The Ray Tracer Challenge
#878 of 2,654 all-time
The Ray Tracer Challenge
Jamis Buck
8 people recommended it in 4 threads, 2019–2024.
What people on Hacker News said
This is my favorite programming book. It provides the test cases for the whole ray tracer, and making them pass was really addictive. I was obsessed with it for the month or so it took to finish.
The Ray Tracer Challenge by Jamis Buck. It uses Cucumber tests to specify the behaviour of the code, without giving you the code. Not a single weekend project.
That’s why I like The Ray Tracer Challenge. He gives you test scenarios and a little bit of pseudo code (sometimes). The actual implementation has to be done by the reader.
there are plenty of books around which can walk you through the whole thing, however, of late, i have found that this: https://pragprog.com/book/jbtracer/the-ray-tracer-challenge is a pretty comprehensive.
Great book - I only abandoned it halfway because my first child was born :)
Where it comes up
- Ask HN: Books that teach programming by building a series of small projects? 2023 · 4 recommendations
- Ask HN: Best non-fiction book you read in 2024? 2024 · 2 recommendations
- Ask HN: What are some books where the reader learns by building projects? 2020 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Fun Tech Book Recommendations? 2019 · 1 recommendation