# Crafting Interpreters vs Software Engineering at Google

Source: https://listme.name/compare/crafting-interpreters-vs-software-engineering-at-google
Framed by the ranking: https://listme.name/best/programming-books

| | Crafting Interpreters | Software Engineering at Google |
|---|---|---|
| Score | 90.5 | 89.0 |
| Rank | #4 | #6 |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Best for | Building a language interpreter from scratch | Engineering practice for large codebases |
| Level | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| Free to read online | Yes | Yes |
| Latest edition | Not stated on the book site | First edition, 2020 |
| Main focus | Building programming language interpreters | Engineering practice for large codebases |

A free, step-by-step build of two interpreters, with the full web edition at no cost. It is long and asks for a lot of code, which keeps it just below the top picks. A free, full-text guide to engineering practice at team and codebase scale, drawn from Google's own experience. It is less about programming technique than the craft books, so it ranks below The Pragmatic Programmer.