BücherBillig: The IT Book Shop from 2002 to 2020, Today Tutorials and Learning Tips
Looking for BücherBillig? The shop is closed, the knowledge remains.
BücherBillig was our online shop for cheap IT books, remainders and damaged copies from 2002 to 2020. Here you find out what became of the shop, what matters with IT books and e-books today and why we deliberately chose to write tutorials.
Perhaps you came here through an old link in a forum, through a directory or through a memory of the name. For many administrators, developers and students BücherBillig was a fixed address whenever a good IT book should not cost the full price. The shop no longer exists, but the idea behind it, making expert knowledge affordable for everyone, has never let go of us.
We, the operators of mironsoft, ran BücherBillig from 2002 to 2020. On this page we briefly tell the story, explain what remainders and damaged copies actually are, compare books, e-books and tutorials honestly and show you where you can keep learning today, free of charge and up to date.
What BücherBillig was: cheap IT books from 2002 to 2020
BücherBillig was an online shop for specialist books with a clear focus on IT, computing and programming. We offered cheap remainders and damaged copies, that is books the publisher could no longer or did not want to sell at full price. Anyone looking for a book on databases, networks, operating systems or a programming language often found the same work with us as in the bookshop, only considerably cheaper.
We ran the shop from 2002 to 2020, in a period in which IT changed enormously. At the beginning, thick manuals on Windows and Linux stood on the shelf, later web, databases, frameworks and mobile development came along. The shop was developed and maintained by mironsoft, and the owner was Oksana Mironjuk. The fact that we build online shops with Magento today has more to do with that time than you might think.
Since 2020 BücherBillig has been closed. The domain redirects to mironsoft.de, and this page is the honest answer to the question many visitors bring: does the shop still exist? No. But here you find how to learn well and cheaply today, and how we ourselves continue part of what BücherBillig stood for with our tutorials.
A good specialist book is expensive enough. Knowledge should not fail because of the price.
Remainders, damaged copies, returns: what is behind the cheap books?
Anyone looking for cheap books runs into terms that sound confusing. At BücherBillig these were the most important ones, and they apply to every dealer.
Remainders
A publisher printed too many copies or a new edition is due. The remaining stock is sold at a reduced price. The book is unused, just no longer available at the list price.
Damaged copy
A book with a small cosmetic flaw, for example a dent or a scratch on the cover. It is usually marked by the publisher with a stamp. The content is complete and unchanged.
Returns
A copy that the book trade sent back to the publisher and that is then resold at a lower price.
Second-hand books
Used books in varying condition, offered through antiquarian dealers or marketplaces.
For IT books, remainders and damaged copies are especially interesting because technical titles lose relevance quickly and publishers therefore sell off early. Anyone who wants to learn the basics does not always need the very latest edition but should pay attention to the year of publication and the version covered.
From BücherBillig to Magento: what has happened since
Anyone who ran BücherBillig for years as we did learns a lot about trade, technology and customers. mironsoft grew out of this experience: a web agency that develops, maintains and speeds up online shops with Magento and Hyvä. The step from book dealer to shop developer was not a break but a continuation. We know both sides, the dealer with warehouse, returns and tight margins and the developer with interfaces, updates and performance.
If you run or plan an online shop yourself, you will find more on Magento Hyvä Themes and on the page for partners and cooperation. For this page the focus stays on learning: books, e-books and tutorials, and how you find the right mix for yourself.
Books today: when a printed IT book is still the best choice
Printed IT books are not dead, as every BücherBillig customer knows, they just have a different role. A book is excellent for everything that changes slowly: programming fundamentals, database design, algorithms, network technology, software architecture, security. Such topics need time and context, and a well-structured book delivers both. It does not distract, has no notifications and can become a personal reference with notes in the margin.
Books are weaker for anything that moves fast. A book on a framework can already be one version behind when it appears, and in web technologies whole chapters age within a few years. That is why it pays to check the year of publication, the edition and the version covered before buying, and to look at the table of contents and a sample. A small price advantage is no gain if half the examples no longer run.
If you want to buy cheaply, as was usual at BücherBillig, damaged copies, remainders and well-kept second-hand books are still a good option. Check the condition, look for stamps and edition, and when in doubt ask which version of the software the book covers. For fundamentals, an older edition is often perfectly sufficient, for a specific framework rather not.
Checklist: what to look for when buying IT books
Whether new, as a damaged copy or second-hand: with these points you avoid bad purchases, and they apply today just as they did in the days of BücherBillig.
- Version and year of publication
Check which version of the software the book covers and whether it is still maintained.
- Edition and state
A current edition matters more for fast technologies than for fundamentals.
- Table of contents and sample
See whether the topics fit your goal and how the author explains.
- Condition
For damaged copies and second-hand goods: stamps, signs of use and complete content, especially for extras such as code downloads.
