Unix Network Programming

What Hacker News says

1. atribecalledqstMay 2026
   I've cracked into quite a few programming books over the years and it's pretty crazy how much of an advantage it's given me. I'm a lowly systems engineer, not even a real programmer, but I definitely understand networking better than the majority of programmers at my company because I read Stevens' TCP/IP Illustrated 10 years back. (and I read the OLD version from the 90s that was already dated when I read it!) And then I read UNIX Network Programming to help understand all the different sockets APIs and that's paid dividends too, because I get our network programming code better than most of my coworkers too.

   Then there was that one time I was self-studying computer architecture (Computer Systems: A Programmer's Perspective) and was able to turn what I learned around and hack our binary code at a customer site because I wasn't in an environment where I could compile our code... and then years later, when I wanted to analyze the ROM of a 90s electronic device with a much simpler instruction set than x86, I wasn't afraid to crack open the thing in Ghidra

   Let's see, what else have I read that's paid dividends over the years:

   - Modern Operating Systems (Tannenbaum)

   - Learning Python (Lutz)

   - JavaScript - The Definitive Guide (Flanagan)

   - Programming PHP (Tatroe)

   - Learning Web Design (Robbins)

   - Algorithms (Sedgewick)

   - A book I read whose name escapes me now, about technologies like RS-282/RS-484 and serial communications in general

   - (I could probably put down Cuckoo's Egg too as an "inspiration" for me ultimately getting interested in computers and networking, and I bet that's not too uncommon a story)

   It's probably a sign of my age (mid 30s for reference), but when I'm curious about something and want to learn it really deeply - I look for a good book on the topic. (although I'm willing to admit that maybe this process hinders me in some ways, because it means I sometimes spend more time studying than I actually do working with a thing - I have spent a LOT more time reading about circuits than building them - but I like studying so I'm happy either way)

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2. readthenotes1Dec 2025
   The internationally famous Unix Network Programming book. An icon, a shibboleth, a cynosure

   https://youtu.be/hjjydz40rNI?si=F7aLOSkLqMzgh2-U

   (From Wayne's World--how we knew the comedians had smart advisors)

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3. HankB99May 2024
   I believe that's the book I still have on my shelf. IIRC "UNIX Network Programming" and I learned a lot about networking and a lot about how UNIX works reading it cover to cover. I think I learned more from that book than any other.

   Mr Stevens replied to something I wrote back in the day. I can't recall if it was a Usenet post or email, but I was over the moon!

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4. __dJan 2024
   TCP Illustrated volume 1 and Unix Network Programming volume 1, 3rd edition.

   And then just read RFC for more modern stuff like QUIC, WebSockets, WebRTC, etc.

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5. cmollisMay 2023
   Unix Network Programming - Stevens. (this is kind of a classic book on the subject.. but at the time, I had never heard of it).
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6. qnttyDec 2022
   Unix Network Programming by W. Richard Stevens and parts of The Linux Programming Interface by Michael Kerrisk
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