The Computer Science Book
The Computer Science Book
A complete introduction to computer science in one book
About the Book
Learning computer science is difficult. Things are even tougher if you’re learning by yourself. This book is trying to change that.
When I started my first real programming job, fresh from a bootcamp, I was crushingly aware of how little I knew. Worse than that, I was constantly reminded of how much I didn’t even realise that I didn’t know. Well-meaning colleagues would casually mention some concept or convention that I’d simply never heard of.
The obvious thing to do is to study computer science. But how do you study computer science if a four year degree isn’t an option? Where should you start? How do you chart your way through the whole of computer science, studying topics in the right order? Which of the many classic textbooks should you read?
After years of study, I’ve written a book that will make computer science easy. Ten concise chapters covering each of the major areas will give you a comprehensive introduction to the fundamentals and guide you towards the best resources for further study. We’ll cover everything you need to be an effective developer. You’ll understand how everything fits together, be confident of what you know and, even more importantly, be aware of what you don’t know. Each chapter functions as both a standalone introduction and a primer for further, independent study.
About the Author
Reader Testimonials
Adrian Booth
This book is an essential read for anyone who felt they missed out on a computer science education, but also is a great reference guide for graduates. Tom distils each topic beautifully and succinctly, making it an overall joy to read where you're provided just enough information on a topic to leave you craving more. It's choc full of references to guide you in exploring each topic in more detail and contains many visual aids which assist you along the way
John Whiles
I read this book to get an overview of computer science. I'm a working programmer, but I lacked some of the knowledge that would help me progress in my career. This book covers the topics I lacked confidence in. I now feel like I can understand discussions about topics like algorithmic complexity, compilers, networking and more. If I need to go deeper, I now have a solid base to work from. I’ve been able to apply some of the content to my day to day work
Table of Contents
- Introduction
-
Theory of computation
- Introduction
- Automata theory
- Computability
- Algorithmic complexity
- Conclusion
- Further reading
-
Algorithms and data structures
- Introduction
- Data structures
- Abstract data types
- Algorithms
- Conclusion
- Further reading
-
Computer architecture
- Introduction
- Representing information
- Circuits and computation
- The processor
- Memory
- Performance optimisations
- Conclusion
- Further reading
-
Operating systems
- Introduction
- Common operating systems
- The boot process
- Interrupts: hardware support for software
- The kernel
- Managing the processor
- Managing memory
- Managing persistence
- Conclusion
- Further reading
-
Networking
- Introduction
- What is a network?
- The networking stack model
- The Internet Protocol
- Transmission Control Protocol
- Internet addressing and DNS
- The web, hypertext and HTTP
- Conclusion
- Further reading
-
Concurrent programming
- Introduction
- Concurrency, parallelism and asynchrony
- Determinacy and state
- Threads and locks
- JavaScript and the event loop
- Communicating sequential processes in Go
- Conclusion
- Further reading
-
Distributed systems
- Introduction
- Why we need distributed systems
- A theoretical model
- Handling network partitions: the CAP theorem
- Consistency models
- Consistency protocols
- Conclusion
- Further reading
-
Programming languages
- Introduction
- Defining a programming language
- Programming language concepts
- Programming paradigms
- Type systems
- Conclusion
- Further reading
-
Databases
- Introduction
- What does a database offer?
- Relational algebra and SQL
- Database architecture
- B-trees
- Indexes
- Concurrency control in SQLite and Postgres
- Conclusion
- Further reading
-
Compilers
- Introduction
- Compilation and interpretation
- The program life-cycle
- Building a compiler
- Who to trust?
- Conclusion
- Further reading
Authors have earned$9,882,857writing, publishing and selling on Leanpub, earning 80% royalties while saving up to 25 million pounds of CO2 and up to 46,000 trees.
Learn more about writing on Leanpub
The Leanpub 45-day 100% Happiness Guarantee
Within 45 days of purchase you can get a 100% refund on any Leanpub purchase, in two clicks.
See full terms
Free Updates. DRM Free.
If you buy a Leanpub book, you get free updates for as long as the author updates the book! Many authors use Leanpub to publish their books in-progress, while they are writing them. All readers get free updates, regardless of when they bought the book or how much they paid (including free).
Most Leanpub books are available in PDF (for computers), EPUB (for phones and tablets) and MOBI (for Kindle). The formats that a book includes are shown at the top right corner of this page.
Finally, Leanpub books don't have any DRM copy-protection nonsense, so you can easily read them on any supported device.
Learn more about Leanpub's ebook formats and where to read them
Top Books
- #1
C++ Best Practices
Jason TurnerLevel up your C++, get the tools working for you, eliminate common problems, and move on to more exciting things!
- #2
Functional Design and Architecture
Alexander GraninSoftware Design in Functional Programming, Design Patterns and Practices, Methodologies and Application Architectures. How to build real software in Haskell with less efforts and low risks. The first complete source of knowledge.
- #3
OpenIntro Statistics
David Diez, Christopher Barr, Mine Cetinkaya-Rundel, and OpenIntroA complete foundation for Statistics, also serving as a foundation for Data Science.
