Learn Computer Science

I'm second-career web developer (writing mostly Ruby) since 2022, meaning I didn't get a computer science degree. So this list is me catching up.

Table of contents

• Networking / the Web
• Hardware systems
• Operating systems
• Linux / command line
• Concurrency / distributed systems
• Database internals
  • Database readings
    • PostgreSQL
  • Database exercises
• Compilers
• Math / logic
• Data structures and algorithms
  • Textbooks / courses
  • Interview guides
  • LeetCode
• Software architecture
• Performance
• Low-level programming
  • Zig
  • Implement a Forth
  • C
  • C game programming

Networking / the Web

• HTTP:
  • 💲Noah Gibbs - Rebuilding HTTP.
  • http2 explained
  • HTTP/3 explained
  • 💲HTTP/2 in Action
  • 💲Build Your Own Web Server From Scratch In Node.JS
• Networking:
  • High Performance Browser Networking
  • Computer Networking : Principles,Protocols and Practice
  • 💲Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach
  • Jesse Storimer - Working with TCP Sockets.
  • Beej's Guide to Network Programming
  • Experiment with CDNs or reverse proxies (e.g. Nginx, Varnish, HAProxy, Cloudflare) to understand caching, TLS termination, load balancing, and security filtering (rate limiting, WAF, etc.).
• Security:
  • 💲Grokking Web Application Security and the free accompanying site Hacksplaining
  • PortSwigger - web security exercises
• Browsers:
  • Web Browser Engineering
  • High Performance Browser Networking

Hardware systems

• 💲Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software
• NandGame and solutions: 1, 2, 3
• From Nand to Tetris: Part 1, Part 2
• Circuit sandboxes:
  • CircuitVerse
  • Logisim Evolution
  • wireworld
  • 💲Turing Complete
  • 💲Virtual Circuit Board
  • 💲Circuit Artist
• Dive into Systems
• What Every Programmer Should Know About Memory
• 💲Digital Design and Computer Architecture
• 💲Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective

Operating systems

• Operating Systems: Three Easy Pieces
• xv6, a simple Unix-like teaching operating system (MIT course)

Linux / command line

• Linux Journey
• Sundeep Agarwal - Linux Command Line Computing
• The Linux Command Line
• The Art of Command Line
• Sundeep Agarwal - "Linux CLI and shell scripting" list
• Julia Evans - Your Linux Toolbox
• 💲Efficient Linux at the Command Line
• 💲How Linux Works
• 💲Julia Evans - Bite Size zine pack
• 💲Wicked Cool Shell Scripts

Concurrency / distributed systems

• 💲Foundations of Scalable Systems
• Is Parallel Programming Hard, And, If So, What Can You Do About It?
• Distributed Systems
• On Transactional Concurrency Control
• Gossip Glomers (distibuted systems challenges)

Database internals

Database readings

• How does a relational database work?
• Architecture of a Database System
• 💲Database Internals
• Transaction Processing
• Readings in Database Systems
• PGTune

PostgreSQL

• Postgres Playground
• Yeah, Postgres can do that
• Introduction to PostgreSQL Indexes
• The Internals of PostgreSQL
• PostgreSQL docs
• 💲The Art of PostgreSQL
• 💲PostgreSQL Query Optimization: The Ultimate Guide to Building Efficient Queries

Database exercises

• 💲Build a Database Server
• 💲Build Your Own Database From Scratch in Go
• Build Your Own Redis with C/C++
• Build Redis from scratch

Compilers

• Destroy All Software - A Compiler from Scratch
• Writing a compiler in Ruby, bottom up and related resources at the bottom of that page
• Let's make a Teeny Tiny compiler
• Stanford: SOE-YCSCS1 Compilers
• 💲Crafting Interpreters
• 💲Build Your Own Compiler from Scratch

Math / logic

• 💲Logic for Programmers
• 💲Math for Programming
• 💲Concrete Mathematics: A Foundation for Computer Science
• 💲Coding The Matrix: Linear Algebra Through Computer Science Applications

Data structures and algorithms

Textbooks / courses

• 💲Data Structures and Algorithms in Java along with VisuAlgo
  • Maybe this instead: 💲A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms
  • Or: 💲Algorithms Unlocked
• Codeintuition
• 💲Practical Analysis of Algorithms
• 💲The Algorithm Design Manual plus lecture videos
• 💲Algorithm Design
  • Maybe this instead: 💲Algorithms
  • Or: 💲Introduction to Algorithms

Interview guides

• Tech Interview Handbook
• 💲Beyond Cracking the Coding Interview (preview csolutions for free at interviewing.io)
• 💲Elements of Programming Interviews

LeetCode

• Ruby solutions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
• Algorithms Ruby gem that is included in the LeetCode environment.
• NeetCode 250
• Grind75
• 14 Patterns to Ace Any Coding Interview Question
• 20 Essential Coding Patterns to Ace Your Next Coding Interview
• Coding Interview Patterns
• AlgoMonster - Patterns
• LeetCode Patterns
• 💲Grokking the Coding Interview: Patterns for Coding Questions
• An interview algorithms tier list
• Another algorithms tier list
• Other resource lists: 1, 2, 3

Software architecture

• Fundamentals of Software Architecture
• The Architecture of Open Source Applications
• Hexagonal Architecture Explained
  • related: a talk by the author; functional core, imperative shell
  • Get Your Hands Dirty on Clean Architecture
• Talks on vertical slice architecture: 1, 2

Performance

• Mature Optimization Handbook
• 💲Systems Performance

Low-level programming

Zig

• Ziglings
• Zen of Zig
• zig.guide
• Learning Zig
• Introduction to Zig: a project-based book
• Zig Cookbook
• 💲Systems Programming with Zig
• Working with Strings in Zig
• Karl Seguin's blog

Implement a Forth

• Starting FORTH or Easy Forth
• Thinking Forth
• Implementing a Forth
• Minimal FORTH interpreters: 1, 2
• Fitting a Forth in 512 bytes
• Design Decisions in the Forth Kernel
• Threaded Interpretive Languages: Their Design and Implementation
• Factor if I want to explore a "high-level FORTH"

C

• 💲C Programming: A Modern Approach
• CS50 problem sets (1-5) and solutions: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
• Tutorial on pointers and arrays in C
• Exercism - C
• Advent of Code: CLI/runner written in C; I can't find any repos with solutions for all years, but probably there are repos with solutions for a specific year.
• Look into other "better C" languages besides Zig: Odin, Beef, V, Jai, C3, MiniLang, and others (minus the C++ replacements like Rust, which are too complex for my purposes)

C game programming

• Handmade Hero videos plus Handmade Penguin to follow along in Linux
• Handmade Quake videos and source code
• Kohi Game Engine videos
• Make a game, taking inspiration from high_impact, raylib, Box2D 3.x (or see box2d-raylib)
  • Or make a text-based game: see How to program a text adventure in C and Knuth's C port of Colossal Cave Adventure (which, incidentally, is an example of literate programming, now reincarnated in Entangled)
• Handmade Network