Programming Books Recommendations

**vishzilla** · February 27th, 2008

Originally Posted by jespdj

Head First Java is a very popular book, there are more books in the Head First series, for example Head First Design Patterns.

Head First is a good book!!! I recommend it

**darsu** · February 27th, 2008

Originally Posted by kaens

Applied Cryptography
for those who have read cryptonomicon.

I notice a redonkulously big compilation of that and two other Schneier books. I wonder how it can be four inches thick. Are the pages bleepin' cardboard or some ultra-crude paper? Anybody seen a copy? How's the paper and binding quality?

**kaens** · February 27th, 2008

Originally Posted by darsu

I notice a redonkulously big compilation of that and two other Schneier books. I wonder how it can be four inches thick. Are the pages bleepin' cardboard or some ultra-crude paper? Anybody seen a copy? How's the paper and binding quality?

I've got a copy, the print is huge. The binding is fine (although it is softcover), the paper is pretty thick.

**Zwack** · February 28th, 2008

Originally Posted by kaens

I've got a copy, the print is huge. The binding is fine (although it is softcover), the paper is pretty thick.

If the paper is soft as well as thick then it makes it mighty useful...

(Visions of Cohen the barbarian from the Terry Pratchett discworld books swim through my head)...

On the subject of books that aren't about programming but should be read...

The Mythical Man Month by Fred Brooks - It's about why Software engineering projects fail... Or at least why managers can't manage them the way they think they should be able to. One of the big points is that adding Software Engineers to a late project will only make it later.

Z.

**kaens** · February 28th, 2008

Originally Posted by Zwack

The Mythical Man Month by Fred Brooks - It's about why Software engineering projects fail... Or at least why managers can't manage them the way they think they should be able to. One of the big points is that adding Software Engineers to a late project will only make it later.

Z.

Yeah, I found a copy of that at a Goodwill for a dollar! It's a great read and depressingly still relevant.

**elithrar** · February 28th, 2008

Learning Ruby from O'Reilly is very good - it's quite thin, but when you consider that Ruby itself is a very condensed language it works well. Some parts can be skipped if you're a proficient programmer, but it does introduce you to Ruby's syntax, some OO concepts and how Ruby handles loops/flow control/hashes and data types.

Ruby Cookbook is another O'Reilly one. As LaRoza said, most (not all!) of the O'Reilly books are decent. The Cookbook is pretty much a resource for code-snippets and for system admin tasks in Ruby, which is what makes it so useful. It's actually sitting on my desk right now - the problem/solution/discussion format works very well for what it is intended to be. Code snippets are generally basic, but cover alternate solutions and frankly that's all you need to build on and integrate into your own scripts.

I've also got Learning Python & Programming Python waiting in the wings, but I've only read reviews and flicked through them briefly.

Most of the Apress books are pretty decent too, though I wasn't a fan of the "Ruby for System Administration" title they pushed out.

**k2t0f12d** · February 28th, 2008

Linux Programming by Example, by Kurt Wall
Copyright © 2000 by Que® Corporation
International Standard Book Number: 0-7897-2215-1

Synopsis: Introduces programmers familiar with C to the GNU/Linux programming environment. I consider this book, or something similar to it, essential to developing on the GNU/Linux platform. Not to be confused with another, newer book titled Linux Programming by Example: The Fundamentals which I have not yet been able to peruse.

The Art of UNIX Programming, by Eric Steven Raymond
Copyright © 2004 by Pearson Education, Inc.
International Standard Book Number: 0-13-142901-9

Synopsis: The Art of UNIX Programming covers the essential paradigms of the UNIX programming model, its evolution and incorporatiion into other operating systems, and its philosophy. It's goal is not to teach programming as much as the ideas behind how programming has been done.

The C Programming Language, 2nd Ed.
by Brian W. Kernighan and Dennis M. Ritchie
Copyright © 1988 Prentice Hall
International Standard Book Number: 0-13-110370-9

Synopsis: Although an aging text, it remains canonical to many programmers around the world. There are very few that could not benefit from this book.

Professional Assembly Language, by Richard Blum
Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc.
International Standard Book Number: 0-7645-7901-0

Synopsis: I consider this text optional. However, in my experience, I have not seen a better treatment of GNU assembler. Most beneficial to a programming pedant who, like myself, wants to get as close to the hardware as possible.

Programmer's Guide to nCurses, by Dan Gookin
Copyright © 2007 by Wiley Publishing, Inc.
International Standard Book Number: 978-0-470-10759-1

Synopsis: Excellent reference for programmer's familiar with C who wish to write advanced character-cell user interfaces.

Practical C Programming, 3rd Edition, by Steve Oualline
Copyright © 1997 O'Reilly Media, Inc.
International Standard Book Number: 1-5659-2306-5

Synopsis: An indispensable guide to C programming with easy-to-use charts, tables, and look-up cheats.

Beginning C: From Novice to Professional, 4th Ed., by Ivor Horton
Copyright © 2006 by Ivor Horton
International Standard Book Number: 1-59059-735-4

Synopsis: This is the ideal beginner's book to programming with C. It starts with the simplest concepts, leading the reader incrementally into more advanced topics. Combining this book with The C Programming Language, 2nd Ed. would create the perfect programming starter pack.

Sam's Advanced C, by Peter D. Hipson
Copyright © 1992 Sam's Publishing
International Standard Book Number: 0-672-30168-7

Synopsis: Another text covering topics of various skill levels in the C programming language. Despite its title, it is not my opinion that this is more "advanced" then other texts. This book was not my favourite, but I included it anyway since it does effectively provide an alternative point-of-view to programming with C. I wouldn't recommend getting this before any of the others I've mentioned (indeed, if you can even find a copy).

**samjh** · April 23rd, 2008

C++

Accelerated C++: Practical Programming by Example - Koenig & Moo

C++ Primer Plus (5th edition) - S Prata

**JamesUser** · April 23rd, 2008

Algorithms in C by Robert Sedgewick is a pretty good intro and intermediate level book on algorithms.

For Java, I would recommend Core Java Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 from Sun's Press.