3 * Undergraduate diploma in '''Mathematics and Computer Science''' with
4 a rating of '''56 out of 60'''. Obtained in 1993 at the Istituto Tecnico
5 Commerciale "A.Volta", Firenze. This course included a good amount of
6 '''Electronic Engineering'''.
8 * Attended one term of Software Engineering course at Unviersita' degli
9 Studi di Firenze in 1994. Computer Science exam '''30/30 cum laude'''.
11 In 1994 I dropped out of the university to accept a job as an EmployedWorker
12 for a small company, and a few months later for SeacCompany.
14 === Nonformal studies and self-teaching ===
16 Over the years I tried to compensate for lack of proper university-grade
17 education by making the local libraries much richer:
19 * '''Compilers''', reading several textbooks such as CompilersPrinciplesTechniquesAndTools,
22 * '''Algorithms''' - many, including classics such as DonaldKnuth's bible TheArtOfComputerProgramming,
23 CambridgeUniversityPress's NumericalRecipes and NicholasWirth's ancient, but still
24 brillant, "Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs".
26 * '''Operating Systems''' - Too many to mention here, most of which quite
27 theoretical and boring. Of course, my favorite will always be AdvancedProgrammingInTheUnixEnvironment.
29 * '''Networking''' - Several books, including TcpIpIllustrated, several RFCs and
32 * '''Programming Languages''' - All the obvious textbooks such as BjarneStroustrup's
33 SeePlusPlusProgrammingLanguage, and many others like the old SeeProgrammingLanguage,
34 ThinkingInJava, and dozens of C++ books.
36 * '''Programming Techniques''' - Countless. Such as SeePlusPlusTemplateMetaprogramming
37 and the controversial ModernSeePlusPlusDesign by AndreiAlexandrescu.
38 My absolute favourite is BrianKernighan's and RobPike's ThePracticeOfProgramming.
40 * '''Software Architecture and Design''' - All the "must-read" classics such as
41 GangOfFour's DesignPatterns, UmlDistilled and UmlDesignPatterns.
43 * '''Project Management''' - My favourite certainly is TheMythicalManMonth, but I've
44 read a few others such as ExecutionPlainAndSimple.
46 * '''Technical Writing''' - TheElementsOfStyle and DonaldKnuth's TheTexBook are my
47 favourites on the topics of stylish writing and typesetting.
49 * '''Numerical Methods''' - I'm sorry to have quite a thin mathematical background.
50 Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading DonaldKnuth's ConcreteMathematics and
51 CambridgeUniversityPress' NumericalRecipes.
53 * '''Databases''' - Basics of the relational database theory and relational algebra.
54 Know how to rewrite schemata into normal form.