Dan Luu
Programmer and writer on computer architecture, performance, and software reliability. He has worked on CPU design at Centaur Technology and on software at Google and Microsoft, and writes long-form technical essays at danluu.com.
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Recommends rcmnd
What they recommendrcmnd 31 things — each backed by an exact quote.
Compiled by rcmnd.app, not by them: the quotes are theirs, and each links to the post it was copied from.
Recent
Renegades of the Empire Liked
This book explains how Microsoft's aggressive culture got to be the way it is today.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
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Multiagent Systems: Algorithmic, Game-Theoretic, and Logical Foundations Liked
The title is the worst thing about this book. Otherwise, it's a nice introduction to algorithmic game theory.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
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What others say about Multiagent Systems: Algorithmic, Game-Theoretic, and Logical Foundations →
Snipers, Shills, and Sharks: eBay and Human Behavior Liked
Seems designed as an entertaining introduction to auction theory for the layperson.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
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Computation: Finite and Infinite Machines Loved
The explanations are delightful and I've watched some of the videos more than once just to watch Bernhardt explain things.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
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Probability and Computing: Randomized Algorithms and Probabilistic Analysis Loved
I've probably gotten more mileage out of this than out of any other algorithms book.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
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Peopleware Mixed on
This book agrees with my biases and I'd love for this book to be right, but the meta evidence makes me want to re-read this with a critical eye and look up primary sources.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
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Refactoring Liked
At the time I read it, it was worth the price of admission for the section on code smells alone.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
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Site Reliability Engineering Mixed on
Multiagent Systems Liked
The title is the worst thing about this book. Otherwise, it's a nice introduction to algorithmic game theory.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
Combinatorial Auctions Liked
This is one of those books where each chapter is by a different author. Despite that, it still manages to be coherent and I didn't mind reading it straight through.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
Snipers, Shills, and Sharks Liked
Seems designed as an entertaining introduction to auction theory for the layperson. Requires no mathematical background and relegates math to the small print.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
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Auction Theory Liked
The last time I looked, this was the only game in town for a comprehensive, modern, introduction to auction theory.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
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Modern Processor Design Loved
For pure CPU architecture, this is probably the best book available.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
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Computer Architecture: A Quantitative Approach Liked
This book teaches you how to do systems design with multiple constraints (e.g., performance, TCO, and power) and how to reason about tradeoffs.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
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The Little Book of Semaphores Liked
This book was very helpful when I first started to write threading/concurrency code.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
Windows Internals Liked
The most comprehensive book about how a modern operating system works. It just happens to be about Windows.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
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Linux Kernel Development Mixed on
The other downside of this book is that the author loses all objectivity any time Linux and Windows are compared.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
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Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces Liked
Nice explanation of a variety of OS topics. Goes into much more detail than any other intro OS book I know of.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
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xv6 Loved
This book is great! It explains how you can actually implement things in a real system
danluu.com 2016-10-01
Operating System Concepts Mixed on
It covers concepts at a high level and hits the major points, but it's lacking in technical depth, details on how things work, advanced topics, and clear exposition.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
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An Introduction to Computational Learning Theory Disliked
Classic, but dated and riddled with errors, with no errata available.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
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Computation Loved
Covers a few theory of computation highlights. The explanations are delightful and I've watched some of the videos more than once just to watch Bernhardt explain things.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
Introduction to the Theory of Computation Mixed on
Unfortunately, most of the key exercises don't have solutions, so you can't check your work.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
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Probability and Computing Loved
I've probably gotten more mileage out of this than out of any other algorithms book.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
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Higher Order Perl Recommends
A gentle introduction to functional programming that happens to use Perl. You could probably work through this book just as easily in Python or Ruby.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
Purely Functional Data Structures Mixed on
Fun to work through, but, unlike the other algorithms and data structures books, I've yet to be able to apply anything from this book to a problem domain where performance really matters.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
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Algorithm Design Mixed on
Same comments as for CLRS -- it's widely recommended as an introductory book even though it doesn't make sense as an introductory book.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
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Introduction to Algorithms Mixed on
but this is wildly impractical as a standalone introduction for most people.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
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The Algorithm Design Manual Liked
The longer, more comprehensive, more practical, less math-y version of Dasgupta. It's similar in that it attempts to teach you how to identify problems, use the correct algorithm, and give a clear explanation of the algorithm.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
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Algorithms Loved
Everything about this book seems perfect to me. It breaks up algorithms into classes (e.g., divide and conquer or greedy), and teaches you how to recognize what kind of algorithm should be used to solve a particular problem.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
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Cracking the Coding Interview Mixed on
I usually recommend this book to people who want to pass interviews but not really learn about algorithms. It has just enough to get by, but doesn't really teach you the why behind anything.
danluu.com 2016-10-01
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