Official Free References Thread

[chronodekar]

Web References Contents
C/C++
C#
General
Java
Linux
PHP
Programming
Programming Sytles
UML



C/C++ : One of the oldest languages out there

• C Language Tutorial
  A beginner level tutorial for C programmers
• C programming
  A set of tutorials covering both C & C++
• Programming in C
  Online C courseware
• comp.lang.c Frequently Asked Questions
  FAQ about C. A useful reference.
• cplusplus
  A wonderful C++ reference

C#: About the C# Language

• C# Practical Learning
  This series of lessons teach C# (3.0) as a computer language
• C# Station
  A set of online tutorials for beginners & intermediaries
• Devhood
  Online tutorials that show how to use the Visual Studio IDE
• Microsoft Tutorials
  The official collection of Microsoft tutorials
• Softsteel C# Tutorial
  Aimed at people with some programming experiencel; although it tries not to assume too much knowledge

General: Online resources for any topic

• click-now.net
  An online collection of books ranging from literature to programming
• FreeBookSpot
  A huge collection of books that you can download. The fact that they use rapidshare; makes me wonder about the legitimacy of their source.
• Free-ebooks.net
  A big collection of ebooks that you can download
• Scribd
  They have books covering all kinds of topics that you can view using their online viewer
• wikibooks.org
  Collection of open-content textbooks.

Java: About the Java Language

• Java Beginner
  A beginner Java tutorial site
• Java Tutorials
  An online set of tutorials that should help beginners
• Java2s
  Tutorials that let the code do the talking
• javacoffeebreak
  A free online textbook
• The Java Tutorials
  Tutorials from SUN Microsystems

Linux: Anything related with the OS

• Linux Online
  The linux.org book reference
• The Linux Documentation Project
  LDP is a loosely knit team of volunteers who provide documentation for many aspects of Linux.

PHP: open source web-development on apache (mostly)

• Practical PHP Programming
  A very detailed and up-to-date online reference.
• PHP Tutorial
  A PHP tutorial from nerdparadise

Programming: Related to programming in general

• Free Programming Books
  A small resource of online programming books
• Free-ITebooks.com
  Free ebooks that you can download about Computers & Programming
• techbooksforfree
  Free Programming and Computer Science Books
• Beginner Developer Learning Center
  Video tutorials for absolute beginners in C#; VB .. etc.
• Free Programming Books
  A wonder collection of programming books across all kinds of topics. Seems that you can download some of them as well.

Programming Sytles: How to make your programs more understandable

• Google C++ Style Guide
  How google thinks good C++ code is written
• C and C++ Style Guides
  An archive of C/C++ style guides

UML: The graphical standard by which to describe your program code

• Practical UML
  An easy to understand explanation of UML; but not getting too technical
• UML Tutorial
  VERY detailed explanation of different aspects of UML
• UML Tutorials
  A big bunch of video tutorials
• Visual Case Tool
  A quick UML refresher course using a proprietary tool; but good for newbies

 

[chronodekar]

Book Recommendation Contents
C
C#
Django
PHP
Python
Software Architecture
VHDL



C: One of the most respected languages out there

• Algorithms in C
  Ken g6 @ here
  Apathetic @ here
  
• Data Structures Algorithms and Software Principles in C
  slugg @ here
  
• C Programming Language
  squatchman @ here
  A discussion on the book @ here
  
• Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
  squatchman @ here
  
• C Programming: A Modern Approach
  GodlessAstronomer @ here
  slugg @ here
  
• C: A Reference Manual
  seemingly random @ here

C#: About the C# Language

• Programming C#
  Dhaval00 @ here
  
• Head First C#
  Dhaval00 @ here
  
• Pro C# 2008 and the .NET Platform
  Dhaval00 @ here
  
• C# In Depth
  tarak @ here
  
• C# Yellow Book
  LuNoTiCK @ here

Django: A web development framework

• The Django Book
  Woosta @ here

PHP: A web-based programming language

• Sams Teach Yourself PHP MySQL and Apache All in One
  NiKeFiDO @ here
  
• PHP 5 Advanced: Visual QuickPro Guide
  NiKeFiDO @ here
  
• PHP Objects Patterns and Practice
  NiKeFiDO @ here

Python: An upcoming and popular scripting language

• The Definitive Guide to Pylons
  Woosta @ here
  
• A Byte of Python
  Woosta @ here
  
• How to think like a Computer Scientist Learning with Python
  Woosta @ here
  
• Dive Into Python
  Woosta @ here

Software Architecture: How to code good programs

• Application Architecture Guide 2.0
  tarak @ here
  
• Software Engineering
  slugg @ here
  
• Code Complete
  GodlessAstronomer @ here

VHDL: Logic Design

• Fundamentals of Digital Logic with VHDL Design
  engineereeyore @ here

 

[chronodekar]

To all AT members: Contributions are MOST welcome !!

