Top Programming books recommended by experts

At MentorCruise, we are all about making the most out of the experience of others. As part of that, we've connected and asked dozens of experts and professionals about their favourite Programming books – and here are the answers.

Table of Contents

Fundamentals of Programming

Understanding the concepts of Programming starts with understanding the fundamentals. On your way to mastery, it's crucial for you to understand how certain concepts were derived, and why things work like they do. Starting with these resources is the best way to do so.

Working Effectively with Legacy Code

Working Effectively With Legacy Code is basically about modifying code to increase testability. This book is very similar to Martin Fowler's book Refactoring, but with more emphasis on testing than readability or flexibility.

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Automate the Boring Stuff with Python, 2nd Edition: Practical Programming for Total Beginners

This new, fully revised edition of Al Sweigart's bestselling Pythonic classic, Automate the Boring Stuff with Python , covers all the basics of Python 3 while exploring its rich library of modules for performing specific tasks, like scraping data off the Web, filling out forms, renaming files, organizing folders, sending email responses, and merging, splitting, or encrypting PDFs. There's also…

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The Well-Grounded Rubyist

The Well-Grounded Rubyist, Second Edition is a beautifully written tutorial that begins with your first Ruby program and goes on to explore sophisticated topics like callable objects, reflection, and threading. The book concentrates on the language, preparing you to use Ruby in any way you choose.

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Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs

A new version of the classic and widely used text adapted for the JavaScript programming language. Since the publication of its first edition in 1984 and its second edition in 1996, Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (SICP) has influenced computer science curricula around the world.

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Introduction to Algorithms

Introduction to Algorithms uniquely combines rigor and comprehensiveness. It covers a broad range of algorithms in depth, yet makes their design and analysis accessible to all levels of readers, with self-contained chapters and algorithms in pseudocode.

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Cracking the coding interview

"Cracking the Coding Interview" presents problems requiring versatile reasoning and proposes multiple solution approaches. It encourages readers to develop multiple solutions for each problem. The book provides explanations, example problems, and solutions to solve coding interview questions related to these topics.

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Additional Programming Reading

These books are not required for you to learn Programming, but they are highly recommended for you to deepen your knowledge.

Get Programming with Go

Get Programming with Go provides a hands-on introduction to Go language fundamentals, serving as a solid foundation for your future programming projects. You'll master Go syntax, work with types and functions, and explore bigger ideas like state and concurrency, with plenty of exercises to lock in what you learn.

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Escape from a Video Game: The Complete Series

This box set is the only way to own the complete Escape from a Video Game series plus The Lost Files, an exclusive bonus adventure! Each pick-your-plot story drops young readers into a different video game to defeat monsters, solve mysteries, and outsmart supervillains.
The follow-up to the bestselling Trapped in a Video Game series puts the controller in your hands. Choose where to explore…

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The Go Programming Language

What is the Go or Golang programming language? Go, also called Golang or Go language, is an Open Source programming language that Google developed. Software developers use Go in an array of operating systems and frameworks to develop web applications, cloud and networking services, and other types of software.

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Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software

What do flashlights, the British invasion, black cats, and seesaws have to do with computers? In CODE, they show us the ingenious ways we manipulate language and invent new means of communicating with each other. And through CODE, we see how this ingenuity and our very human compulsion to communicate have driven the technological innovations of the past two centuries. Using everyday objects an…

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The Pragmatic Programmer

The main qualities of what the authors refer to as a pragmatic programmer are being an early adopter, to have fast adaptation, inquisitiveness and critical thinking, realism, and being a jack-of-all-trades.

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Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code

Refactoring is about improving the design of existing code. It is the process of changing a software system in such a way that it does not alter the external behavior of the code, yet improves its internal structure. With refactoring you can even take a bad design and rework it into a good one.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Specializations and Deeper Programming Knowledge

You've got your basics in order – time to move on to some advanced and specialized concepts. Programming is evolving every day, these books can help you master it.

The Pragmatic Programmer: Your Journey to Mastery, 20th Anniversary Edition

Written as a series of self-contained sections and filled with classic and fresh anecdotes, thoughtful examples, and interesting analogies, The Pragmatic Programmer illustrates the best approaches and major pitfalls of many different aspects of software development.

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