Leanpub revenue supports OpenIntro (US-based nonprofit) so we can provide free desk copies to teachers interested in using OpenIntro Statistics in the classroom and expand the project to support free textbooks in other subjects.
More resources: openintro.org.
- #4
R Programming for Data Science
Roger D. PengThis book brings the fundamentals of R programming to you, using the same material developed as part of the industry-leading Johns Hopkins Data Science Specialization. The skills taught in this book will lay the foundation for you to begin your journey learning data science. Printed copies of this book are available through Lulu.
- #5
C++20
Rainer GrimmC++20 is the next big C++ standard after C++11. As C++11 did it, C++20 changes the way we program modern C++. This change is, in particular, due to the big four of C++20: ranges, coroutines, concepts, and modules.
- #6
I am a Software Engineer and I am in Charge
Alexis Monville and Michael DoyleI am a Software Engineer and I am in Charge is a real-world, practical book that helps you increase your impact and satisfaction at work no matter who you work with.
In the book, we will follow Sandrine, a fictional character who learns to think in a new way enabling her to take a different course of action.
- #7
Invest In Digital Health - The Medical Futurist's Guide
Dr. Bertalan MeskoArtificial Intelligence and Digital Health are booming. In this book, we explain why now it's a good time to invest in Digital Health and give recommendations on where to invest by looking at the top 24 technological trends we find the most promising.
- #8
Atomic Kotlin
Bruce Eckel and Svetlana IsakovaFor both beginning and experienced programmers! From the author of the multi-award-winning Thinking in C++ and Thinking in Java together with a member of the Kotlin language team comes a book that breaks the concepts into small, easy-to-digest "atoms," along with exercises supported by hints and solutions directly inside IntelliJ IDEA!
- #9
The Hundred-Page Machine Learning Book
Andriy BurkovEverything you really need to know in Machine Learning in a hundred pages.
- #10
Mastering STM32
Carmine NovielloWith more than 600 microcontrollers, STM32 is probably the most complete ARM Cortex-M platform on the market. This book aims to be the first guide around that introduces the reader to this exciting MCU portfolio from ST Microelectronics and its official CubeHAL.
Top Bundles
- #1
Software Architecture for Developers: Volumes 1 & 2 - Technical leadership and communication
2 Books
"Software Architecture for Developers" is a practical and pragmatic guide to modern, lightweight software architecture, specifically aimed at developers. You'll learn:The essence of software architecture.Why the software architecture role should include coding, coaching and collaboration.The things that you really need to think about before... - #2
The Future of Digital Health
6 Books
We put together the most popular books from The Medical Futurist to provide a clear picture about the major trends shaping the future of medicine and healthcare. Digital health technologies, artificial intelligence, the future of 20 medical specialties, big pharma, data privacy and how technology giants such as Amazon or Google want to conquer... - #3
Cisco CCNA 200-301 Complet
4 Books
Ce lot comprend les quatre volumes du guide préparation à l'examen de certification Cisco CCNA 200-301. - #4
CCDE Practical Studies (All labs)
3 Books
CCDE lab - #5
"The C++ Standard Library" and "Concurrency with Modern C++"
2 Books
Get my books "The C++ Standard Library" and "Concurrency with Modern C++" in a bundle. The first book gives you the details you should know about the C++ standard library; the second one dives deeper into concurrency with modern C++. In sum, you get more than 600 pages full of modern C++ and about 250 source files presenting the standard library... - #6
Modern Management Made Easy
3 Books
Read all three Modern Management Made Easy books. Learn to manage yourself, lead and serve others, and lead the organization. - #7
Programming with Ease
3 Books
Alle drei Bände der Serie Programming with Ease in einem Paket. Darin findest du alles, was ich dir zu den wichtigsten Phasen der Softwareentwicklung im Hinblick auf Clean Code Development für langfristig hohe Produktivität sagen kann.Im Band Slicing findest du die Anforderungsanalyse im Rahmen eines iterativ-inkrementellen Vorgehensmodells aus... - #8
Vagrant Ansible
2 Books
Unveil the power of Ansible and Vagrant with this bundle at a special price. You'll have everything you need to get started with Vagrant - learn the basics and how to create your virtual development environments, using Ansible as provisioner! About Vagrant Cookbook Vagrant Cookbook is a complete guide to get started with Vagrant and create your... - #9
Mastering Containers
2 Books
Docker and Kubernetes are taking the world by storm! These books will get you up-to-speed fast! Docker Deep Dive is over 400 pages long, and covers all objectives on the Docker Certified Associate exam.The Kubernetes Book includes everything you need to get up and running with Kubernetes! - #10
Growing Agile: The Complete Coach's Guide
7 Books
Growing Agile: Coach's Guide Series This bundle provides a collection of training and workshop plans for a variety of agile topics. The series is aimed at agile coaches, trainers and ScrumMasters who often find themselves needing to help teams understand agile concepts. Each book in the series provides the plans, slides, handouts and activity...
