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This is a list of excellent books on programming that you can find for free -- notable because this is explicitly an intersection of great writing and free resources, rather than just the latter!
Score
A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
| 1 |
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Learn You a Haskell for Great Good!
by
4.31 avg rating — 2,370 ratings
score: 690,
and
7 people voted
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| 2 |
|
Why's (Poignant) Guide to Ruby
by
4.05 avg rating — 464 ratings
score: 596,
and
6 people voted
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| 3 |
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Learn Python The Hard Way
by
3.87 avg rating — 1,253 ratings
score: 592,
and
6 people voted
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| 4 |
|
Think Python
by
Allen B. Downey (Goodreads Author)
4.13 avg rating — 1,663 ratings
score: 499,
and
5 people voted
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| 5 |
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Pro Git
by
4.18 avg rating — 3,389 ratings
score: 492,
and
5 people voted
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| 6 |
|
Clojure for the Brave and True
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4.27 avg rating — 569 ratings
score: 486,
and
5 people voted
|
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| 7 |
|
Eloquent JavaScript: A Modern Introduction to Programming
by
4.14 avg rating — 3,194 ratings
score: 397,
and
4 people voted
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| 8 |
|
Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
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4.47 avg rating — 4,838 ratings
score: 395,
and
4 people voted
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| 9 |
|
The Ruby on Rails Tutorial
by
Michael Hartl (Goodreads Author)
4.32 avg rating — 575 ratings
score: 298,
and
3 people voted
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| 10 |
|
How to Design Programs: An Introduction to Programming and Computing
by
4.02 avg rating — 271 ratings
score: 296,
and
3 people voted
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| 11 |
|
Learn you some Erlang for great good!
by
Fred Hebert (Goodreads Author)
4.49 avg rating — 352 ratings
score: 291,
and
3 people voted
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| 12 |
|
Programming Book
by
it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating
score: 200,
and
2 people voted
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| 13 |
|
Real World Haskell
by
Bryan O'Sullivan (Goodreads Author)
3.94 avg rating — 943 ratings
score: 198,
and
2 people voted
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| 14 |
|
Practical Common Lisp
by
4.15 avg rating — 790 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
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| 14 |
|
Higher-Order Perl: Transforming Programs with Programs
by
Mark Jason Dominus (Goodreads Author)
4.24 avg rating — 148 ratings
score: 100,
and
1 person voted
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| 16 |
|
Clojure Cookbook: Recipes for Functional Programming
by
3.72 avg rating — 57 ratings
score: 99,
and
1 person voted
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| 17 |
|
Simply Scheme - 2nd Edition: Introducing Computer Science
by
3.70 avg rating — 30 ratings
score: 98,
and
1 person voted
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| 18 |
|
Python for Informatics: Exploring Information
by
3.99 avg rating — 618 ratings
score: 97,
and
1 person voted
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| 19 |
|
Automate the Boring Stuff with Python: Practical Programming for Total Beginners
by
Al Sweigart (Goodreads Author)
4.28 avg rating — 3,131 ratings
score: 95,
and
1 person voted
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| 20 |
|
The Art of UNIX Programming
by
4.18 avg rating — 1,266 ratings
score: 94,
and
1 person voted
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| 21 |
|
Introduction to Networking: How the Internet Works
by
4.38 avg rating — 474 ratings
score: 91,
and
1 person voted
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Tags:
free, programming
Comments Showing 1-5 of 5 (5 new)
date
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message 1:
by
Savannah
(new)
Aug 18, 2017 11:16AM
I'm a bit confused as to why the list says these books are 'free'... I am interested in a few books on this list but it doesn't look like they are free?
reply
|
flag
Natalia wrote: "I'm a bit confused as to why the list says these books are 'free'... I am interested in a few books on this list but it doesn't look like they are free?"Many are available for purchase, but were also explicitly made available free somewhere on the web at the time the list was made; maybe some changed. Do you have an example?
Melissa wrote: "Natalia wrote: "I'm a bit confused as to why the list says these books are 'free'... I am interested in a few books on this list but it doesn't look like they are free?"Many are available for pur..."
Thanks for your reply, Melissa. I am interested in the Python books in particular. Book 3 on this list, 'Learn Python the hard way', seems to be available as a free sample only. I found some of the other books though (e.g. numbers 4 and 19 on the list) after a quick search. I should have had a proper look before commenting, sorry for the confusion. Thank you for making the list available! :)
Hey, no worries! I should update the list re: Python the Hard Way and give some explanation, too. Write the Docs, right? Thanks for checking in about it!
Ashley wrote: "Should books that aren't [legally] free anymore be on the list still?"I don’t think so. Which book(s) should I update, if you don’t mind? Thanks for reaching out!
Anyone can add books to this list.
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