Best Programming Books

[russell]

Here are four of the best programming books I've ever read (there are others, just can't remember 'em all) but these still sit on my shelf

1. Joel On Software -- Joel Spolsky No programmer should go another day without reading this one. An excellent read. Not overly technical. Fun. You will laugh, you will learn.

2. Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Performance Optimization and Tuning Handbook -- Ken England A MUST read for any serious microsoft database programmer. England is the Guru of MSSQL performance.

3. Official Netscape JavaScript 1.2 Programmer's Reference - Peter Kent -- sounds silly today, but a must read for any newbie web developer. What's really cool is that it is a good introduction to object oriented programming, and most of the book (even though it's 1.2) is still relevant today -- though there are some archaiac NS4.0 and prior references there...

4. DB2 The Complete Reference -- Roman B. Melnyk, Paul C. Zikopoulos An excellent reference for ANY database developer, but if you are a DB2 developer...well, you probably already own this one. Pretty dry and technical, but one of the best relational database references of all time

[chazzy]

Java Servlet and JSP cookbook
C++ Cookbook
MySQL Stored Procedure Programming
and the matching one for oracle whose name I can't remember exactly.

[russell]

C++ Cookbook

good one. gotta agreee

[drbearded]

c++ without fear-brian overland

[Stephen Philbin]

For Javascript, I'd have to recommend "Javascript: The definitive guide", ISBN: 0-596-00048-0 published by O'REILLY (mine is the fourth edition). Other than there being a fifth edition as an update, i really can't imagine there being a better book on Javascript.

Another book I'm waiting to be delivered right now (hopefully it'll come tomorrow) is "Database Design for Mere Mortals", ISBN: 0-201-75284-0 publishes by Addison Wesley. I tried learning relational design from the web and built a database based on what I had learned, but no matter how I tried, I couldn't get it to normalise in a sensible way like all the examples showed. The massive gap between the simplistic theory in the articles I read and the complex reality of the database I was designing didn't help at all. So I just thought it best to buy a book to take me through everything so i can apply the theory I learn to complex real world needs.