Top 10 Articles For Programmers From 2024

To stay on top of the tech industry (and to write my monthly newsletters), I read A LOT of industry articles every day.

At the end of the year, I like to reflect on what I've read over the year and see what has made the biggest impression.

These are the top 10 articles that I believe every programmer should read from this past year. Reading these articles has made me a better programmer/engineer/developer/human and I hope it will do the same for you.

Let me know if I missed any by sending me a tweet @AndreiNeagoie.

#1 - Code is run more than read

A simple reminder to everyone here that should be common programmer knowledge:

The person first writing a piece of code shouldn’t buy convenience at the expense of the people who will have to read it and modify it in the future.

Generally, code is read more than written.

#2 - Algorithms we develop software by

The article talks about some good heuristics you can use throughout your career, and I have to admit, I agree with all of these points.

#3 - Insights from over 10,000 comments on "Ask HN: Who Is Hiring" using GPT-4o & LangChain

This is a great read not only because of the interesting data but also for showing you how to do this analysis yourself using Selenium and a bit of code.

Good news, looks like the industry is doing just fine ;).

#4 - How to Build a $20 Billion Semiconductor Fab

This one is unlike any of the previous resources I have shared in the past.

However, before you scroll away and ignore this one... trust me on this. Just by reading this article you will probably be more knowledgable about semiconductors than 99% of the population out there.

It's valuable to know how these things that run our world are made and work especially if you work in tech.

#5 - Programming Is Mostly Thinking

Don't let the movies trick you. Programming is mostly thinking. Did you know that?

This article is from 2014, but I discovered it this year, so it still counts. And it's just as relevant today as it was 10 years ago... maybe even more given all these awesome AI tools.

#6 - What I learned from looking at 900 most popular open source AI tools

Speaking of AI tools... Will AI take over your job?

At this point, it's getting exhausting hearing people ask this question. Luckily for you, one person did some great research to answer your burning question with some SCIENCE.

Bonus: I wrote my own take a little while ago as well since so many of our students were asking me.

#7 - The 70% problem: Hard truths about AI-assisted coding

AI is obviously a big theme of this year. However, people are using it all wrong. You should NOT be using it for learning. Here is why and here is how to use it properly.

Bonus: A fellow ZTM Instructor put together this free intro to prompt engineering for developers guide. Enjoy!

#8 - What's that touchscreen in my room?

I highly recommend reading this to be inspired by what you can do with your technical knowledge. There are a lot of insights into problem solving skills in this one. Just a fun read overall.

#9 - Programming, Viral AI Startups, and Digital Nomad Life

This is a bit of a curve ball because it's not an article, but an interview podcast. It's also a 3 hour podcast but I guarantee it will blow your mind and inspire you.

The big takeaway is to not always focus on the latest trends, don't overcomplicate things, and don't focus on meaningless minutia. Focus on solving a problem and ship. Oh and using PHP and jQuery isn't the end of the world.

Trust me on this one, it will make you a better programmer.

#10 - ZTM's Philosophy on Learning: The 10 Learning Commandments

I wrote this in 2024 after many years of thinking about what ZTM stands for. Did I just pick my own article as a top 10 resource of the year? Yes... stop judging me!

I took a couple years off writing this post but brough it back by popular demand. You can check out previous year's editions here:

• Top Programmer Articles From 2018
• Top Programmer Articles From 2019
• Top Programmer Articles From 2020
• Top Programmer Articles From 2021
• Took 2022 and 2023 off but all that matters now is that 2024 was a banger, right 😬?!

Hope you found these articles as helpful as I did. If you did, share them with someone and then come back for next year's 2025 edition (put your email in that little box below so you don't forget).

By the way, my full time job is to teach people to code in the most efficient way possible as an Instructor of the Zero To Mastery Academy.

You can check out all of my courses here.