Programming texts and reference material for my Kindle DX, creating the ultimate reference device?

Question

(Revisiting this topic with the release of the Kindle DX)

Having owned both generation Kindle readers and now getting a Kindle DX; I'm very excited for true PDF handling on an e-ink device!

An image of _Why's book on my Kindle (from my iPhone).

This gives me a device capable of storing hundreds of thousands of pages that are full text search capable in the form factor of a magazine.

What references (preferably PDF to preserve things such as code samples) would you recommend? Ultimately I would like reference material for every modern and applicable programming language (C, C++, Objective-C, Python, Ruby, Java, .NET (C#, Visual Basic, ASP.NET), Erlang, SQL references) as well as general programming texts and frameworks (algorithms, design patterns, theory, Rails, Django, Cocoa, ORMs, etc) and anything else that could be thought of.

With so many developers here using such a wide array of languages, as a professional in your particular field, what books or references would you recommend to me for my Kindle? Creative Commons material a plus (translate that to free) as well as the material being in the PDF file format. File size is not an issue.

If this turns out to be a success, I will update with a follow-up with a compiled list generated from all of the answers.

Thanks for the assistance and contributing!

UPDATE

I have been using the Kindle DX a lot now for technical books. Check out this blog post I did for high resolution photos of different material:

http://www.matthewdavidwilliams.com/2009/06/12/technical-document-pdfs-on-the-kindle-dx/

Answer 1

This is a brilliant idea!

The Kindle also has wiki access... It wouldn't require too many broken arms for Amazon to provide Stack Overflow access 24/7 anywhere as well.

I would suggest we convert source to PDF, and put open source projects in as well as textbooks. Imagine being able to refer to MB's of real-world examples of a design pattern, while sitting at a diner.

Answer 2

It was in my question, but I'll toss in my Ruby suggestion.

Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby (free PDF)

Answer 3

Concepts, Techniques, and Models of Computer Programming (PDF)

Answer 4

I'm quite tired and don't have the time to submit these all as seperate answers, but Wikibooks has quite a few in the computing department, and they're all available free, as either HTML or PDF.

Here are a few:

• ASP.NET
• Cocoa
• Python
• PHP
• Ruby

Good luck and good night!

PS - you're making me want a Kindle now ;)

Answer 5

Trying to bring this thread back to life with the release of the Kindle DX: http://www.humblelittlerubybook.com/book/

Answer 6

Version Control with Subversion

Answer 7

I'll go ahead and point out that Google is the ultimate reference device, and is pretty much always available to you while you're programming.

I'd rather have less technical stuff on the Kindle.

Answer 8

You can't live without Leo Brodie's book Thinking Forth (PDF, 4.3 MB, -is not a direct download URL; needs to go through the pesky SourceForce download process).

Especially not when Chuck Moore, the creator of Forth, claims that all programs can be made 100 times smaller and 1000 times faster.

Answer 9

The Kindle has got access to Wikipedia and Google as well. It would be really great if Stack Overflow comes up with a mobile site which opens easily on a Kindle mobile browser.

About the PDF's, you better convert them to text of .prc (using the Mobipocket Reader from www.mobipocket.com

Kindle serves as your ultimate reference guide if you have got it fully loaded. :)