# NSFW Acronyms for Programmers by Ben Ruckman

7 Hacker News commenters recommended NSFW Acronyms for Programmers by Ben Ruckman and 0 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 1 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended as an easy, refreshing read that humorously summarizes programming's main points. Critics note the author wrongly treats tests as a reliability indicator.

## Why people recommend it

- Easy to read, refreshing style (2 comments): "this book is unexpectedly easy to read! Examples can a bit wonky at some spots, but the overall theme and feel seems very refreshing to me!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46492555)) "I will certainly come back to the rest of the chapters but wanted to acknowledge your great writing." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46493315))
- Humorous, memorable examples (2 comments): "I really liked the example of the discounts applied to the shopping cart" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46493363)) "I genuinely chuckled at the PISS one!" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46490971))

## What people warn about

- Wrongly treats tests as reliability (1 comments): "the author incorrectly assumes that tests are used as a reliability indicator" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46491974))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Crafting Interpreters by Robert Nystrom](https://hackerapproved.com/p/crafting-interpreters.md): 60 recommend
- [Clean Code by Robert C. Martin](https://hackerapproved.com/p/clean-code.md): 31 recommend
- [The Pragmatic Programmer by Hunt and Thomas](https://hackerapproved.com/p/pragmatic-programmer.md): 28 recommend
- [How to Design Programs by Felleisen, Findler, Flatt and Krishnamurthi](https://hackerapproved.com/p/how-to-design-programs.md): 18 recommend
- [Mastering Emacs by Mickey Petersen](https://hackerapproved.com/p/mastering-emacs.md): 17 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=NSFW+Acronyms+for+Programmers&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "NSFW Acronyms for Programmers by Ben Ruckman", https://hackerapproved.com/p/nsfw-acronyms-for-programmers/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).