| Meditative and yet authoritative, The Philosophical Programmer celebrates the creative possibilities of programming while reminding the reader of technology's ethical conundrums. Daniel Kohanski keeps this slim volume rooted in valid examples, providing a rich exploration of the thought process involved in machine code. He treats programming as a language, detailing its elegance and efficiency from the earliest computer inventions to the present day. Because of the book's clear, conversational tone, The Philosophical Programmer can be read cover to cover by nonprogrammers and still be fascinating to knowledgeable veterans.
In the preface to The Philosophical Programmer, Kohanski writes, "In the last five years books have flooded the marketplace describing in detail what some computer product does, or how to write programs in some particular language. Yet there has been very little discussion about what programming is and about the meaning of programs for our lives." Kohanski fills that void with The Philosophical Programmer--a rich and engaging history interwoven with well-constructed commentary. --Jennifer Buckendorff
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