The best computer science books, according to hackers
7 computer science books recommended in Hacker News comments over the past year, ranked by how many separate people recommend each one.
- Most recommendedThe Garbage Collection Handbook by Jones, Hosking and Moss16 people recommend it
- Least regretCode: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software by Charles Petzold12 recommend, 0 criticize
- Free and lovedBeej's Guide to Learning Computer Science by Brian Hall15 people recommend it
All computer science books
- The Garbage Collection Handbook by Jones, Hosking and MossRecommended as a thorough, authoritative guide to garbage collection, especially real-time algorithms. Critics object to the ebook's price and format.16recommend
- Beej's Guide to Learning Computer Science by Brian HallPraised as a long-standing reference that helps people approach coding problems and learn C and networking. Critics say it teaches how to learn rather than computer science itself.15recommend
- Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software by Charles PetzoldExplains how computers work from wires and switches up to software, and is praised as a delightful classic.12recommend
- The Unix-Haters Handbook by Garfinkel, Weise and StrassmannRecommended as a sharp, memorable critique of Unix design that has stayed with some readers for years. One critic dismisses it as biased, and another says it does not go far enough.8recommend
- Code by Charles PetzoldRecommended for explaining how a digital computer works, from relays up to computation, in readable prose. Critics note that most images are missing from the latest printings.7recommend
- The Annotated Turing by Charles PetzoldRecommended as an accessible, insightful walk through Turing's 1936 paper on computable numbers, mixing biography with technical analysis; no criticism appeared in the quotes.5recommend
- Communicating Sequential Processes by Tony HoarePeople recommend it as a simple, foundational text on designing reliable concurrent systems, and as an accessible read for newcomers to computer science research.4recommend