[HN Gopher] Ask HN: Best value computer science book?
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       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.
        
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       (page generated 2023-07-02 23:00 UTC)