Cult classics by algorithm
Whether you’re just getting started on your web programming journey or you’re a full-stack coding ninja, you’ve likely come across a number of programming book recommendations. As a coding bootcamp student myself, I’ve received more book recommendations than I can count.
Some books are like Quentin Tarantino movies, complete with their own cult following but way too hard to understand. Others are described as “the Bible” of a particular programming language. The dev community is like the entrepreneurial world in that they can get downright religious about the books they recommend. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate all the passionate recommendations, but it can all get a bit overwhelming.
Dev Books saves the day
Dev-Books keeps it simple. You get a handy list of 30 of the most frequently mentioned web development books across multiple topics. You can also search the list based on language or topic specific tags. The list currently covers 24 different topics ranging from the more general computer science category to language specific tags including C# and Javascript.
This isn’t just some random Joe’s list of favorite dev books with Amazon links and product blurbs.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Dev Books has scanned through Stack Overflow’s entire database of content for dev book mentions.” quote=”The new site claims to have scanned through Stack Overflow’s entire database of user contributed content in search of dev book mentions.”]
If you’re not familiar with Stack Overflow, it’s like Quora for programming related questions. Books are ranked according to how frequently they’re mentioned.
So far, there’s a good mix of both front and backend web development topics. Plus, if you’re in the market for a dev job, the list includes hot topics like Artificial Intelligence and Agile Programming. In fact, I’m surprised to see a book on Agile development topping the list. Working Effectively with Legacy Code is the highest ranked books across all topics with 309 mentions.
Watching it evolve
Another standout is the AI Game Programming Wisdom series, which dominates in the artificial intelligence category. I’m not surprised by all the algorithm and non-language specific books listed. Multiple editions of Introduction to Algorithms made the list, along with some basic design books. No, they’re not as sexy-sounding as any of the AI titles, but I doubt they’re going anywhere.
In fact, it’ll be interesting to see how this list evolves as more programmers get their education from coding bootcamps over traditional computer science programs.
I predict we’ll see more mentions of books covering wider computer science concepts, as programmers seek to fill out some of the conceptual knowledge bootcamps don’t cover.
I’d keep an eye on this list. While it’s hard to draw too many other conclusions about this list apart from the full context of Stack Overflow conversations, I do think Dev-Books hints at what’s needed to either level up or stay current in today’s programming world.
#DevBooks
