Technology

Devil in the Stack: A Coding Odyssey

Devil in the Stack: A Coding Odyssey

  • Downloads：5521
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2024-09-01 09:20:25
  • Update Date：2025-09-08
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Andrew Smith
  • ISBN：0802158846
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle

Reviews

Annarella ，

I've been a programmer， sys admin， IT projecte manager for ages so I was very curious about this book。Even if I worked with different languages and softwares （sometimes it matters） I was able to recognize some of the mind processes and experiences。It's thought provoking and entertaining at the same time。Highly recommended。Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC， all opinions are mine I've been a programmer， sys admin， IT projecte manager for ages so I was very curious about this book。Even if I worked with different languages and softwares （sometimes it matters） I was able to recognize some of the mind processes and experiences。It's thought provoking and entertaining at the same time。Highly recommended。Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC， all opinions are mine 。。。more

Nicholas Tollervey ，

Cards on the table: I was part of Andrew's journey writing this book， and I've read several drafts， including the final version。 Clearly I'll be biased about the work of a friend。From my perspective Andrew engaged with the Python programming community - that part of coding culture in which I live - with an open mind， big heart and generous spirit （the Python community were but one of many coding cultures Andrew encountered）。 The book very much reflects his obvious amazement， intrigue and （at tim Cards on the table: I was part of Andrew's journey writing this book， and I've read several drafts， including the final version。 Clearly I'll be biased about the work of a friend。From my perspective Andrew engaged with the Python programming community - that part of coding culture in which I live - with an open mind， big heart and generous spirit （the Python community were but one of many coding cultures Andrew encountered）。 The book very much reflects his obvious amazement， intrigue and （at times） horror at what those of us in the world of coding get up to。 To use a well worn phrase， he includes the good， the bad and the ugly （and I'd add， some pretty hilarious as well as some beautifully touching moments too）。Anyone already in the world of programming will be engaged by this book: Andrew successfully holds up a mirror in which we are able to see ourselves as others do - warts and all。 Those who are not programmers but interested in coding， those who want to fathom the rather opaque world of technology， or anyone who cares about how the world is tacitly changed by unaccountable coders will be joining Andrew on an entertainingly weird odyssey through the topsy-turvy world of computing。 He covers a LOT of material， both technical and cultural， and does so in a very relatable， thoughtful and engaging way。I love much of the programming work I do: the collaborative creativity of coding， the joy of exploring the potential for technology to enlarge our culture， and the knowledge that one could be putting something into the world that others find helpful or delightful is a wonderful privilege。 Yet the tech world contains much that is unpleasant。 Many of those who inhabit it often have an over-inflated sense of their "world changing" and "revolutionary" work， while at the same time exhibit crass logical cleverness and hubris， combined with a staggering lack of intelligence， compassion and cultural awareness。 Andrew identifies and engages with all these complicated aspects of the world of coding。 It means this book is a delightfully pointed yet entertaining exploration of such a deeply paradoxical， irrational and surprising world。 。。。more

Scott Ward ，

Smith provides an omnibus history and personal account of coding from the early logic arguments of George Boole to current cryptocurrency’s block chain communal data-sharing。。 He wheels through philosophy， art， music， artificial intelligence [machine learning]， neurology…and home appliance repair。 He reads voraciously and learns to code。 You can learn more than you may want to about the pros and cons of different coding languages。 You’ll meet some eccentric figures， delve deep into tech giant cu Smith provides an omnibus history and personal account of coding from the early logic arguments of George Boole to current cryptocurrency’s block chain communal data-sharing。。 He wheels through philosophy， art， music， artificial intelligence [machine learning]， neurology…and home appliance repair。 He reads voraciously and learns to code。 You can learn more than you may want to about the pros and cons of different coding languages。 You’ll meet some eccentric figures， delve deep into tech giant cultures。 More importantly you’ll learn where tech helps and its limitations， because the universe and its creature’s behaviors cannot be defined by bits and bytes。 As one wit opined centuries ago， “You cannot legislate morality” because you cannot write enough rules to cover all contingencies。 Likewise， you cannot write decision-making schemes for unexperienced scenarios， such as a tragic self-driving car incident hitting a bicyclist with grocery bags on both arms of the bike’s handle。 As Daniel Kahnemann， Tversky and Thaler have taught us， humans don’t make rational decisions and thus， our algorithms might be irrational as well。 Smith quotes many others including the author of “Weapons of Math Destruction，” that some unintended， ugly consequences occur when our biases and prejudices are not questioned or held in check。 We might rely on “seeing is believing” when we actually make rules based on “believing is seeing。” We ignore contrary data that doesn’t fit our models， conceptions and rules of thumb。 Meanwhile， our brains adapt to the environment we’re immersed in。 And so， the author acknowledges that he’s even started to think and behave differently since starting to work on programming projects。 So can machines learn， adapt， trust some intuitive feel， for example， that someone is lying in an ever-changing world？ Smith explores this in this readable romp through the computing industry。I appreciate the publisher for providing a copy。 。。。more