Exploring Extreme Programming
Fire in the Valley: The Birth and Death of the Personal Computer (3/e), by Michael Swaine and Paul Freiberger. 2014. ISBN 1937785769. What was involved in the creation of the personal computer? It was more than just Apple ][ and IBM Continue reading Review: Fire in the Valley, by Swaine and Freiberger
Hacker’s Delight (2/e), by Henry S. Warren Jr., Addison-Wesley, 2012. Perhaps you’ve seen this trick for swapping two variables without using a temporary: x = x ^ y y = y ^ x x = x ^ y Or maybe Continue reading Hacker’s Delight (2/e) (Review)
The Soul of a New Machine, by Tracy Kidder. Modern Library, 1997 (originally 1981). This is the story of the Data General Eagle, a computer designed to compete with DEC’s VAX. It tells of a special kind of project where Continue reading Review – The Soul of a New Machine
The Victorian Internet, Tom Standage. Berkley Press, 1998. A history of the telegraph, from its creation on. The author relates the initial optimism about the telegraph to the similar hype about the Internet – as a tool for bringing about Continue reading Review – The Victorian Internet
Computers, Ltd., David Harel. Oxford University Press, 2003. This is a brief explanation of the limits that computers face: non-computable and intractable problems. At the end of the book, the author spends a little time examining approaches that might get Continue reading Review – Computers, Ltd.
Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software, Charles Petzold, Microsoft Press, 2000. It’s safe to assume you will never be called on to build a computer out of relays. But if you were, this book would give you Continue reading Review – Code, by Charles Petzold
Reinventing the Wheel, Jessica Helfand. Princeton Architectural Press, 2002. This is a picture book of volvelles, wheel calculators. You typically set a pointer to a particular value, and windows or the edge of the wheel reveal an answer. If you Continue reading Review – Reinventing the Wheel