The first post is a listing of links/tutorials/online-resources that a programmer would find useful. A TOC has been created at the top to help locate what you might be looking for. A brief note has also been given right after the link.

The second post contains books that different AT members have suggested. As usual the book name is a link to where you can get the book (some are downloadable, also we do NOT recommend any particular vendor). What follows is the name of the member(s) who recommended the book and a link to the post (at AT) where he/she made that recommendation.

If anyone has any feedbacks about this thread feel free to reply to this thread. Constructive criticisms are welcome!!



[AUTHOR RANT]
I store all the above information in on-line documents and use Perl scripts to create the above two posts. The following links make things easier for me to update,
References
RES_Links2.csv
AT_References.pl
Books
BookRecommendations.csv
AT_Book.pl

 

[Markbnj]

The formatting is fine, as far as I am concerned. One thing that does strike me as incongruous is the presence of the terms "books" and "free" in the title and subtopic. But I suppose there are some free books available here and there.

The RF topic is out of place, I think. It would be better in the General Hardware or Advanced Topics forums.

 

[chronodekar]

There! I added another 3 categories and 11 more links. Now at least we won't have complaints that there are no tutorials listed.

Hmmm.... I guess you're right about the RF link, Mark. It was in there along with the rest of my 'Books' bookmarks and I just ported that entire list here. Tell you what, for the time being I'm leaving it in, but after we get more links, I'll remove it. Ok?

It's just that the list still seems too small for me, and I don't want to remove things just yet.

About having reviews in here. The more I think about it, the more I feel that I should edit my 3rd post and put them there. I feel that if anyone is searching for resources/tutorials, they would not be wanting reviews. And those who want to read some reviews probably wouldn't want it mixed with tutorial links anyway.

Any thoughts guys?

 

[imported_Dhaval00]

Well, I gave it some thought... I think the point should be to give a breakdown of, say, what a book covers. That way people don't simply jump the gun and buy a book. Does that make sense? I mean I could be off-track here. But if I am looking at books, it'd nice to point out a couple of things: is the book of intermediaries or newbies and what kind of material the book covers. For example, Pro .NET 3.5 is for experienced fellows, but has a great section for events and delegates [from a newbie standpoint] while Programming C# is completely for newbies. We won't have a craploads of books here... it'll only get ugly. This a way to let people start - my assumption is that people who are experienced can find their way around Amazon, etc.

Let me know if this sounds off-track. I'll post a review some time soon... probably before or during the weekend.

 

[imported_Dhaval00]

"How do I start learning C#?"


Books for Beginners

1) Programming C#: This has lots of good startup material on CLR, Threading, OOP Concepts, ADO.NET, etc. I think this needs to be read first by the ultimate newbie because it covers .NET 2.0, which is the base for .NET 3.0 and greater.

2) Head First C#: This has some good concepts, too, but also covers things from .NET 3.5 - this could get overwhelming depending on your learning ability. If you read #1, then this can be skipped.

3) Pro C# 2008 and the .NET Platform: This, in addition to #1, should pretty much cover everything that would be required for an individual to qualify him/herself as a C# programmer. Make sure that you have at least read #1 or #2 before picking this one up.


Resources on the Internet

1) C# Station

2) C# Practical Learning: A few folks on the forums have recommended this.

3) Softsteel C# Tutorial


Tools you will need

1) Visual Studio 2005 or 2008 Express Edition

2) SQL Server 2005 or 2008 Express Edition

More details about the tools can be obtained here.



Let me know if we can improve this layout.

 

[chronodekar]

Dhaval00,

Sorry for the late reply. I've been busy lately with X'mas and New Year's still around the bend. I'll post up my suggestions after it's all over ok? If I try to incorporate anything to the main posts now, it will end up being a rush job, and I respect you too much to do that.

Cheers ! :beer:

 

[imported_Dhaval00]

It's all good. Take your time. I am sure Mark's not going to finalize anything until we all agree upon something .

 

[Markbnj]

Originally posted by: Dhaval00
It's all good. Take your time. I am sure Mark's not going to finalize anything until we all agree upon something .

It's all about community content, so you guys feel free to run with it.

 

[chronodekar]

Ok guys,

It's night-time for me and my X'mas and New year celebrations are FINALLY over. I'll be putting in a real post within a day or 2 now.

 

[chronodekar]

I've not settled on the way to present the reviews. I think it's because I have only 1 reviewer now

But the other issue is because I can't figure out how to show beginner/intermediate/expert labels on the books, without making it look like a cluttered mess. Any suggestions?

