Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software


Charles Petzold - 1999
    And through CODE, we see how this ingenuity and our very human compulsion to communicate have driven the technological innovations of the past two centuries. Using everyday objects and familiar language systems such as Braille and Morse code, author Charles Petzold weaves an illuminating narrative for anyone who’s ever wondered about the secret inner life of computers and other smart machines. It’s a cleverly illustrated and eminently comprehensible story—and along the way, you’ll discover you’ve gained a real context for understanding today’s world of PCs, digital media, and the Internet. No matter what your level of technical savvy, CODE will charm you—and perhaps even awaken the technophile within.

Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship


Robert C. Martin - 2007
    But if code isn't clean, it can bring a development organization to its knees. Every year, countless hours and significant resources are lost because of poorly written code. But it doesn't have to be that way. Noted software expert Robert C. Martin presents a revolutionary paradigm with Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship . Martin has teamed up with his colleagues from Object Mentor to distill their best agile practice of cleaning code on the fly into a book that will instill within you the values of a software craftsman and make you a better programmer but only if you work at it. What kind of work will you be doing? You'll be reading code - lots of code. And you will be challenged to think about what's right about that code, and what's wrong with it. More importantly, you will be challenged to reassess your professional values and your commitment to your craft. Clean Code is divided into three parts. The first describes the principles, patterns, and practices of writing clean code. The second part consists of several case studies of increasing complexity. Each case study is an exercise in cleaning up code - of transforming a code base that has some problems into one that is sound and efficient. The third part is the payoff: a single chapter containing a list of heuristics and "smells" gathered while creating the case studies. The result is a knowledge base that describes the way we think when we write, read, and clean code. Readers will come away from this book understanding ‣ How to tell the difference between good and bad code‣ How to write good code and how to transform bad code into good code‣ How to create good names, good functions, good objects, and good classes‣ How to format code for maximum readability ‣ How to implement complete error handling without obscuring code logic ‣ How to unit test and practice test-driven development This book is a must for any developer, software engineer, project manager, team lead, or systems analyst with an interest in producing better code.

Arduino For Dummies


John Nussey - 2013
    Arduino allows anyone, whether you're an artist, designer, programmer or hobbyist, tolearn about and play with electronics. Through this book you learnhow to build a variety of circuits that can sense or control thingsin the real world. Maybe you'll prototype your own product orcreate a piece of interactive artwork? This book equips you witheverything you'll need to build your own Arduino project, but whatyou make is up to you! If you're ready to bring your ideas into thereal world or are curious about the possibilities, this book is foryou. ? Learn by doing ? start building circuits and programmingyour Arduino with a few easy to follow examples - rightaway!? Easy does it ? work through Arduino sketches line by linein plain English, to learn of how a they work and how to write yourown? Solder on! ? Only ever used a breadboard in the kitchen?Don't know your soldering iron from a curling iron? No problem, you'll be prototyping in no time? Kitted out ? discover new and interesting hardware to makeyour Arduino into anything from a mobile phone to a geigercounter!? Become an Arduino savant ? learn all about functions, arrays, libraries, shields and other tools of the trade to takeyour Arduino project to the next level.? Get social ? teach your Arduino to communicate withsoftware running on a computer to link the physical world with thevirtual worldIt's hardware, it's software, it's fun! Start building the nextcool gizmo with Arduino and Arduino For Dummies.

The Art of Electronics


Paul Horowitz - 1980
    Widely accepted as the authoritative text and reference on electronic circuit design, both analog and digital, this book revolutionized the teaching of electronics by emphasizing the methods actually used by circuit designers -- a combination of some basic laws, rules of thumb, and a large bag of tricks. The result is a largely nonmathematical treatment that encourages circuit intuition, brainstorming, and simplified calculations of circuit values and performance. The new Art of Electronics retains the feeling of informality and easy access that helped make the first edition so successful and popular. It is an ideal first textbook on electronics for scientists and engineers and an indispensable reference for anyone, professional or amateur, who works with electronic circuits.

