fogus: 10 Technical Papers Every Programmer Should Read (At Least Twice)

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10 Technical Papers Every Programmer Should Read (At Least Twice)

Sep 8, 2011<br>Let me preface this post by saying that no programmer should feel compelled to read any of these papers. I list them because I think that they provide a breadth of information that is generally useful and interesting from a computer science perspective. What you do with that information is your prerogative, including ignoring it completely. Instead, learn what you think is important for what you need to accomplish your job, education, interests, etc.

Inspired by a fabulous post by Michael Feathers along a similar vein, I’ve composed this post as a sequel to the original. That is, while I agree almost wholly with Mr. Feather’s1 choices, I tend to think that his choices are design-oriented2 and/or philosophical. In no way, do I disparage that approach, instead I think that there is room for another list that is more technical in nature, but the question remains, where to go next? In this post I will offer some guidance based on my own readings. The papers chosen herein are not intended to act as a C.S. hall of fame, but instead hope to accomplish the following:

All papers are freely available online (i.e. not pay-walled)

They are technical (at times highly so)

They cover a wide-range of topics

The form the basis of knowledge that every great programmer should know, and may already

Because of these constraints I will have missed some great papers, but for the most part I think this list is solid. Please feel free to disagree and offer alternatives in the comments.

A Visionary Flood of Alcohol

Fundamental Concepts in Programming Languages (link to paper)

by Christopher Strachey

Quite possibly the most influential set of lecture notes in the history of computer science. Left and Right-values, Parametric and Ad-hoc polymorphism were all defined in this paper. Much of the content may already occupy your mind, but the sheer weight of the heady topics assembled in one place is stunning to observe.

Why Functional Programming Matters (link to paper)

by John Hughes

I found this paper extremely lucid on the advantages of functional programming with the added advantage of showing off examples of beautiful code. There are seemingly an infinite number of papers on the topic of laziness with streams and generators, but I’ve yet to find a better treatment. Finally, I’ve always been partial to Reginald Braithwaite’s "Why Why Functional Programming Matters Matters" as a complement to this paper.

An Axiomatic Basis for Computer Programming (link to paper)

by C. A. R. HOARE

I came to this paper late in my career, but when I finally found it I felt like I had been hit by a bus. At the core of the paper lies the following assertion:

P {Q} R

Taken to mean:

If the assertion P is true before initiation of a program Q, then the<br>assertion R will be true on its completion

Where P is a precondition, Q is the execution of a program, and R is the result.

In other words, as long as a program/function/method/etc. receives a set of parameters conforming to its preconditions, its execution is guaranteed to produce a well-formed result. This paper inspired me to explore contracts programming in Clojure, but the proof implications reached in Hoare’s paper run much deeper.

Time, Clocks, and the Ordering of Events in a Distributed System (link to paper)

by Leslie Lamport (1978)

Lamport has been highly influential in the field of distributed computation for a very long time and almost any of his papers on the subject should impress. However, this particular paper is likely his most influential and single-handed defined two branches of study in distributed computing since:

The reasoning of event ordering in distributed systems and protocols

The state machine approach to redundancy

The most amazing aspect of this paper is that after you read it you might think to yourself, "Well, of course that’s how it should work." Jim Gray once said that this paper was both obvious and brilliant. I would say that there is no higher compliment.

On Understanding Types, Data Abstraction, and Polymorphism (link to paper)

by Luca Cardelli and Peter Wegner

I had originally thought to list Milner’s A Theory of Type Polymorphism in Programming, but thought that a survey paper would be better. I must admit that my own readings have not gone deep into the exploration of type systems, so any additional suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Recursive Functions of Symbolic Expressions and Their Computation by Machine, Part I (link to paper)

by John McCarthy

It’s...