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Programs can be Beautiful

This book is 8% completeLast updated on 2026-07-03

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About

About

About the Book

The goal of this book is to show, through numerous examples that computer programs are works of literature in their own right. It is guided by the following principles:

  • It is far more satisfying to design a publishable program rather than simply settling for than one that just "runs".
  • Programs should be written and polished until they acquire publication quality.
  • Programs should be written not simply for computers to execute but for human readers to enjoy.

These programs produce solutions to the 2015 edition of the well-known Advent of Code series.

One can think of each program as a short story meant not only to instruct a machine, but also to delight the human reader.

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Author

About the Author

Eric Macaulay

Eric is a computer programmer who is passionate about correct-by-construction software development and functional programming languages.

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