Ask HN: What is the best programming book you've read? ↗

The books people recommended

2021-09-26 · 63 points · 54 comments · 26 books named by at least one person here and at least 3 people overall. The number on the left is how many people named it in this thread.

6
The C Programming Language
Brian Kernighan, Dennis Ritchie
6 here · 124 all-time · #15 overall
Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 182 ratings on Amazon
3
Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
Harold Abelson
3 here · 316 all-time · #2 overall
Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 742 ratings on Amazon
2
Code Complete
Steve McConnell
2 here · 108 all-time · #22 overall
Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 1,353 ratings on Amazon
2
The Pragmatic Programmer
Andrew Hunt and David Thomas
2 here · 102 all-time · #26 overall
Buy on Amazon4.8 out of 5, 3,644 ratings on Amazon
2
The Little Schemer
Daniel P. Friedman, Matthias Felleisen
2 here · 51 all-time · #81 overall
Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 185 ratings on Amazon
2
Clean Code
Robert C. Martin
2 here · 47 all-time · #91 overall
Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 6,810 ratings on Amazon
2Effective Java
Effective Java
Joshua Bloch
2 here · 21 all-time · #293 overall
Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 1,623 ratings on Amazon
2
How to Design Programs
Matthias Felleisen
2 here · 21 all-time · #299 overall
Buy on Amazon4.4 out of 5, 97 ratings on Amazon
2From Mathematics to Generic Programming
From Mathematics to Generic Programming
Alexander Stepanov and Daniel E. Rose
2 here · 4 all-time · #1801 overall
2Understanding Software
Understanding Software
Max Kanat-Alexander
2 here · 3 all-time · #2486 overall
1
Code
Charles Petzold
1 here · 147 all-time · #12 overall
Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 2,787 ratings on Amazon
1
The Art of Computer Programming
Donald Knuth
1 here · 127 all-time · #14 overall
Buy on Amazon4.5 out of 5, 203 ratings on Amazon
1
Designing Data-Intensive Applications
Martin Kleppmann
1 here · 104 all-time · #24 overall
Buy on Amazon4.8 out of 5, 5,595 ratings on Amazon
1
Refactoring
Martin Fowler
1 here · 37 all-time · #132 overall
Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 1,228 ratings on Amazon
1Practical Common Lisp
Practical Common Lisp
Peter Seibel
1 here · 16 all-time · #400 overall
Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 120 ratings on Amazon
1Effective C++
Effective C++
Scott Meyers
1 here · 15 all-time · #437 overall
Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 1,177 ratings on Amazon
1You Don't Know JS
You Don't Know JS
Kyle Simpson
1 here · 15 all-time · #445 overall
Buy on Amazon4.6 out of 5, 1,641 ratings on Amazon
1Game Programming Patterns
Game Programming Patterns
Robert Nystrom
1 here · 11 all-time · #577 overall
Buy on Amazon4.7 out of 5, 1,556 ratings on Amazon
1Unix Network Programming
Unix Network Programming
W. Richard Stevens
1 here · 9 all-time · #696 overall
1Software Design for Flexibility
Software Design for Flexibility
Gerald Jay Sussman
1 here · 8 all-time · #895 overall
1Growing Object-Oriented Software Guided by Tests
Growing Object-Oriented Software Guided by Tests
Steve Freeman and Nat Pryce
1 here · 6 all-time · #1070 overall
1The Little Typer
The Little Typer
David Reegory, Daniel P. Friedman
1 here · 6 all-time · #1144 overall
1Game Scripting Mastery
Game Scripting Mastery
Alex Varanese
1 here · 4 all-time · #1588 overall
1Object Oriented Software Construction
Object Oriented Software Construction
Bertrand Meyer
1 here · 4 all-time · #1617 overall
1Eloquent Ruby
Eloquent Ruby
Russ Olsen
1 here · 4 all-time · #1646 overall
1The AWK Programming Language
The AWK Programming Language
Alfred Aho
1 here · 3 all-time · #2101 overall