Books I have read or intend to read in the future:
-
Design Patterns CD by Gamma et al.
- A classic piece. Although the patterns discussed in it are so common
nowadays that you are likely to know many of those even if you have not
read the book, it is still worth going through the descriptions: they give
you a logical and organized explanation, often pointing out connections
between patterns, alternatives in implementation and language specific
implementation problems (I only wish that a new edition updated with
UML and Java examples were published).
-
The Art of Computer Programming by Donald E. Knuth
- No need to comment on these books, I guess. (Well, I would not be able to
comment on them anyway as the same applies to this book as to the one
above.)
-
Code Complete by Steve McConnell
- I have read a few sections of this encyclopedic book and it seems
essential.
-
UML Distilled by Martin Fowler
- This is a quite good introduction to UML. I usually prefer to start
learning something new from a short and easy book and turn to the
heavier details only later. So, this book was exactly what I needed.
I would not advise you to buy it, however: you will probably find the
official UML User Guide (see the next item!) good enough to introduce
you to UML. Even if not, better buy the
new edition of Fowler's book!
-
The UML User Guide by the Three Amigos
- This is the ultimate UML user guide. I will probably
start reading it soon...
-
The UML Reference Guide by the Three Amigos
- This is the ultimate UML reference. A must. I will probably
start using it soon...
-
The Java Tutorial (the whole content is available at the site for free)
- Want to learn Java? This is really the best book for that: quite well
written and price/quality ratio is simply unbeatable...
-
The Java Language Specification by Gosling et al.
the whole content is available at the site for free)
- If you program in Java you need the information covered here. However,
don't buy it now: it is wiser to wait for the 2nd Edition that will cover
some new features (inner classes being probably the most important)...
-
The Java Virtual Machine Specification, 2nd Edition by Tim Lindholm
and Frank Yellin (the whole content is available at the site for free)
- Heavy stuff. It is a reference book, so what else could it be?
Well, perhaps it could be written like the next book...
-
Inside Java 2.0 Virtual Machine by Bill Venners
- If you have problems in understanding the official specs, Venners' book
is a good help indeed. It gives detailed explanations about the
whys and hows of some key issues and (at least in my case)
the first edition has managed to fill the gaps of understanding.
The new edition is updated to cover Java 2 and I hope it will be as
useful as the first one...
-
Effective C++, 2nd Edition by Scott Myers
- This is a must! C++ is not an easy language so you definitely need some
advice on how to use it (or at least I do) and this book is an excellent
source of those advices, at least this is what I think after reading
about 20 of those famous 50 chapters.
-
More Effective C++ by Scott Myers
- Another must, many declare! I have not read it yet (I am working in
Java nowadays), but I will, when I have to return to C++...
C++,The Complete Reference, 3rd Edition by Herbert Schildt
[DON'T BUY IT!]
- I was looking for a reference on C and C++ and ordered this book via
Amazon.com after browsing through the first few reader reviews.
This was obviously a serious mistake. There are two main problems with this
book, even after checking a few sections:
- It is not a reference: its style and organization qualifies this book
as a tutorial. It usually explains concepts and constructs at the level of
beginners, omitting more advanced details.
- The book is far from being precise: many of its statements are incorrect.
As far as I can judge, the reason is to simplify otherwise complicated
matters. This may be acceptable in a tutorial (provided that it warns the
reader in such cases, which this book usually does not!), but it is a
capital crime in a book that calls itself a reference.
-
Beginning Object-Oriented Analysis and Design with C++ by Jesse Liberty
- I have not had the time to read this book yet.
Journals I happen to read sometimes:
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