Learning Resource Recommendations

This page contains recommendations for learning technical information on a variety of subjects. Note that "*" denotes a resource unavailable on dead-tree format.

Others' Lists

• Free Programming Books
• Linux and Unix Bibliography - Eric S. Raymond
• The Linux Documentation Project

Reference Cards

• The "Rosetta Stone" of Unix commands
• Regular Expressions
• OpenCL 1.2
• OpenGL 4.3
• OpenGL ES 3.0
• WebGL 1.0
• OpenCV 2.3
• Screen/Tmux cheat sheet

RFCs

• RFC 2119: Key words for use in RFCs to Indicate Requirement Levels (short, must read)
• RFC 1178: Choosing a Name for Your Computer
• RFC 1918: Address Allocation for Private Internets
• RFC 1459: Internet Relay Chat Protocol
• RFC 2812: Internet Relay Chat: Client Protocol
• RFC 1149: A Standard for the Transmission of IP Datagrams on Avian Carriers
• RFC 2324: Hyper Text Coffee Pot Control Protocol (HTCPCP/1.0)

Non-technical

Topic	Title	Author	Notes
Hacking	How To Become a Hacker	Eric Raymond	Introduction to hacking
Hacking	The Jargon File	Eric Raymond	Glossary of hacker jargon with historical background
Hacking	The Word "Hacker"	Paul Graham	Another introduction
Hacking	Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution	Steven Levy	Book on the history of hacking
History	The Meaning of 'su'	Aaron Toponce
LUGs	Linux Users Group HOWTO	Rick Moen	TLDP page on starting or running a LUG
Support	How to Ask Questions the Smart Way	Eric S. Raymond

Productivity

Topic	Title	Author	Notes
Regex	Mastering Regular Expressions
Shell	Learning the Bash Shell
Shell	From Bash to Z Shell: Conquering the Command Line
Version Control	Version Control with Git

Programming

Topic	Title	Author	Notes
ASM	PC Assembly Language *
C	The C Programming Language	Brian Kernighan, Dennis Ritchie
C	C: A Reference Manual
C	The Standard C Library
C	The Elements of C Programming Style
C	21st Century C
C	Mastering Algorithms with C
C++	The C++ Programming Language
C++	C++ The Core Language
C++	Practical C++ Programming
C++	Safe C++
C++	Effective STL
C++	C++: The Good Parts		Still being written as of Dec. 2012
Haskell	Learn You a Haskell for Great Good
Java	Thinking in Java *
Java	Effective Java
Perl	Learning Perl
R	R Language Definition *
R	An Introduction to R *
Ruby	Ruby on Rails Tutorial: Learn Web Development with Rails (2nd edition)
Software Engineering	Beautiful Code
Software Engineering	The Art Of Readable Code
Software Engineering	Code Simplicity
Software Engineering	Design Patterns	Gang of Four	Classic book on OOP design paradigms
Software Engineering	The Practice of Programming	Brian Kernighan
Software Engineering	Write Great Code, Volume 2	Randall Hyde	About how to choose the best high level constructs that translate into efficient low-level code.

Computer Science

Topic	Title	Author	Notes
Algorithms	Intro to Algorithms	Corman, Leiserson, Rivest, Stein
Algorithms	The Art Of Computer Programming: Fundamental Algorithms	Knuth
Algorithms	The Art Of Computer Programming: Seminumerical Algorithms	Knuth
Algorithms	The Art Of Computer Programming: Sorting and Searching	Knuth
Algorithms	The Art Of Computer Programming: Combinatorial Algorithms, Part 1	Knuth
Compilers	The Art of Compiler Design
Computer Architecture	What Every Programmer Should Know About Memory *
Computer Vision	Learning OpenCV
Machine Learning	Machine Learning for Hackers
Networking	TCP/IP Illustrated, Volume 1
Operating Systems	Mac OS X Internals

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Topic	Title	Author	Notes
General	All About Circuits		Free online intro-level circuits textbook.
DIY	ladyada wiki	Limor Fried, et al	Good reference for hobbyists
DIY	Partfinder	Limor Fried, et al	Wiki page with links to distributors of various parts (including sampling)
DIY	Arduino Playground	Arduino	Official Arduino wiki
ICs	74 Series Logic ICs	John Hughes	Broad overview of the IC family and summary of the more common chips
General	The Art of Electronics	Paul Horowitz	Excellent textbook and reference for both analog and digital circuits
General	Electronics Tutorials	Wayne Storr	Basic tutorials on a variety of circuit elements

Operating Systems

Topic	Title	Author	Notes
BSD	The Design and Implementation of the 4.4 BSD Operating System
BSD	Berkeley Unix: A Simple and Comprehensive Guide
Linux	Learn Linux the Hard Way
Unix	Unix Made Easy
Unix	The Unix Programming Environment
Unix	Advanced Programming in the Unix Environment (2nd Edition)
Unix	The Art of Unix Programming	Eric S. Raymond
Unix	Unix Systems for Modern Architectures
Unix	UNIX Power Tools
Unix	Using C on the UNIX System
Unix	The TTY Demystified	Linus Akesson

Security

Topic	Title	Author	Notes
Cryptography	Handbook of Applied Cryptography*
Cryptography	Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms, and Source Code in C
Cryptography	Cryptography I	Dan Boneh	Stanford's crypto class, all materials are freely available
General	Schneier on Security Blog	Bruce Schneier	Security blog and rants about the TSA
OpSec	Surveillance Self-Defense	EFF	Guide to protecting your data from the Powers That Be
OpSec	Cyphernomicon	Timothy May
OpSec	CryptoParty Handbook	(crowd-sourced)	Guide to running a CryptoParty and using basic tools (Tor, Truecrypt, PGP, etc)
OpSec	Don't Talk to Police	James Duane	Youtube video from US attorney on dealing with police encounters
OpSec	Encrypt Everything	Pirate Party of Canada
PGP	OpenPGP best practices	Riseup Labs
PGP	Keysigning Party HOWTO	V. Alex Brennen	Guide to efficient group keysigning
PGP	Biglumber		Coordinates keysigning parties by geographical area
PGP	comp.security.pgp FAQ	Wouter Slegers
PGP	RFC 4880	J. Callas, et al	OpenPGP message format
PGP	Always sign your PGP key	Keith Parkins
PGP	GnuPG FAQ
Software	The Art of Software Security Assessment
Software	The Book of PF (2nd edition)

Web Development

See Recommended Web Design Reference Documentation.

Other

• Checking C Programs with lint
• PDF Explained
• PostScript Language *
• File Formats Wiki - Archive Team
• PXE Install Multiple Distros