Computer Science Majors Books
- How Google Works
- The Dark Net: Inside the Digital Underworld
- Responsive Web Design (A Book Apart #4)
- The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master
- Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship
Computer science majors learn the practical and scientific approach to computer hardware and applications. They do this by studying the methodical procedures, known as algorithms, that are behind the acquiring, representing, processing, storing and accessing of data. Computer scientists specialize in computational theories and designing computer systems. These five books are perfect for delving deeper into required classes or learning more about specific computer concepts that the student finds interesting. Other books for computer science majors can be seen here.
1. How Google Works, by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg
The authors helped Google develop from a fresh start-up to a world-recognized icon. This book details their experiences in a fun, easy-to-read primer on Google's culture. They explain how the Internet, mobile devices and cloud computing have shifted power to consumers from companies. To thrive in this ever-changing landscape, corporations will have to create superior products and find a new type of multifaceted employee referred to as ‘smart creatives.' Their ideas are exemplified with previously unreported anecdotes from Google's corporate history.
2. The Dark Net: Inside the Digital Underworld, by Jamie Bartlett
This book was shortlisted for the political book awards and longlisted for the Orwell Prize, so you know it's good. Beyond the comfortable, inviting online world that most Internet users surf is a vast, hard-to-find network of sites, communities and cultures that pushes freedom to its limits. The inhabitants there can be anyone they want and do whatever they like. This world is creative and complex. It can also be dangerous and foreboding. The scariest part is that it is much closer than you might think. The dark net stretches from the well-known sites to very secretive corners of the encrypted web. Although it is often in the headlines, it is not understood very well and only rarely explored. This book examines the most innovative and dangerous subcultures of The Dark Net.
3. Responsive Web Design (A Book Apart #4), by Ethan Marcotte
Web designers have more on their minds these days than simply coding for browsers like Internet Explorer, Chrome and Firefox. From mobile browsers to netbooks and tablets, users visit sites from an increasing battery of netbooks, tablets, smartphones and browsers. This book helps designers make certain that their designs are ready for all types of access. It teaches designers to think beyond the desktop and create beautiful sites that anticipate and respond to the users' requirements by exploring CSS techniques and design principles, such as flexible images, media queries and fluid grids.
4. The Pragmatic Programmer: From Journeyman to Master, by Andrew Hunt and Dave Thomas
Here's a book that slices through the technicalities of modern software development and takes a look at the core process. It concentrates on starting with a task and creating working, scalable code to solve the problem. It emphasizes personal responsibility, career development and architectural techniques to keep your code simple to adapt and reuse. It is a series of self-contained sections that are loaded with anecdotes, examples and analogies while illustrating the best practices and major pitfalls of developing software.
5. Clean Code: A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship, by Robert C. Martin
If your code isn't clean, your development organization can fail even if the code functions. Innumerable hours and significant resources are lost annually due to poorly written code. This book explains how to avoid that pitfall. It is a knowledge base describing how we think when we read and write code.
Related Resource: Top 10 Best Online Masters in Computer Science Degrees
Check out these books for an experienced view of computers and computing. They will strengthen your knowledge and position you for a high-paying job after you receive your degree.