I WANTED TO COMPILE A LIST OF GOOD PROGRAMMING TEXT BOOKS AND MANUALS AS I HAD TO SPEND A LOT OF TIME WADING THROUGH GARBAGE TO GET TO THE GOOD TEXTS!!!
All of the texts listed have contributed to my growth as a programmer. Here I deal with programming texts that will be of interest to all programmers that wish to truly improve their craft. Have Fun there's some great stuff here.
Algorithms Robert Sedgewick: This is probably my favorite text on this topic. For one it is not just a list of useful algorithms like a lot of books out there. But instead explains the topic from the ground out. It starts out by getting you used to the jargon, explaining the mathmatical notation used by practitioners and just familiarizing you with the topic in general. After this the remainder of the chapters are each devoted to specific types of algorithms. Random numbers, sorting, and hashing are just a few of the topics covered. A ton of useful algorithms are covered. So this book is double win. Not only does it teaches the notation and theory behind algorithms, it also functions great as a cookbook of standard algorithms. That said this book can be heavy going, it is not a idiot's guide to algorythems type book so be prepared to put some work into this one. That said if you start from the beginning, proceed from chapter to chapter and actually do all the exercises this book is very rewarding. It gave me a ton of new ways of thinking about the best way to get the job done and some of the algorythems have proven invaluable for my compiler work. If your a first timer or just rusty the introduction provides a great refresher course in the jargon and notation of algorythems. If you like me and can only keep so many mathmatical notations if your head at one time this is great as a reference. So get this book but be warned the more you put into it the more you will get out of it. If you already understand the topic it still serves as a exellent reference or refesher book.
Art Of Computer Programing: Donald Knuth VOLUMES ONE TO THREE: Perhaps the classic of classics first published in 68 this has become one of the all time best series on the basics of Computer Science. This is the series that kicked it all off. The first volume deals with the fundamental algorythems needed in computer science. When Knuth says the fundamental's he's not kidding. Information structures, sorting, searching, arithmatic and random number generation are among the key topics covered. Many people believe his books are to difficult but I didn't find this the case. It's important to note that his examples problems range from 1 to 5, with 1 being easy and some of 5 not being solved by some the best minds in the world. So just stick to a skill level you can handle read carfully and take in a much as you can. The more of this book you truly understand the better a programmer you will be. I found his chapter on random numbers to be the by far the best explanation of the topic i've ever encountered. He does a good job of explaining things its just that many of these topics are advanced and by nature difficult to explain. This is a good one to keep coming back to as your skills improve. A lot of people don't like that it's written in his fictional MIX assembler, but many of these algorythems are best explained in assembly language like code. Besides writing you own interpreter can be a enlightening experience if it's your first time and it's really not a very hard job. This is another very hands on text where the more work you put into the more you'll get out of it. Don't be stupid just get this one even if it's just to save face by saying you own it. By the way Bill Gates has stated that he wants to see the resume of anyone who's man enough to work through all three volumes. I believe he once attempted it himself. By the way this is divided into 3 volumes, You can buy all three in one volume or each seperately.
Art of Computer Programming, The, Volumes 1-3 Boxed Set (2nd Edition) (The Art of Computer Programming Series) (Vol 1-3)
Programing Language Pragmatics: Morgan Kaufmann: This one will definitely be of interest if you into scripting language or compilers. But anyones who reads code from a lot of different languages will like this. This book, well kind of being a compiler book is more concerned with teqniques being used in modern languages and how these teqniques can be implemented. It's neats because it looks at a standard language features and often describes how different languages implement it. Behind that though it looks at the total process of compilation, from the moment your compiler opens a source file to the generation of the executable. This is a great overview of how programming languages work. Even if you not into compiler or related feilds this book can still give you some great insight. Besides I found it to be a light read compared to a lot of the other compiler books and would be a great start for those interest in learning about compilers, parsing or lexical analysis. Also recomended for those people who simply want a greater insight into what happens behind the scenes when their program runs. A must read for people how wan't to know what actually happens when they compile their programs.
BUY Programming Language Pragmatics, Second Edition