From Mathematics to Generic Programming


Alexander A. Stepanov - 2014
    If you're a reasonably proficient programmer who can think logically, you have all the background you'll need. Stepanov and Rose introduce the relevant abstract algebra and number theory with exceptional clarity. They carefully explain the problems mathematicians first needed to solve, and then show how these mathematical solutions translate to generic programming and the creation of more effective and elegant code. To demonstrate the crucial role these mathematical principles play in many modern applications, the authors show how to use these results and generalized algorithms to implement a real-world public-key cryptosystem. As you read this book, you'll master the thought processes necessary for effective programming and learn how to generalize narrowly conceived algorithms to widen their usefulness without losing efficiency. You'll also gain deep insight into the value of mathematics to programming--insight that will prove invaluable no matter what programming languages and paradigms you use. You will learn aboutHow to generalize a four thousand-year-old algorithm, demonstrating indispensable lessons about clarity and efficiencyAncient paradoxes, beautiful theorems, and the productive tension between continuous and discreteA simple algorithm for finding greatest common divisor (GCD) and modern abstractions that build on itPowerful mathematical approaches to abstractionHow abstract algebra provides the idea at the heart of generic programmingAxioms, proofs, theories, and models: using mathematical techniques to organize knowledge about your algorithms and data structuresSurprising subtleties of simple programming tasks and what you can learn from themHow practical implementations can exploit theoretical knowledge

Pro Git


Scott Chacon - 2009
    It took the open source world by storm since its inception in 2005, and is used by small development shops and giants like Google, Red Hat, and IBM, and of course many open source projects.A book by Git experts to turn you into a Git expert. Introduces the world of distributed version control Shows how to build a Git development workflow.

Nmap Cookbook: The Fat-free Guide to Network Scanning


Nicholas Marsh - 2010
    Every Nmap feature is covered with visual examples to help you quickly understand and identify proper usage for practical results.Topics covered include:* Installation on Windows, Mac OS X, Unix/Linux platforms* Basic and advanced scanning techniques* Network inventory and security auditing* Firewall evasion techniques* Zenmap - A graphical front-end for Nmap* NSE - The Nmap Scripting Engine* Ndiff - A Nmap scan comparison utilitySimplified coverage of Nmap 5.00 features.

The Senior Software Engineer


David B. Copeland - 2013
    This book isn't about that - it's about everything else. As such, there's very little code inside, meaning everyone from PHP hackers to hardcore embedded C programmers will get a lot out of it.This book covers 10 topics crucial to being an amazing developer:Focus on Delivering ResultsFix Bugs Efficiently and CleanlyAdd Features with EaseDeal With Technical Debt and SlopPlay Well With OthersMake Technical DecisionsBootstrap a Greenfield SystemLearn to WriteInterview Potential Co-WorkersLead a Team

Steal This Computer Book 4.0 – What They Won′t Tell You About the Internet 4e


Wallace Wang - 2006
    It is an unabashed look at the dark side of the Net--the stuff many other books gloss over. It's hard-edged, wisecracking, and often quite cynical as it pours over the reality of online scams, illegal activities, and simple annoyances. Wang's stated goal is to open the reader's eyes about what's really there. He shows what's being done, how it's being done, and how to avoid problems or even strike back. He begins with a chapter about the news media, and his message is that no source is to be trusted completely. He examines issues important to Internet users: the cost of getting computerized (with tips on how to find the real bargains), who is using the Internet as a source of hate information, and how your privacy can be invaded and protected. He shows you the secrets of malicious hackers and others and how some of them attack computer systems without the ethical mindset typical of the original, idealistic hackers. Wang shows you how you can set up your defenses against such an onslaught, discussing how to protect yourself and your kids from online stalkers and how online con games work. Wang never claims that the Internet is the electronic den of darkness that the pop media make it out to be. But he makes it clear that something this big has its lowlights--it's own "net noir." His messages are "know your enemy" and "be careful who you trust," an ideology verified by the examples he provides. --Elizabeth Lewis This offbeat, non-technical book examines what hackers do, how they do it, and how readers can protect themselves. Informative, irreverent, and entertaining, the completely revised fourth edition of Steal This Computer Book contains new chapters that discuss the hacker mentality, lock picking, exploiting P2P file sharing networks, and how people manipulate search engines and pop-up ads. Includes a CD with hundreds of megabytes of hack

