leave of their senses.
What is the difference between XM radio being able to store a few songs and anybody being able to make a tape with a tuner and a casette deck?
Political or Scientific Objectives?
on
Back to the Moon
·
· Score: 1
While I generally support space exploration wholeheartedly because it pushes technology and scientific understanding, I'm not convinced that a trip back to the moon is the best way to proceed. Sure, it sounds exciting, but manned missions are very expensive and is it the best use of the money?
Many science & tech people question manned exploration and the expense involved when compared to robotic exploration. ESA has taken that path and seems to be doing very well with it despite having a budget a mere fraction of NASAs.
True- at this point a man can do in space things that you couldn't expect a robot to do. If we develop smarter and more capable robots, what will they be capable of in 10 or 20 years? If we put some effort and R&D into developing smarter and more capable control software(AI?), self-repairing machines, better sensors- we have many, many earth based applications for that technology.
From a planning standpoint, we've got to look at several things. How do we get the biggest technology return for the money AND the biggest science return for the money? At this point, it looks like robotic exploration of space is the best way to go for the next couple of decades.
>>Did you fall into sleep in the past 20 years and just get up? Do you really believe that CCP is still a communist party? Open up your mind or shut up.
bold words from an anomalous coward.
Yes- it is STILL RED CHINA.
The RED CHINESE have been stealing technologies and intellectual properties for DECADES with the full knowledge and consent of their "central committee".
To act like this guy was caught doing something unethical when RED CHINA is conducting INDUSTRIAL ESPIONAGE on a massive scale is inscrutably disingenuous.
I have tons of online help BS on my computer but when I really need to figure something out, I still reach for Kerningham's C book or Knuth's Art of Computer Programming.
Many would kill themselves in very short order by having endless free supplies of highly addictive drugs.
Next the economy would be turned completely on its head in the chaos of workers not having to work, no demand to supply and every person having no motivation to do anything other than personal hobbies. Very quickly, many humans get so fat, dumb and happy no one can remember who built the replicators and how they work.
Soon radicals discover the more sinister implications of replicator technology and begin mass producing weapons. Then street gangs are armed with apache helicopters and cruise missiles.
Mankind fades into brutal, radioactive extinction when rival gangs start heaving h-bombs at each other.
After years of reading Pravda, you learn Commie-speak.
My translation of this article is: this poor schmuck has fallen out of favor with the Central Committee. After being ordered to replicate western technologies, the Red Chinese now humiliate him as a token whipping boy to allay US/European concerns over intellectual properties.
This poor guy is probably going to be shot and his family will be charged for the bullet. Chances are we'll probably never knows what his real crime was.
This is another example of clueless politicians trying desperately to look like they are doing something useful and making a mess.
The idea behind Sarbanes-Oxley is a good one but the record keeping requirements are redundant. They are already covered by GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles), SEC regulations and various state and federal laws. Sarbanes-Oxley merely adds another layer.
If an ENRON or Worldcomm is cooking the books, another layer isn't going to help. In these cases the real actors in the conspiracy were a tight circle of executives using a set of books that their accountants never saw.
Thanks A.C. I think that I hit some one's sore spot.
More than likely a PHD living comfortably off a gov't chese grant to study nothing of scientific significance.
I may be an Obnoxiousbastard but I call them like I see them.
Here's an idea: lets not fund psuedo-soft-science garbage and concentrate on REAL SCIENCE like Biology, Mathmatics, Physics, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Computer Science, Astronomy, etc- you know- REAL SCIENCES WITH REAL WORLD APPLICATIONS THAT MIGHT BENEFIT THE REAL WORLD- not the tabloids.
XMM Newton, Mars Express and Venus Express, even considering this glitch, have all done very well.
Their program is following the robotic rather than manned approach to exploration, as has been suggested by many scientests. They are getting a lot more science for their buck (or Euro).
ESA, as opposed to NASA, has put scientific objectives first rather than political ones.
