nextthing.org

My friend and coworker Buzz Andersen posited awhile ago that there exists a programming canon, a body of literature with which software developers and computer scientists are expected to be familiar.

Having interviewed a lot of people (and I mean a lot) and been interviewed myself a few times, Buzz’s point resonated with me. I’ve noticed that many recent university graduates have not been exposed to material that is considered fundamental to computer science and programming by many in the industry. A lot of schools have sacrificed the teaching of this material in favor of more IT development oriented courses, and really done their students a disservice in the process.

Since I’d rather see more kick-ass programmers and computer scientists than fewer, here’s my list of books that I think should be on the bookshelves of all computer science undergraduates. These books are, of course, my own favorites, and they exclude a lot of the books I’d include in a list of graduate-level books. Feel free to chime in in the comments if you think I’ve missed something important. (more…)