Think DSPAllen B. Downey

Think DSP

Name: Think DSP
ISBN: 9781491938454

by Allen B. Downey · first published 2016

9mentions

5recommended by

9HN commenters

2018–2026first – last mentioned

56% recommend44% neutral

Why HN recommends it

Free, practical introduction to digital signal processing using Python and Jupyter notebooks with code examples. Its conceptual, hands-on approach suits learners who want to work with signals in code.

Summarised by Claude from recommending comments

Programming

If you understand basic mathematics and know how to program with Python, youre ready to dive into signal processing. While most resources start with theory to teach this complex subject, this practical book introduces techniques by showing you how theyre applied in the real world. In the first chapter alone, youll be able to decompose a sound into its harmonics, modify the harmonics, and generate new sounds. Author Allen Downey explains techniques such as spectral decomposition, filtering, convolution, and the Fast Fourier Transform. This book also provides exercises and code examples to help

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What Hacker News says

randcraw · Oct 1, 2018 · Recommends

…"A Digital Signal Processing Primer" by Ken Steiglitz is a nice but rigorous intro to the subject. Written by an EE academic, it's more mathematically rigorous than Smith or Lyons. Allen Downey's "Think DSP" is also worth a look, though its focus is more conceptual than practical, IMO.
on “Ask HN: What are the best textbooks in your field of expertise?” ↗
efm · Apr 23, 2020 · Recommends

Alan Downey's Think DSP : https://greenteapress.com/wp/think-dsp/ Free, python, code examples in Juypter notebooks.
on “Ask HN: Learning DSP witha software development background?” ↗
guiambros · May 11, 2026 · Recommends

…[1]. He's a prolific writer, and very generous for offering many of them for free. I read several of them online or through O'Reilly, and bought printed copies just to appreciate his work. Really enjoyed Think DSP, Think Complexity, Think Bayes, etc. [1] https://www.amazon.com/stores/Allen-Downey/author/B001O8NBPS
on “Think Linear Algebra” ↗
westurner · Dec 21, 2019 · Recommends

…Institute of Mathematics maintains a list of approved open-source textbooks. https://aimath.org/textbooks/approved-textbooks/ I also like the (free) Green Tea Press books: Think Stats, Think Bayes, Think DSP, Think Complexity, Modeling and Simulation in Python, Think Python 2e: How To Think Like a Computer Scientist https://greenteapress.com/wp/ And IDK how many times I've recommended the book for the OCW…
on “Free and Open-Source Mathematics Textbooks” ↗
antfarm · May 25, 2021 · Recommends

Think DSP is a free book on digital signal processing in Python: https://greenteapress.com/wp/think-dsp/
on “Ask HN: How to get started with audio programming?” ↗
blippage · Sep 23, 2021 · Mentions

Prof Allen Downey published a book called Think DSP: https://greenteapress.com/wp/think-dsp/ It can be bought, but is available for free. Code is also available via GitHub. It uses Python and Jupyter. "The premise of this book (and the other books in…
on “Fourier Series Visualisation with D3” ↗
mindcrime · Aug 3, 2019 · Mentions

…much the past week or two since I've been heads down studying to take the AWS Certified Solution Architect exam soon. Once that's behind me, I'll do more reading again... I want to pick up and finish Think DSP by Alan Downey, and make some progress in Readings in Cognitive Science. I also need to finish Foundation's Edge by Asimov.
on “Ask HN: What are you reading this week?” ↗
staplung · May 10, 2026 · Mentions

…of books on computer science-y things. You can buy hardcopies but I think all of them are also just freely available. Here's a few: Think Complexity https://github.com/AllenDowney/ThinkComplexity2 Think DSP https://github.com/AllenDowney/ThinkDSP Think Stats https://github.com/AllenDowney/ThinkStats/ Think Bayes https://github.com/AllenDowney/ThinkBayes2/
on “Think Linear Algebra” ↗
subroutine · Apr 26, 2020 · Mentions

…Think Like a Computer Scientist) https://greenteapress.com/wp/think-perl-6/ Think Stats https://greenteapress.com/wp/think-stats-2e/ Think Bayes https://greenteapress.com/wp/think-bayes/ Think DSP https://greenteapress.com/wp/think-dsp/ Think Complexity https://greenteapress.com/wp/think-complexity-2e/ Think Data Structures https://greenteapress.com/wp/think-data-structures/ Think…
on “Links to Free Books on Programming” ↗