The Linux Command Line Beginner's Guide


Jonathan Moeller - 2012
    ABOUT THE AUTHORStanding over six feet tall, Jonathan Moeller has the piercing blue eyes of a Conan of Cimmeria, the bronze-colored hair a Visigothic warrior-king, and the stern visage of a captain of men, none of which are useful in his career as a computer repairman, alas.He has written the "Demonsouled" trilogy of sword-and-sorcery novels, and continues to write the "Ghosts" sequence about assassin and spy Caina Amalas, the "Computer Beginner's Guide" series of computer books, and numerous other works.

The Principles of Beautiful Web Design


Jason Beaird - 2007
    A simple, easy-to-follow guide, illustrated with plenty of full-color examples, this book will lead you through the process of creating great designs from start to finish. Good design principles are not rocket science, and using the information contained in this book will help you create stunning web sites.Understand the design process, from discovery to implementation Understand what makes "good design" Developing pleasing layouts using grids, the rule of thirds, balance and symmetry Use color effectively, develop color schemes and create a palette Use textures, lines, points, shapes, volumes and depth Learn how good typography can make ordinary designs look great Effective imagery: choosing, editing and placing images And much more Throughout the book, you'll follow an example design, from concept to completion, learning along the way. The book's full-color layout and large format (8" x 10") make The Principles Of Beautiful Wed Design a pleasure to read.Editorial Reviews"The Principles of Beautiful Web Design is a good book to kick start your graphic-design journey. The biggest benefit that I got from this book is the knowledge to learn from great designs as opposed to just admiring them in a state of awe." - Slashdot.org"Jason is a great writer, and the book is quite easy to read. It's put together wonderfully, including many full color screenshots and other forms of imagery that make the book a pleasure to read. I'd definitely recommend the book to anyone in Web design." - MondayByNoon"Jason Beaird covers web design in a way that non-designers can understand. He walks you through all of the aspects of design development from initial meeting to finished product. If you are just getting into web development, this is a must read." - Blogcritics.org"This is a thoroughly practical guide to web design that is very well written: good technical depth in easy-to-understand language with excellent illustrations and graphics that support the text. For many users it will be the only web-design text they will need. For those who want to further advance their skills and knowledge it will provide a sound foundation." - PC Update"His "Don't just tell, show!" style makes this book accessible to everyone... It strikes a carefully thought-out balance between describing principles and illustrating them. It is clear and well structured, with practical examples in every chapter." - Mitch Wheat

Code Simplicity: The Fundamentals of Software


Max Kanat-Alexander - 2012
    This book contains the fundamental laws of software development, the primary pieces of understanding that make the difference between a mid-level/junior programmer and the high-level senior software engineer. The book exists to help all programmers understand the process of writing software, on a very fundamental level that can be applied to any programming language or project, from here into eternity. Code Simplicity is also written in such a way that even non-technical managers of software teams can gain an understanding of what the “right way” and the “wrong way” is (and why they are right and wrong) when it comes to software design. The focus of the book is primarily on “software design,” the process of creating a plan for a software project and making technical decisions about the pattern and structure of a system.