Any nation state that allows open access to its
most economically important industries is asking
for trouble. Were I a spymaster for a hostile
power, I would use this program to insert my
agents by the score. You have to wonder why
nations like China and India that so desperately
need scientests and engineers within their own national economies would educate so many
at such a great expense and then allow them to
take off. Every aspect of Chinas society is
state controlled. Believe me, if there were
nothing in it for them, they would not allow it.
So the real question about H1B visas are
threefold: What percentage of them are spies,
who do they work for and what are they after.
Don't make the mistake of thinking that this
stuff is out of style. Proprietary and Economic
intelligence is fair game- NOT just State
Secrets.
The old Soviet Union wrote the book on the
practice of inserting and using sleeper agents.
In 1994 the House Intelligence Committee
found that the Soviet KGB and GRU had more
than 12,000 agents in place in the United States
alone. NATO allies in Europe were also
seriously penetrated.
One of the Soviet Unions nastiest exports before
its collapse was the training of various states
intelligence apparati. Those states were in
no particular order Syria, Iraq*, Iran, Cuba,
Lybia, the PRC, India, North Korea, Yemen,
Viet Nam, revolutionary fronts of all stripes
and presuasions. There were many more.
Sure the Soviet system collapsed under its
own weight but their Intelligence services were
world class. And their ways and means have
been distributed to a host of countries that
are quite hostile to the U.S. The H1B visa
program is too inviting an oppertunity for
spooks to pass up.
================================================
*- Saddam never trusted his Soviet trained Intel
people and had most of them killed.
Slashdot Mirror
There are several books that every programmer- student or professional should have in their library. Master them and you will know the inner way of geekdom!
The Art of Computer Programming- Knuth, Donald. This is an ongoing multi-volume set by one of the legends in the field. The first three books are Fundamental Algorithms, Seminumerical Algorithms and Sorting and Searching. Dr. Knuth is working on more of these books but I can only vouch for the first three.
The C Programming Langauge- Kerninghan & Ritchie. C has become almost a ubiquitous programming langauge covering all sorts of applications from hard core systems components to user applications. Who better to learn it from than its designers? (I suggest the 2nd edition.) Even if you plan on programming in C++, a strong familiarity with C is very useful. Where do you think all those nifty library routines in C++ come from?
The UNIX Programming Environment- Kernighan & Pike. UNIX and its derivitives account for sizable percentage of the worlds servers. Knowing how to develop software in and for the UNIX environment goes a very long way towards successful employment. This book is a bit dated but its is a good start in learning about development environments.
The Design of the UNIX Operating System- Bach, Maurice. This book is often used as a textbook for undergraduate and graduate level courses in operating systems. It shows you how UNIX works from an under-the-hood viewpoint that many Operating Systems hide like Granny's bloomers.
Numerical Recipes..- Vetterling & Press. There are several versions of this book covering computational numerical methods in FORTRAN, C and C++. Most courses teach the C and C++ versions of this book but the FORTRAN version can come in handy if you have to deal with legecy FORTRAN code.
Introduction to Algorithms (2nd edition)- Cormen, Leiserson, Rivest & Stein. I have been in the business of programming for over 20 years. I still have all my hair and most of my wits because of Knuth's Art of Programming series and this book.
O'Reilly Books- Over the years I've watched this publisher rise from a small geek-press to a publishing powerhouse. Their books maintain a rigorious level of excellence and cover a diverse number of topics. If you must deal with any given software, compiler, operating system or database; chances are that O'Reilly has several indespensable books about it. In fact their book on Sendmail has become the defacto documentation for that vital utility. Bookmark these guys.
I have not covered the topics of Objected-Oriented Programming, Analysis and Design, C++ or JAVA. These are important topics which deserve much more attention than I could give them here. Nicholas Wirth is also an author who deserves a look- Literate Programming is a worthy book.
You may have noticed that the list is UNIX/C oriented because IMHO that is Computer Science. All other OSs are disposable or redundant.
