[HN Gopher] Ask HN: Best value computer science book? ___________________________________________________________________ Ask HN: Best value computer science book? I have a book gift card for a 100EUR, on Amazon. Looking for inspiration? Circle of interest : Programming languages, [Symbolic] Logic, algorithms in general sense Circle of non- interest : AI & machine learning, video games programming Author : dgan Score : 26 points Date : 2023-07-02 12:43 UTC (10 hours ago) | manu3000 wrote: | Hard to beat the scope of "The Elements of Computing Systems: | Building a Modern Computer from First Principles": | https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Computing-Systems-Building-P... | The website is here: https://www.nand2tetris.org/ | reaperman wrote: | anything not available on http://libgen.rs | rmorey wrote: | programming pearls is quite cheap i think | dehrmann wrote: | Is there a shortage of good, free CS material? | ZoomZoomZoom wrote: | There's a few solid free books on algorithms, but I'm not aware | of anything comparable to "Concepts, techniques, and models of | computer programming" by Peter Van Roy and Seif Haridi available | for free, (besides SICP and HtDP) so my advice is to check it out | and then buy it. | jldugger wrote: | Used textbooks can get pretty cheap when you don't need the exact | edition for the problem sets. | | Textbooks I still have: | | - Operating Systems, Tannenbaum | | - MINIX, Tannenbaum | | - Computer Networks, Tannenbaum | | Not schoolbooks: | | - UNIX & Linux System Administrator Handbook | | - The Linux Programming Interface | | - Time Management for System Administrators, Limoncelli | | - The Practice of System and Network Management, Limocelli et al. | | NonCS: | | - Statistics, Freedman | | - MLA Handbook | | - Technical Communication, Markel | jldugger wrote: | Oh, and one book I rather enjoyed was Ideas That Created the | Future, which is not exactly a textbook (but is probably used | by the author as such) so much as a survey on the history of | computer science via primary sources. Each source has a 1-2 | page summary providing context, but the meat is reading the | original papers on computer design, Complexity Theory, various | papers on logic and proofs and proofs of software properties, | theorem provers, NP completeness, neural networks, etc. | | One thing I learned is that the idea of a computational neural | network predates actual working general purpose computers by a | few years, and is actually cited in the construction of | computers as an inspiration. | | https://direct.mit.edu/books/edited-volume/5003/Ideas-That-C... | rosencrantz wrote: | My favorite is The Turtle Book "Computer Science" by Aho & | Ullman. I also liked the books "Computer Algorithms" (by Baase et | al), The Wizard Book, The Dragon Book, The Tiger Book (about | compiler) and "The Comet Book" (about os) | glimshe wrote: | Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs. If you can | only buy one book about Computer Science in your life, that's the | one to get. It's not dirt cheap (even used), but it's an | incredible value nonetheless: | | https://www.amazon.com/Structure-Interpretation-Computer-Pro... | SinePost wrote: | It is also available to read online for free. | | https://web.mit.edu/6.001/6.037/sicp.pdf (Second edition) | | https://sicp.sourceacademy.org/sicpjs.pdf (JavaScript edition) | dijit wrote: | I have this book, it's very... lispy. | turtleyacht wrote: | ThriftBooks is on Amazon: | | ThriftBooks Atlanta storefront: | https://www.amazon.com/s?i=merchant-items&me=A1QJ4UH6FW3UH1 | | ThriftBooks Chicago storefront: | https://www.amazon.com/s?i=merchant-items&me=A365C2XG0O7B0H | | Might also be possible to purchase a Visa gift card for a little | extra, and then try the official Thriftbooks site: | | https://www.thriftbooks.com | | With the converted gift card, Humble Bundle (ebooks): | | https://www.humblebundle.com/books | | Math and CS concepts rarely expire. | gpvos wrote: | But which book then? | ufo wrote: | If you're interested in implementing programming languages: | Crafting Interpreters, by Robert Nystrom | https://craftinginterpreters.com/ | | Most accessible compilers book out there. | cinntaile wrote: | It would be nice if people could add why their suggestion is the | best value computer science book, now it's just a bunch of | suggestions without any context. | waiwai933 wrote: | Do you already have the standard undergraduate books? | | * Introduction to Algorithms (Cormen, Leiserson, Rivest, Stein) | | * Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools (Aho, Lam, Sethi, | Ullman) | | Knuth is also great to have as a reference - I've only needed to | consult it professionally two or three times, but it's saved a | _lot_ of time when I have. | pcl wrote: | CLR is a fantastic book. (I haven't read the updated editions, | but I would assume the latest holds up.) | GuestHNUser wrote: | Latest edition is remarkably good. It's my recommendation for | anyone wanting to start diving into algorithms. | patrickthebold wrote: | Here's a free algorithms book: | https://jeffe.cs.illinois.edu/teaching/algorithms/book/Algor... | | It's got to be a good value! | jtokoph wrote: | Jeff was also my favorite CS instructor at UIUC. He really knew | how to help you learn how to think and solve problems. | ljhsiung wrote: | Best teacher I've ever had, hardest exams I've ever taken :( | :( | medler wrote: | Really hard to make a recommendation without knowing what you | know, where you're at in your computer science education, what | you've already read and liked, etc. | Emigre_ wrote: | Symbolic Logic and The Game of Logic, by Lewis Carroll | | Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces, by Remzi H. Arpaci-Dusseau | and Andrea C. Arpaci-Dusseau | nextos wrote: | Program = Proof, Samuel Mimram: | https://www.lix.polytechnique.fr/Labo/Samuel.Mimram/teaching.... | Also available as hardcopy in Amazon. ___________________________________________________________________ (page generated 2023-07-02 23:00 UTC)