 

[imported_Dhaval00]

Usually, most books have a 'beginner/intermediate/expert' track on the back cover or the preface. That should be enough - I think it is safe to assume we won't be recommending books that we haven't read ourselves!

Also, (IMO) I still think we should stay at the beginner/intermediate level and not go beyond. Most professionals/senior programmers won't be referring to this thread (in most cases anyway).

 

[chronodekar]

Originally posted by: Dhaval00
Also, (IMO) I still think we should stay at the beginner/intermediate level and not go beyond. Most professionals/senior programmers won't be referring to this thread (in most cases anyway).

Have a bit of care when saying that. We don't want to deflate an expert's ego out here, now do we? The consequence will be one less expert in the world!!! :laugh:

Tell you what, until someone recommends an expert book, I won't add anything of the sort to the list, Ok?

Anyone else want to chime in on the discussion? We can't have a community thread with just 3 members. And none of us subscribe to the "Three's a crowd" line. At least, not in here.

Perhaps I need to advertise this thread a bit more... like adding it as my signature or something. Let me think about it.

 

[Markbnj]

I suggest not worrying about the number of people contributing. Get the ball rolling and others will join in over time. Also, consolidate the info into the top thread of the post as you go.

 

[imported_Dhaval00]

chronodekar:

Any update on this?

 

[chronodekar]

Well, as Mark suggested, I DID move all the info to the top of the thread. I even mention all the books you've reviewed. (They are now in the 3rd post)

I just didn't think it was necessary to make a post mentioning the changes. But I'm doing so now.

Or is there something I missed?

 

[imported_Dhaval00]

Well, I guess I was alluding to the task of combining everything into a single post at the very top. Specifically:

1) Move the contents of post 1 to post 2 and vice versa.
2) The links to 'General,' 'Programming,' and 'Linux' be removed.
3) Under each language, create sub-sections - one points to tutorials while the other points to any reviews (if available). I really don't care about the reviews, so even those can be dropped. I am just trying to come up with a hierarchy that will make sense to most people.

Again, I am thinking of making this as lean as possible. Overall, we should simply stick to languages so that we can [possibly] gather more community content which is specific to languages. Let me know if you had alternate ideas.

 

[mannu]

Let's keep this thread on track. If you're looking for book or tutorial recommendations outside of what's listed, please post a message in the forum. --Markbnj, Programming mod

 

[chronodekar]

I've found that I work better if I have a fixed deadline to do something. Today is 17th Feb (Tuesday). I'll be updating this thread by no later than 22nd Feb (Sunday) with some new links.

Also, (no promises on this one) I think we need to make the books more visible. People still go posting around new threads asking for books. (I'm not saying its wrong, it's just that it means this thread is not serving the purpose it was meant for.) I'll be thinking about this during the week.

 

[chronodekar]

Well, as promised I've updated. What do you guys think of it ?

Visually, I've added bullets next to the links. And content-wise, I've added some stuff for UML.

Hmmm.... as far as it goes, on 17th, I planned to post up some Python links, but all the ones I have are meant for python 2.6+ ; Python 3 was released about 2 months back (last December) and it changed a lot of things. Even though I consider myself a competent programmer, I'm still tearing my hair out trying to read tutorials meant for 2.6 and get it to run on 3.0, so I decided to leave it out. I think Mark knows where I first posted the UML links. That was a stroke of luck for me. Until then, I was wondering what kind of update to make.

Anyway, there I go ranting again... I'm going to focus my next update on the books section. I'll turn my house upside down, if I have to, but I'm going to hunt down all the programming related books I got (well, the worth-while ones at least...), and review them. I'll need time for this one, but no matter what, it will come no later than 22nd March. (it's a month, I know, if I can I'll try and cut it down to 3 weeks, but no promises)

If anyone posts any new links/reviews on this thread before that, I'll add it in before my scheduled update.

 

[saleemi]

As mentioned above this thread is for posts suggesting material for the free references thread, or commenting on material in the thread, or the organization of the thread itself. Please post other topics under a new or existing thread in the forum.

--Markbnj, Programming mod

 

[Aberforth]

Free Visual Studio Books from Microsoft (get it soon)

Programming LINQ
Introducing Silverlight 2
Programming asp.NET 3.5


http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=9654024

 

[Markbnj]

Fleshing out nicely, Chrono.

 

[chronodekar]

Originally posted by: Aberforth
Free Visual Studio Books from Microsoft (get it soon)

Thanks Aberforth !! And sorry for the delay in updating. I had some internet problems for the past few days...

I made a new section, "Visual Studio" for these. Or should I put them in appropriate language sections? Any thoughts?