Computer science textbooks

Question

I would like to try the book question a little bit differently. My goal is to know what the community thinks are the quintessential computer science textbooks.

<beginsadstory>I lost all of my computer science and math books from college in Hurricane Katrina in 2005. I greatly miss having my familiar tomes to refer to when topics and problems come up, so I am looking to rebuild my library.<endsadstory>

What are your recommendations for the best examples of academic caliber books for the field of computer science and its associated mathematics? I am looking for books on subjects like computational theory, programming languages, compilers, operating systems, algorithms and so on. Don't limit your suggestions to your textbooks only. If there is a book you have read that covers computer science or a related math in a formal way, but is not strictly a textbook, I would be love to hear about them as well.

Finally, for the sake of creating a good reference for all of us, may I suggest posting one book per answer so they can be rated individually.

Answer 1

Concrete Mathematics - really difficult at least in my opinion.. but very interesting and written in a nice way. You will find it very useful if you like solving algorithm related problems.

Answer 2

How about the obvious choice?

Donald E. Knuth: The Art of Computer Programming

Answer 3

While these books are expensive, these are the 2 books I have used throughout college, and are by far the most respected textbooks in their respective subjects, so much so that they have pseudo names:

"The White Book" - the MIT intro to algorithms: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0262031418/ref=cm_rdp_product

"The Dragon Book" - Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools: http://www.amazon.com/Compilers-Principles-Techniques-Tools-2nd/dp/0321486811/ref=pd_sim_dbs_b_1

Answer 4

For me, it's

• The Gamma/Gang of Four Book
• The Dragon Book
• Mastering Regular Expressions
• Intro Algorithms
• Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs

Answer 5

"Operating System Concepts" by Silberschatz and Galvin

Answer 6

One that I feel has great real world applications, at least for me is: Working Effectively with Legacy Code

I've put that book to a LOT of use at my current place of employ.

Answer 7

Software Engineering - Ian Sommerville

//Used the text in grad school, kept it around because it's a solid overview
//Yes, strictly speaking, it's a closely related discipline to computer science

Answer 8

Model Checking - Clarke, Grumberg, Peled

//"This is the first comprehensive presentation of the theory and practice of model checking. The book, which includes basic as well as state-of-the-art techniques, algorithms, and tools, can be used both as an introduction to the subject and as a reference for researchers." -Amazon

Answer 9

I wholeheartedly recommend Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs. The book is available freely online, but you can also purchase a print copy at amazon or your local book store. There are also video lectures available to accompany the text here and here.

Answer 10

Code Complete: A Practical Handbook of Software Construction - McConnell

//Guide to good software development practices

Answer 11

The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master - Hunt, Thomas

//Tricks of the trade

Answer 12

The Mythical Man-Month: Essays on Software Engineering - Brooks

//Observations and argument focusing on the human element in software engineering

Answer 13

Design Patterns - Gamma, Helm, Johnson, Vlissides

//They make great music, too

Answer 14

I recently moved and had to greatly whittle down my collection of books. I gave away or discarded most of my books, including most of my programming-related books. Of those that I did keep, I'd say the most valuable on my shelf are:

• Introduction to Algorithms by Cormen, Leiserson, Rivest and Stein. This one is absolutely the best algorithms book I've ever seen.
• The Mythical Man-Month by Brooks. Read it and you'll understand the value of it.
• Peopleware by DeMarco and Lister. Ditto.

For more specific topics:

• The C++ Programming Language by Stroustrup. Even in the age of the Internet, I find myself going through this looking for answers ocassionally.
• Programming Windows by Petzold. Still the best introduction to Windows programming. I just wish he'd do a 6th edition.

I would not recommend The Art of Computer Programming. Nor would I likely recommend Concrete Mathematics. Very few people who buy TAOCP actually read it, which means that most people spend a decent chunk of money to waste space on a shelf. Buy only books you will actually read. Otherwise, it's just a waste of money. (For the record, I bought both of those, and have read neither.)

If you want bookshelf trophies, that's fine, but it's entirely separate from which books you should buy. Books are things you read. Trophies are things you admire, even if they look like books.

Answer 15

Design Patterns by Gang of Four Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code by Martin Fowler Code Complete 2 by Steve McConnell The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master by Andrew Hunt and David Thomas Effective Java Second Edition by Joshua Bloch

Answer 16

• Algorithms and Data Structures by Niklaus Wirth
• Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs by Harold Abelson, Gerald Jay Sussman
• Program Development in Java: Abstraction, Specification, and Object-Oriented Design by Barbara Liskov and John Guttag

Answer 17

One of my favorite textbooks in the maths is:

• Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications, by Rosen - very broad in coverage of the field, but also thorough in topic discussion. Personally, I find this book priceless.

Answer 18

Algorithm Design by Kleinberg & Tardos. Hailed by some as the next Cormen (Introduction to Algorithms). I can't say I agree but it's still a very good book on algorithms.

Answer 19

Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid (Amazon.com link)

If you haven't read GEB, then you should.

If you have, then you know why I'm suggesting it.

Answer 20

"Computer Organization and Architecture" by William Stallings

Answer 21

"Computer Networks and Internets" by Douglas E. Comer

Answer 22

Stevens' TCP/IP Illustrated, vol 1-3.

Answer 23

Barendregt's Lambda Calculi with Types

Answer 24

I've just started reading Foundations of Computer Science, by Alfred Aho and Jeffrey Ullman. Although it's out of print, everything in it is still applicable today. I'd describe the book as a lovely intersection of discrete mathematics and computer science. Perfect for someone who has gone through a few introductory courses and wants to learn more about the theoretical underpinnings.

Answer 25

Joel on software is something that all developers and managers should have read

Answer 26

Even I do not consider TAOCP as a must have . First of all,he wrote all code in his own assembly language which just makes it harder. And you need a lot lot lot of time for it. The UNIX Programming Environment by Kerninghan(The g is silent) and Pike is the book I found pretty awesome (though i haven finished it yet).

Answer 27

Sipser's Introduction to the Theory of Computation.

Answer 28

Hopcroft, Motwani, and Ullman's Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and Computation (in competition with Sipser's text).

Answer 29

For CS architecture:

• Computer Systems:A Programmer's Perspective - very solid coverage of system architecture.

Answer 30

For C programming:

• Applications Programming in ANSI C - good introduction to C with an engineering approach.