# Concepts, Techniques, and Models of Computer Programming by Van Roy and Haridi

3 Hacker News commenters recommended Concepts, Techniques, and Models of Computer Programming by Van Roy and Haridi and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended for teaching how programming paradigms fit together on a simple core language, and for building strong fundamentals that make learning new languages faster.

## Why people recommend it

- Builds primitives that speed learning languages (1 comments): "made me primed to learn a lot of languages fast - because I had the primitives mastered" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46551881))
- Shows adding paradigms to a core language (1 comments): "Shows how to organically add different programming paradigms to a simple core language." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47824273))
- Feels like a cool new book (1 comments): "In my mind it's still a cool new book." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47804786))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs by Abelson and Sussman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/structure-and-interpretation-of-computer-programs.md): 55 recommend
- [The Art of Computer Programming by Donald E. Knuth](https://hackerapproved.com/p/art-of-computer-programming.md): 28 recommend
- [Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs by Abelson and Sussman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/sicp.md): 12 recommend
- [Quantum Computation and Quantum Information by Nielsen and Chuang](https://hackerapproved.com/p/quantum-computation-and-quantum-information.md): 12 recommend
- [Digital Design and Computer Architecture by Harris and Harris](https://hackerapproved.com/p/digital-design-and-computer-architecture.md): 8 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/dp/0262220695?tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Bookshop.org](https://bookshop.org/a/130825/9780262220699) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Concepts, Techniques, and Models of Computer Programming by Van Roy and Haridi", https://hackerapproved.com/p/concepts-techniques-and-models-of-computer-programming/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).