The Bible

Generic term for a book of high reference value. The pages and cover are usually well worn. Smudges, writing in the margins, creases, and other worn attributes only increase the value of TheBible.

Better than a "good book to have" or a "must read", TheBible is a book that you'll be re-reading from time to time for many years to come.

A "Bible" can also be known as The Book (but not as The Good Book, which refers instead to the Christian Bible.)

With few exceptions, if a software book actually has the word "Bible" in its title, the book is probably not TheBible.

Contrast with vademecum, the term for a manual that is intentionally kept light and portable. (Indeed, the words vade mecum are Latin for "go with me" -- and the word "manual" denotes a book that can be held or carried in manu "in the hand".) Calling a work "a Bible", or "the Bible" for its subject, connotes authoritative and comprehensive coverage; by contrast, "vademecum" connotes an intentional restriction to the most frequently needed reference material only.

Also contrast with cheat sheet which is a one-page (letter/A4) list of the most useful tips/commands/notes. Named for it's common use as a (covert) memory aid in tests.

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Some bibles for software engineering and related technical dispiclines could be:

• WritingSolidCode by SteveMaguire

• CodeComplete by SteveMcConnell
• DesignPatterns by the GangOfFour.
• TheArtOfComputerProgramming by DonKnuth
• NumericalRecipesInCee by William Press et al.
• CompilersPrinciplesTechniquesAndTools (TheDragonBook)
• StructureAndInterpretationOfComputerPrograms (TheWizardBook)
• IntroductionToAlgorithms by Cormen, Leiserson and Rivest
• ''Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice, by Foley, van Dam, Feiner, and Hughes
• MasteringRegularExpressions, by Jeffrey E.F. Friedl
• The C Programming Language by KernighanAndRitchie -- I've seen people cross themselves before opening this book. [ In fear or reverence? ]
• DiscreteTimeSignalProcessing by Oppenheim and Schafer

Some management/facilitation scripture:

• PeopleWare by TomDeMarco and TimothyLister
• The MythicalManMonth by FredBrooks Jr.
• SevenHabitsOfHighlyEffectivePeople

Some bibles for general topics:

• TheHolyBible?, Quran, Torah, Vedic texts, etc.
• Piloting, Seamanship and Small Boat Handling, Charles F. Chapman -- the bible for small craft sailors and boaters
• Jonathan Livingston Seagull

Terrestrial Influences:

In the Muntaka Upanishad of HinduPhilosophy?, the third chapter describes a parable of two birds. One is Adma (soul) and another is Jeev(life). Both sit in a ficus (pippala) tree. Jeev eats the figs while Adma looks at her without any influence. This story explains how life does worldly things (including sex) which don't affect the inner soul. The story relates philologically with the biblical Adam and Eve, and the Forbidden Fruit in the Tree of Knowledge. (Though the standard Bible does not mention the fig!). The Upanishads predate the Bible by 3000 years. Confer: Deivathin kural written by H.H. Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi Swamiji of Kanchi Kamakoti peetam. http://www.kamakoti.org - or read muntaka upanishad in http://www.ashokha.co.cc

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See also: HowToWinFriendsAndInfluencePeople

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CategoryBook TheWhateverBook BooksKnownByTheirAuthors