Oh yeah- you don't have to spend a $1000 bucks and get them all new. Check out E-bay, Half.com or Amazon's used books sections for very deep discounts. Just be clear on the edition that you are buying.
With some talent and hard work, this list will take you far.
Best of luck,
OB
Because there are enough spoiled kids, dumb parents and gaming yuppies that will buy it for Sony to make a profit.
I have no use for console gaming systems. They are bad model for consumers but the target market just hasn't figured it out yet.
Why would so many bright people that use OPEN SOFTWARE buy PROPRIETARY gaming systems?
For $600, why not buy a PC that can run games and do useful stuff too?
>>Legislating in the absence of real understanding of the issue
Is what is typically done.
Congress has a very bad habit of allowing "industry experts" (lobbyist) to consult (write), legislation about matters in which they have no understanding.
If the lobbyist have their way, they'll do the same thing to the internet that they did to energy policy.
I use Linux.
>>How is this like our solar system?
It is a single star that has planets and an asteroid belt.
Some of the planets that have been recently discovered have been around degenerate objects like neutron stars
A big fraction of stars are in binary or multiple star systems whose gravitational dynamics are thought to make it difficult for planets to form.
The actions of some of our beloved politicians in recent years are make more sense given this discovery.
Is the RIAA on acid? They have apparently taken leave of their senses.
What is the difference between XM radio being able to store a few songs and anybody being able to make a tape with a tuner and a casette deck?
While I generally support space exploration wholeheartedly because it pushes technology and scientific understanding, I'm not convinced that a trip back to the moon is the best way to proceed. Sure, it sounds exciting, but manned missions are very expensive and is it the best use of the money?
Many science & tech people question manned exploration and the expense involved when compared to robotic exploration. ESA has taken that path and seems to be doing very well with it despite having a budget a mere fraction of NASAs.
True- at this point a man can do in space things that you couldn't expect a robot to do. If we develop smarter and more capable robots, what will they be capable of in 10 or 20 years? If we put some effort and R&D into developing smarter and more capable control software(AI?), self-repairing machines, better sensors- we have many, many earth based applications for that technology.
From a planning standpoint, we've got to look at several things. How do we get the biggest technology return for the money AND the biggest science return for the money? At this point, it looks like robotic exploration of space is the best way to go for the next couple of decades.
Thanks for posting those links.
>>Did you fall into sleep in the past 20 years and just get up? Do you really believe that CCP is still a communist party? Open up your mind or shut up.
bold words from an anomalous coward.
Yes- it is STILL RED CHINA.
The RED CHINESE have been stealing technologies and intellectual properties for DECADES with the full knowledge and consent of their "central committee".
To act like this guy was caught doing something unethical when RED CHINA is conducting INDUSTRIAL ESPIONAGE on a massive scale is inscrutably disingenuous.
I have tons of online help BS on my computer but when I really need to figure something out, I still reach for Kerningham's C book or Knuth's Art of Computer Programming.
Sigh... I'm like sooo last century.
Replicators would be a disaster for humanity.
Many would kill themselves in very short order by having endless free supplies of highly addictive drugs.
Next the economy would be turned completely on its head in the chaos of workers not having to work, no demand to supply and every person having no motivation to do anything other than personal hobbies. Very quickly, many humans get so fat, dumb and happy no one can remember who built the replicators and how they work.
Soon radicals discover the more sinister implications of replicator technology and begin mass producing weapons. Then street gangs are armed with apache helicopters and cruise missiles.
Mankind fades into brutal, radioactive extinction when rival gangs start heaving h-bombs at each other.
Game over, no replay.
>>I've scanned about ten of my favorite books a few years ago and have put them into my Kazaa shared folder for anyone to download.
Well see, now there's your problem. Unless it is porno or stolen or better yet stolen porno, most Kaaza users simply aren't interested.
After years of reading Pravda, you learn Commie-speak.
