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Discussion on: What are some "classic reads" in programming?

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Jean • Edited
  • Clean Code
    Talks about how to write and structure readable code, and why you should do it. Also talks about TDD

  • Refactoring
    Shows you how to refactor code effectively and progressively, the last edition uses JavaScript for the examples

  • Pragmatic Programmer
    Probably the most popular book. Talks about soft skills, tooling, development, everything that makes you a better developer. Should read this at least once in your life

  • Code Complete
    Bit old but still relevant. It's a compendium of techniques

  • Design Patterns - gang of four
    Self explanatory title, teaches you how to write better and scalable code depending on what you're trying to solve

Not "classic" but I think useful anyway: Cracking the coding interview
Teaches algorithms and data structures (+ how to pass interviews at the big companies)

If you want to pick just one I would read clean code or pragmatic programmer