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I see. Thanks for your answer.

Is it only applicable in e.g. Haskell, though, or is it language agnostic? Thanks for your answer.

I'd like to understand how and why this stuff is useful for programmers.

How relevant is this in 2026?

Slopware?

What do you think about the author's upcoming book ("The Secret Life of Circuits")[0], for someone who is just starting out with electronics?

[0] https://nostarch.com/secret-life-of-circuits

Is there a math edition?

What would that look like?

Yeah. I did it in Rust only, but went a bit farther than the book and implemented some constructs that were not found in the book. I was able to compile my other compiler written in C with the C compiler I had written in Rust.

Andy Tanenbaum style cover.

I've been watching this space closely and have been on the lookout for new releases. Besides "Building Git", there is also "Building a Debugger"[0], "Writing a C compiler"[1], "Crafting Interpreters"[2], "The Raytracer Challenge"[3], and a few others that I can't vouch for as they appear to be low-quality compared to the ones I listed out.

The potential for technical authors in this space is enormous.

[0] https://nostarch.com/building-a-debugger

[1] https://nostarch.com/writing-c-compiler

[2] https://craftinginterpreters.com/

[3] http://raytracerchallenge.com/

How does this differ from codecrafters.io?

You can try hanging out on the Libera IRC network in their channel.

What could someone interested in systems programming gain from this?

Lost me at "Claude Code".

I already have this book on my list.

Why do you think this should be a next step after Nora's book?

Sort of, the one who, when left stranded on a desert island, would make a CPU out of sand, write software for it, including the entire TCP/IP stack, and email someone to come get them.

Yeah. Andy Tanenbaum described studying at MIT as "drinking from a fire hose". Do we have someone who both got their degree from MIT and worked at Bell Labs? That'd be an interesting combo.

Why that book specifically?

I wish there was video material of the courses taught by Dave available for purchase.

The book is very much supposed to not be read passively.

How does this compare to Nora Sandler's "Writing a C compiler" in terms of the potential gains for the reader?

I'm sorry, Serbia. According to [0], it seems like E-2 would be applicable, too.

Thank you.

[0] https://www.usimmigrationadvisor.com/active-e-2-treaty-count...

What's the best path from zero to a fully legal status (visa first I imagine, but eventually citizenship) in the US for someone coming over from the Western Balkans (non-EU), with a bachelors degree in EE or CS and no prior work experience? Thanks for doing this.

There is "Building a Debugger"[0].

[0] https://nostarch.com/building-a-debugger

Does this work with a Yubikey?

He also built a homemade computer from scratch. James is a brilliant guy.

The central point behind this type of books isn't so much to build an enterprise-grade production-ready thing, but rather to bridge the delta between zero and having a working thing of sufficiently large complexity, which inevitably exists for someone who had never been there before. Having that in mind, I think these books are very valuable.

Got any notable suggestions from Leanpub?

Yeah. My favorite are books that guide you through implementing complex systems projects from scratch, like Nora Sandler's "Writing a C compiler", or Sy Brand's "Building a Debugger". I wish they produced A LOT more of them.