Ask HN: Similar books to “Raytracing in one Weekend”?

150 pointsaugunrik3y ago27 comments

I really liked the "Raytracing in one Weekend" Series [0], in terms of: explaining a complicated concept by programming a toy implementation of the thing itself and afterwards one is left with more knowledge and something to "show".

Does someone know similar series on other subjects than raytracing? I know there is the Advent of Code, but that's more like solving a puzzle.

[0]: https://raytracing.github.io

27 comments

Jemaclus3y ago

I would recommend Crafting Interpreters (https://craftinginterpreters.com) or Interpreter Book (https://interpreterbook.com/). Excellent ways to learn how to build an interpreter. You have a functioning interpreter by the end of it, and it's easy enough to extend it into new concepts! I'm using some of the lessons learned from that to build a custom interpreter for a small project I'm working on. It's really fun!

jesusinsneakers3y ago

I've been struggling to decide which one (of the two interpreter books you mentioned) to read. Any specific reason I should read one over the other?

munificent3y ago

I wrote "Crafting Interpreters" and read and very much enjoyed Thorsten's interpreters book. (I haven't gotten to his second one yet.)

They are surprisingly alike. Mine takes you through two complete implementations of the same language: first as a tree-walk interpreter and then as a bytecode compiler. His first book does the former and his second book does the latter.

Both are written in an informal friendly style and focus on working code. If you like one, you'll probably like the latter.

Mine uses Java for the first language and C for the second. Thorsten's books use Go for both. I think mine has more background information, theory, and historical context. His will get you to a working interpreter with less prose to wade through.

I think it's mostly a question of style and preference. I'd dip into the first chapter of each and see which resonates with you.

Tomte3y ago

There seem to be many ripoffs on Amazon. Just a quick search yielded this:

https://www.amazon.de/Crafting-Interpreters-Paperback-BOB/dp...

https://www.amazon.de/Crafting-Interpreters-Tracy-Shep/dp/B0...

https://www.amazon.de/Crafting-Interpreters-Steven-Billups/d...

Have you already tried getting Amazon to remove them and failed?

1 more reply

renaissance_tea3y ago

Nice review of Thorstens book. I read your book when I graduated college around 2018 and was unfulfilled at work. It was a lot of fun and I distinctly remember sitting in a coffee shop for hours reading through it and debugging my code.

Unsurprisingly my family asked what I wanted for Christmas and I put both your book and Thorstens on my list to reread .

b33j0r3y ago

There is a sense of premium quality from your books, so I bought em. You haven’t let me down!

I have been curious. Why the choice of java as introductory level?

Maybe I’ve been lucky to choose my own tools over the years. But I still get hung up on this. It’s just that Java is so longform.

I’m not sure I ever really wrote a sort in it, without cheating. Besides showing off that I could, I probably installed groovy or later scala, mostly.

So heh. I had a pleasant headfake in “Crafting Interpreters” when it was revealed that the JVM machinery wasn’t going to get anyone the full distance.

Java just feels backwards, as the low-level code is simpler and smaller. Why is Java still seen as more accessible than [anything else]?

Is OOPs curriculum still that prevalent?

Or. Pointers? Pointers took me a long time, even after I got them. Is it pointers?

1 more reply

Jemaclus3y ago

I've bought and read both, but the one I used for my interpreter was Interpreter Book by Thorsten Ball, because it's written in Go and Go is currently my favorite language. They both work well, though!

sasas3y ago

This is a fantastic list of projects. From 3D renderers, blockchain protocols, frameworks to emulators.

"Build your own X" - "This repository is a compilation of well-written, step-by-step guides for re-creating our favorite technologies from scratch." [0]

[0] https://github.com/codecrafters-io/build-your-own-x

iKlsR3y ago

Game Physics in One Weekend [0], Ten Minute Physics [1]

[0]: https://gamephysicsweekend.github.io/

[1]: https://matthias-research.github.io/pages/tenMinutePhysics/

maximmcnair3y ago

The "From Nand to Tetris" course or in book form "The Elements of Computing Systems". This steps through building a computer from scratch. Starting with building logic gates from transistors, through to building a CPU and then writing assembly.

renaissance_tea3y ago

FWIW this book is great. It took me a couple months of immense dedication to finish everything from the first course.

pmat3y ago

Fluid Simulation for Computer Graphics by Robert Bridson [0] is one of my favorites. It’s a very approachable introduction to fluid mechanics pdes, and how to code wonderful fluid simulations like this HN favorite [1].

[0]: https://www.cs.ubc.ca/~rbridson/fluidsimulation/

[1]: https://paveldogreat.github.io/WebGL-Fluid-Simulation/

tmtvl3y ago

Common Lisp: A Gentle Introduction has you code a bunch of neat little projects, I'm especially fond of the substitution cypher solving program. It reminds me of Covert Action.

adam_ellsworth3y ago

ty for the recommendation; for those interested in reading it here's a PDF version of it (via the author's website).

https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/LispBook/book.pdf

legends2k3y ago

My curated and update list of Computer Graphics resources you can read online for free [0] with every item having a small description.

[0]: https://legends2k.github.io/note/cg_resources/

jchook3y ago

Check out Crafting Interpreters[0]. You learn about Chomsky formal language hierarchy, constructing context-free grammars, lexing, parsing, error reporting, etc by building your own programming language.

[0]: https://craftinginterpreters.com/

avinassh3y ago

self plug: I wanted to learn how databases work internally, like how they store and retrieve data, build indexes, etc.

I built an educational KV store to teach someone to write a database from scratch. I have set up this project in TDD fashion with the tests. So, you start with simple functions, pass the tests, and the difficulty level goes up. There are hints if you get stuck. When all the tests pass, you would have written a persistent key-value store in the end.

link: https://github.com/avinassh/py-caskdb

agluszak3y ago

500 lines or less and the rest of Architecture of Open Source Applications series http://www.aosabook.org/en/

locriacyber3y ago

Generative Design by Benedikt Groß, Hartmut Bohnacker, Julia Laub, Claudius Lazzeroni

It's about 2D programmatic raster graphics.

augunrikOP3y ago

Thanks for all your links! I haven't decided on what to next :D

WhiteBlueSkies3y ago

What about now?

open-source-ux3y ago

The Sam's Teach Yourself in 24 hours is a series of computing-related books:

https://www.pearson.com/us/higher-education/series/Sams-Teac...

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

27 comments

Jemaclus3y ago

jesusinsneakers3y ago

I've been struggling to decide which one (of the two interpreter books you mentioned) to read. Any specific reason I should read one over the other?

munificent3y ago

I wrote "Crafting Interpreters" and read and very much enjoyed Thorsten's interpreters book. (I haven't gotten to his second one yet.)

Both are written in an informal friendly style and focus on working code. If you like one, you'll probably like the latter.

I think it's mostly a question of style and preference. I'd dip into the first chapter of each and see which resonates with you.

Tomte3y ago

There seem to be many ripoffs on Amazon. Just a quick search yielded this:

https://www.amazon.de/Crafting-Interpreters-Paperback-BOB/dp...

https://www.amazon.de/Crafting-Interpreters-Tracy-Shep/dp/B0...

https://www.amazon.de/Crafting-Interpreters-Steven-Billups/d...

Have you already tried getting Amazon to remove them and failed?

1 more reply

renaissance_tea3y ago

Unsurprisingly my family asked what I wanted for Christmas and I put both your book and Thorstens on my list to reread .

b33j0r3y ago

There is a sense of premium quality from your books, so I bought em. You haven’t let me down!

I have been curious. Why the choice of java as introductory level?

Maybe I’ve been lucky to choose my own tools over the years. But I still get hung up on this. It’s just that Java is so longform.

I’m not sure I ever really wrote a sort in it, without cheating. Besides showing off that I could, I probably installed groovy or later scala, mostly.

So heh. I had a pleasant headfake in “Crafting Interpreters” when it was revealed that the JVM machinery wasn’t going to get anyone the full distance.

Java just feels backwards, as the low-level code is simpler and smaller. Why is Java still seen as more accessible than [anything else]?

Is OOPs curriculum still that prevalent?

Or. Pointers? Pointers took me a long time, even after I got them. Is it pointers?

1 more reply

Jemaclus3y ago

sasas3y ago

This is a fantastic list of projects. From 3D renderers, blockchain protocols, frameworks to emulators.

"Build your own X" - "This repository is a compilation of well-written, step-by-step guides for re-creating our favorite technologies from scratch." [0]

[0] https://github.com/codecrafters-io/build-your-own-x

iKlsR3y ago

Game Physics in One Weekend [0], Ten Minute Physics [1]

[0]: https://gamephysicsweekend.github.io/

[1]: https://matthias-research.github.io/pages/tenMinutePhysics/

maximmcnair3y ago

renaissance_tea3y ago

FWIW this book is great. It took me a couple months of immense dedication to finish everything from the first course.

pmat3y ago

[0]: https://www.cs.ubc.ca/~rbridson/fluidsimulation/

[1]: https://paveldogreat.github.io/WebGL-Fluid-Simulation/

tmtvl3y ago

Common Lisp: A Gentle Introduction has you code a bunch of neat little projects, I'm especially fond of the substitution cypher solving program. It reminds me of Covert Action.

adam_ellsworth3y ago

ty for the recommendation; for those interested in reading it here's a PDF version of it (via the author's website).

https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/LispBook/book.pdf

legends2k3y ago

My curated and update list of Computer Graphics resources you can read online for free [0] with every item having a small description.

[0]: https://legends2k.github.io/note/cg_resources/

jchook3y ago

[0]: https://craftinginterpreters.com/

avinassh3y ago

self plug: I wanted to learn how databases work internally, like how they store and retrieve data, build indexes, etc.

link: https://github.com/avinassh/py-caskdb

agluszak3y ago

500 lines or less and the rest of Architecture of Open Source Applications series http://www.aosabook.org/en/

locriacyber3y ago

Generative Design by Benedikt Groß, Hartmut Bohnacker, Julia Laub, Claudius Lazzeroni

It's about 2D programmatic raster graphics.

augunrikOP3y ago

Thanks for all your links! I haven't decided on what to next :D

WhiteBlueSkies3y ago

What about now?

open-source-ux3y ago

The Sam's Teach Yourself in 24 hours is a series of computing-related books:

https://www.pearson.com/us/higher-education/series/Sams-Teac...

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse