A programmer reflects on five influential books beyond the typical computer science canon. *Zen of Assembly Language* by Michael Abrash (1990) explores low-level optimization for the 8086, resonating with the author's 1980s experience writing 8-bit games. *Scientific Forth* by Julian Noble (1992) and *Fractals, Visualization, and J* by Clifford Reiter (2000) demonstrate using non-mainstream languages Forth and J for scientific computation and image processing, respectively. *Programmers at Work* by Susan Lammers (1986) offers interviews with figures like Jaron Lanier and Bill Budge, focusing on creativity over academic pedigree. The author notes Julian Noble's death in 2007 and the lasting legacy of *Programmers at Work*, which was bundled with *Halcyon Days* on a CD sold through Dr. Dobb's Journal for a decade.
Source: Hacker News · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing