The Elements of Programming Style
#697 of 2,654 all-time
The Elements of Programming Style
Brian Kernighan and P. J. Plauger
9 people recommended it in 9 threads, 2011–2024.
What people on Hacker News said
And of course The Elements of Programming Style is a classic.. The lessons seem like clichés now, but there was a time when things that seem obvious now were hotly debated.
It's all PLI and Fortran, with lots of GOTO being harmful examples, but surprisingly much of it is still relevant. It's a quick read and interesting look at some of the problems they had back then (and some that we still create plenty of today).
Just dropping in to say that The Elements of Programming Style is worth reading three times — and I have read it many more times than that, and benefitted from it.
Where it comes up
- SICP: The only computer science book worth reading twice? (2010) 2024 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: What are the most eye-opening textbooks you have ever read? 2023 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: The book that did it for you in math and/or CS? 2022 · 1 recommendation
- Books that changed my career as a software engineer 2021 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Best books under 200 pages for developers? 2020 · 1 recommendation
- Books I recommend to my software engineering students 2020 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: What language-agnostic programming books should I read? 2017 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: What's the best programming book you've read recently? 2014 · 1 recommendation
- What is the single most influential book every programmer should read? 2011 · 1 recommendation