Beyond Code
Beyond Code

Contents

Algorithms, data structures, design, and the engineering judgment that connects them — with Nex.

Foreword — Why This Book Exists Foreword Prologue — The Day the System Broke Prologue
Part I Seeing The Problem
Ch. 1
What Problem Are We Actually Solving?
 Ch. 2
Looking at the Real World
 Ch. 3
Writing a Problem Statement
 Ch. 4
Edge Cases — Where Systems Break
 Ch. 5
From Stories to Specifications
 Studio 1
Our First Tiny System
Part II Modeling the World
Ch. 6
Why Software Needs Models
 Ch. 7
Entities — The Things That Exist
 Ch. 8
Relationships — How Things Connect
 Ch. 9
Designing a Good Data Model
 Ch. 10
Modeling Change
 Studio 2
The Model Redesign
Part III The Shape of Algorithms
Ch. 11
What Is an Algorithm?
 Ch. 12
Breaking Problems Apart
 Ch. 13
Thinking Recursively
 Ch. 14
Measuring Algorithm Behavior
 Lab 1
The First Experiments
Part IV Organizing Data
Ch. 15
Lists and Sequences
 Ch. 16
Sets and Maps
 Ch. 17
Trees — Structured Data
 Ch. 18
Graphs — Networks of Everything
 Studio 3
The Scaling Crisis
Part V Algorithms That Power Systems
Ch. 19
Searching for What Matters
 Ch. 20
Sorting the World
 Ch. 21
Exploring Trees and Graphs
 Ch. 22
Finding the Best Path
 Lab 2
When Algorithms Compete
Part VI Building Real Software
Ch. 23
From Algorithms to Components
 Ch. 24
Functional Thinking
 Ch. 25
Object-Oriented Thinking
 Ch. 26
Designing Interfaces
 Studio 4
The Architecture Refactor
Part VII Making Software Trustworthy
Ch. 27
Preconditions and Postconditions
 Ch. 28
Invariants — Rules That Must Never Break
 Ch. 29
Testing as Exploration
 Ch. 30
Debugging Like an Engineer
 Studio 5
Reliability
Part VIII Systems That Grow
Ch. 31
Managing Complexity
 Ch. 32
Designing for Change
 Ch. 33
Refactoring Without Fear
 Studio 6
Evolution
Part IX Programming in the Age of AI
Ch. 34
Working With AI Coding Assistants
 Ch. 35
Reviewing AI-Generated Code
 Ch. 36
Human Judgment in an AI World
Back Matter
Epilogue — The Systems Behind Everything Epilogue Glossary Reference Index of Terms Reference References Reference

Cover illustration: Robert Polhill Bevan, a horse market scene, via Artvee (public domain).