The Architecture of Open Source Applications
The Architecture of Open Source Applications by Amy Brown and Greg Wilsonby Amy Brown and Greg Wilson
Hacker ApprovedRanked 5 of 21 software engineering books by recommenders
Learn software architecture by example: each chapter is written by a maintainer of a real open source project, showing how to think about application design.
Learn software architecture by example: each chapter is written by a maintainer of a real open source project, showing how to think about application design.
13 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 13
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 13 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Chapters written by real project maintainers
“It's a book series where you learn architecture by example, with each chapter written by a maintainer of the project in question.”
Comment from 12 May 2026 in “Learning Software Architecture” “I do like the fact that these are all examples of actual projects”
Comment from 25 Aug 2026 in “The Architecture of Open Source Applications” Teaches systems design and application thinking
“There are enough details/notes here from experts to show one how to think about an application”
Comment from 31 Dec 2025 in “Project ideas to appreciate the art of programming” “I learned a lot about systems design from it.”
Comment from 8 Feb 2026 in “The Architecture of Open Source Applications (Volume 1) Berkeley DB” Appealing series format
“I really appreciate the documentaries by CultRepo and the "Architecture of Open Source Applications" books”
Comment from 14 Nov 2025 in “The Silent Scientist: When Software Research Fails to Reach Its Audience” “there's just something about the series that I like”
Comment from 29 May 2026 in “Ask HN: Any advice on how to learn good software architecture practices?”
Other software engineering books people recommend
The four most recommended other software engineering books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Mythical Man-Monthby Fred Brooks | 56 | 3 | 95% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Designing Data-Intensive Applicationsby Martin Kleppmann | 37 | 1 | 97% | 12 | — | Approved |
| A Philosophy of Software Designby John Ousterhout | 28 | 1 | 97% | 11 | — | Approved |
| Code Completeby Steve McConnell | 14 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| The Architecture of Open Source Applicationsby Amy Brown and Greg WilsonThis page | 13 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
What people said
10 of the 14 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“still one of the best "what is this" explorations of the tech world out there”
“I do like the fact that these are all examples of actual projects”
“there's just something about the series that I like”
“It's a book series where you learn architecture by example, with each chapter written by a maintainer of the project in question.”
“I learned a lot about systems design from it.”
“Loved this chapter, great design, well written.”
“There are enough details/notes here from experts to show one how to think about an application”
“Absolutely fantastic, thank you!”
“You might be more interested in books than a blog.”
“I really appreciate the documentaries by CultRepo and the "Architecture of Open Source Applications" books”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.