Practical Vim: Edit Text at the Speed of Thought


Drew Neil - 2012
    It's available on almost every OS--if you master the techniques in this book, you'll never need another text editor. Practical Vim shows you 120 vim recipes so you can quickly learn the editor's core functionality and tackle your trickiest editing and writing tasks. Vim, like its classic ancestor vi, is a serious tool for programmers, web developers, and sysadmins. No other text editor comes close to Vim for speed and efficiency; it runs on almost every system imaginable and supports most coding and markup languages. Learn how to edit text the "Vim way:" complete a series of repetitive changes with The Dot Formula, using one keystroke to strike the target, followed by one keystroke to execute the change. Automate complex tasks by recording your keystrokes as a macro. Run the same command on a selection of lines, or a set of files. Discover the "very magic" switch, which makes Vim's regular expression syntax more like Perl's. Build complex patterns by iterating on your search history. Search inside multiple files, then run Vim's substitute command on the result set for a project-wide search and replace. All without installing a single plugin! You'll learn how to navigate text documents as fast as the eye moves--with only a few keystrokes. Jump from a method call to its definition with a single command. Use Vim's jumplist, so that you can always follow the breadcrumb trail back to the file you were working on before. Discover a multilingual spell-checker that does what it's told.Practical Vim will show you new ways to work with Vim more efficiently, whether you're a beginner or an intermediate Vim user. All this, without having to touch the mouse.What You Need: Vim version 7

Algorithms


Robert Sedgewick - 1983
    This book surveys the most important computer algorithms currently in use and provides a full treatment of data structures and algorithms for sorting, searching, graph processing, and string processing -- including fifty algorithms every programmer should know. In this edition, new Java implementations are written in an accessible modular programming style, where all of the code is exposed to the reader and ready to use.The algorithms in this book represent a body of knowledge developed over the last 50 years that has become indispensable, not just for professional programmers and computer science students but for any student with interests in science, mathematics, and engineering, not to mention students who use computation in the liberal arts.The companion web site, algs4.cs.princeton.edu contains An online synopsis Full Java implementations Test data Exercises and answers Dynamic visualizations Lecture slides Programming assignments with checklists Links to related material The MOOC related to this book is accessible via the "Online Course" link at algs4.cs.princeton.edu. The course offers more than 100 video lecture segments that are integrated with the text, extensive online assessments, and the large-scale discussion forums that have proven so valuable. Offered each fall and spring, this course regularly attracts tens of thousands of registrants.Robert Sedgewick and Kevin Wayne are developing a modern approach to disseminating knowledge that fully embraces technology, enabling people all around the world to discover new ways of learning and teaching. By integrating their textbook, online content, and MOOC, all at the state of the art, they have built a unique resource that greatly expands the breadth and depth of the educational experience.

Staff Engineer: Leadership Beyond the Management Track


Will Larson - 2021
    At that career level, you’ll no longer be required to work towards the next promotion, and being promoted beyond it is exceptional rather than expected. At that point your career path will branch, and you have to decide between remaining at your current level, continuing down the path of technical excellence to become a Staff Engineer, or switching into engineering management. Of course, the specific titles vary by company, and you can replace “Senior Engineer” and “Staff Engineer” with whatever titles your company prefers. Over the past few years we’ve seen a flurry of books unlocking the engineering management career path, like Camille Fournier’s The Manager’s Path, Julie Zhuo’s The Making of a Manager, Lara Hogan’s Resilient Management and my own, An Elegant Puzzle. The management career isn’t an easy one, but increasingly there are maps available for navigating it. On the other hand, the transition into Staff Engineer, and its further evolutions like Principal and Distinguished Engineer, remains challenging and undocumented. What are the skills you need to develop to reach Staff Engineer? Are technical abilities alone sufficient to reach and succeed in that role? How do most folks reach this role? What is your manager’s role in helping you along the way? Will you enjoy being a Staff Engineer or you will toil for years to achieve a role that doesn’t suit you? "Staff Engineer: Leadership beyond the management track" is a pragmatic look at attaining and operating in these Staff-plus roles.