My translation of this article is: this poor schmuck has fallen out of favor with the Central Committee. After being ordered to replicate western technologies, the Red Chinese now humiliate him as a token whipping boy to allay US/European concerns over intellectual properties.
This poor guy is probably going to be shot and his family will be charged for the bullet. Chances are we'll probably never knows what his real crime was.
National Security is a nice dodge for the Feds but I doubt that it will fly for the corperations involved.
Of course **the corperate collaborators** can argue that "the Feds made us do it" but...
Christ this is a mess. The lawyers will be screwing each other over this while our great^10-grand geeks are working on the Y3K bug.
God I hated that movie.
I thought I was going to see a cool alien and all it turned out to be was yet another crazy chick with daddy issues.
Story of me bloody life.
This is another example of clueless politicians trying desperately to look like they are doing something useful and making a mess.
The idea behind Sarbanes-Oxley is a good one but the record keeping requirements are redundant. They are already covered by GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles), SEC regulations and various state and federal laws. Sarbanes-Oxley merely adds another layer.
If an ENRON or Worldcomm is cooking the books, another layer isn't going to help. In these cases the real actors in the conspiracy were a tight circle of executives using a set of books that their accountants never saw.
Thanks A.C. I think that I hit some one's sore spot.
More than likely a PHD living comfortably off a gov't chese grant to study nothing of scientific significance.
I may be an Obnoxiousbastard but I call them like I see them.
Here's an idea: lets not fund psuedo-soft-science garbage and concentrate on REAL SCIENCE like Biology, Mathmatics, Physics, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Computer Science, Astronomy, etc- you know- REAL SCIENCES WITH REAL WORLD APPLICATIONS THAT MIGHT BENEFIT THE REAL WORLD- not the tabloids.
...gives research a bad name.
Who funded their work? Who do they answer too? Why aren't they FIRED, FIRED FIRED!?
More importantly- what legitimate research was overlooked so that this heaping, steaming pile of dung could be funded?
Wonder why we haven't cured AIDS or have an engine that gets 100 MPG? Well, there's your answer.
ESA has a very good track record.
XMM Newton, Mars Express and Venus Express, even considering this glitch, have all done very well.
Their program is following the robotic rather than manned approach to exploration, as has been suggested by many scientests. They are getting a lot more science for their buck (or Euro).
ESA, as opposed to NASA, has put scientific objectives first rather than political ones.
They won't shut up and you just can't shoot them.
You could try being so abusive and nasty that they can't stand you.
It works for me.
-OB
Any nation state that allows open access to its most economically important industries is asking for trouble. Were I a spymaster for a hostile power, I would use this program to insert my agents by the score. You have to wonder why nations like China and India that so desperately need scientests and engineers within their own national economies would educate so many at such a great expense and then allow them to take off. Every aspect of Chinas society is state controlled. Believe me, if there were nothing in it for them, they would not allow it. So the real question about H1B visas are threefold: What percentage of them are spies, who do they work for and what are they after. Don't make the mistake of thinking that this stuff is out of style. Proprietary and Economic intelligence is fair game- NOT just State Secrets. The old Soviet Union wrote the book on the practice of inserting and using sleeper agents. In 1994 the House Intelligence Committee found that the Soviet KGB and GRU had more than 12,000 agents in place in the United States alone. NATO allies in Europe were also seriously penetrated. One of the Soviet Unions nastiest exports before its collapse was the training of various states intelligence apparati. Those states were in no particular order Syria, Iraq*, Iran, Cuba, Lybia, the PRC, India, North Korea, Yemen, Viet Nam, revolutionary fronts of all stripes and presuasions. There were many more. Sure the Soviet system collapsed under its own weight but their Intelligence services were world class. And their ways and means have been distributed to a host of countries that are quite hostile to the U.S. The H1B visa program is too inviting an oppertunity for spooks to pass up. ================================================ *- Saddam never trusted his Soviet trained Intel people and had most of them killed.