Types and Programming Languages
Benjamin C. Pierce
15 people recommended it in 10 threads, 2013–2024.
What people on Hacker News said
Perhaps the answer is to thoroughly read the first few chapters/skim the remainder of Introduction to Algorithms; the Dragon book; Computer Networks/Architecture/etc.: A Systems/Quantitative/etc. Approach; Types and Programming Languages; Security Engineering; AI: A Modern Approach and so on -- that was certainly my experience of undergrad CS.
Benjamin Pierce's "Types and Programming Languages" will help you get down to what programming is really about. If you are not familiar with lambda calculus and its notation, it may be rough going at first. But lambda calculus is VERY simple, and Pierce takes you through it.
Next to SICP, I like the entire "The Little *" series as reading twice (or more) material. And Types and Programming languages. For applicable (in what I do anyway) CS.
Types and Programming Languages, Benjamin Pierce, slightly intimidating mathematically for me but worth diving in, lots of interesting ideas, I'm only through to the second chapter.
I'm kind of in a perpetual re-read of Pierce's Types and Programming Languages.
Understanding types seems to be a real boost to think about architecture, implementation, etc.
I'd also add Types and Programming Languages by Pierce, commonly referred to as TAPL for background on type systems.
Where it comes up
- Ask HN: What language-agnostic programming books should I read? 2017 · 5 recommendations
- Ask HN: What are the most fundamental books on computer science? 2019 · 2 recommendations
- SICP: The only computer science book worth reading twice? (2010) 2024 · 1 recommendation
- Five Books: The best books on everything 2023 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Which books do you consider real gems in your field of work/study? 2022 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: What are the best textbooks in your field of expertise? 2018 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Which book have you re-read recently? 2017 · 1 recommendation
- Programming books you might want to consider reading 2016 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: Which book are you reading these days? 2015 · 1 recommendation
- Ask HN: What book changed your life in 2013? 2013 · 1 recommendation