- Sample code
Check whether the code for the book is available and still works, for example via the publisher website.
- Alternatives
Ask yourself whether a current, free tutorial reaches the same goal faster.
Anyone who runs through these six points briefly saves money and time. That applies to printed books as well as to e-books.
E-books: advantages, limits and when they pay off
E-books have changed learning, also for former BücherBillig customers. You always have the library with you, can search for terms, highlight passages and copy sample code into the editor instead of typing it. For large reference works in particular, full-text search is a clear advantage, and many e-books are cheaper than the printed edition or appear earlier.
E-books have limits too. They age just like printed books, though they are easier to replace with a new edition, and that is not a matter of course with every provider. Some formats are awkward on small screens, code examples can wrap badly, and depending on the licence you depend on a platform or a reading device. Anyone who learns for a long time should check in which format an e-book is available and what happens when the device changes.
A simple rule of thumb for everyone who knows BücherBillig as a source for reference works: for reference works and books you want to search a lot, an e-book is often the better choice. For texts you work through from front to back with concentration, many people still prefer paper. The best way is to try both and notice after a week which one actually gets you further.
Why we chose tutorials
When we closed BücherBillig, learning had already changed. Anyone who wants to learn a technology today first searches the web, and there is a lot of good material there but also a lot of fragments. Single code snippets help if you already know what you are doing, but they do not replace a learning path. Our tutorials are meant to fill exactly this gap.
A tutorial at mironsoft is a continuous project. Each chapter builds on the previous one, shows the complete files instead of excerpts and explains why something is built the way it is. You can work through it from front to back or look up a single chapter. All tutorials are freely readable, available in German and English and maintained when versions change.
That is our deliberate decision: instead of selling books as we did at BücherBillig we write knowledge down so that anyone can use it. Currently there are 17 tutorial series with more than 600 chapters in total, from HTML and JavaScript through React and Symfony to Magento and Hyvä. You find them all in the overview of the tutorials.
It matters to us to stay honest here: a tutorial does not replace a reference work or a course with personal feedback. It is a way to reach a first working result with manageable effort, and from there you can deepen with books, e-books and your own practice.
A book explains the theory. A tutorial builds something with you that runs.
Book, e-book or tutorial: the honest comparison
None of the three forms is better in principle, and that was already our experience in the days of BücherBillig. What matters is what you want to learn and how you like to work. The table shows where each form has its strengths.
| Criterion | Printed book | E-book | Online tutorial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | medium to high, cheap as remainder or damaged copy | usually cheaper than printed | freely readable with us |
| Up to date | state at publication, does not change | like a book, updates depend on the provider | can be maintained continuously |
| Depth and context | very good if well structured | good | good, through a continuous project |
| Practice to rebuild | code has to be typed | code can be copied | complete files, directly usable |
| Searching and looking up | table of contents and index | full-text search | search and anchors |
| Reading offline | always | mostly | only with caching |
| Distraction | low | medium | higher, because of browser and notifications |
If you compare honestly, you notice that the forms complement each other. A book for fundamentals and context, an e-book for looking things up and a tutorial for doing it yourself are often better together than any single form.
Learning paths: which tutorial fits your goal?
You used to browse the catalogue at BücherBillig, today you do not have to search: we have sorted the tutorials by goal. Each card leads to a series you can start right away.
Web basics
HTML for beginners, then the complete JavaScript tutorial. The best start if you have never programmed.
JavaScript and TypeScript
From the language to types and larger projects. For everyone who wants to write clean frontend code.
React for the web
From the first web app to state management and performance. In two levels: for beginners and for professionals.
React Native for apps
Mobile apps with one codebase for iOS and Android, first for beginners, later for professionals.
Symfony and API Platform
PHP backends with Symfony and a large training course on API Platform, Symfony and React.
Magento and Hyvä
Hyvä Themes, GraphQL and admin forms for developers working in the Magento environment.
Your own Magento modules
A complete Magento 2 module from A to Z, with loyalty points and rewards as a continuous project.
Artificial intelligence
Claude AI in daily work and in projects: usage, commands and workflows.
All tutorials
The complete overview with all series and chapters, each in German and English.
You do not have to read everything and do not have to work in a fixed order. Choose the series that fits your next project and take one chapter after another. If you lack prior knowledge, it is listed at the start of each series, and you can jump back to the basics when needed.
How to learn with book, e-book and tutorial together
When you learn something new, a simple process helps. It works for almost any technology, from database design to a framework.
Get an overview
Read a fundamentals chapter or an introduction so you know the terms. A book or e-book is ideal for that.
Choose a project
Find a small project that interests you. A continuous tutorial delivers one ready made.
Build it yourself
Type or copy the code, but change it afterwards. Learning only happens when something does not work the first time.
Look up and deepen
Use the book or e-book to clarify background that appears only briefly in the tutorial.
Plan fixed, short learning times for this, for example half an hour a day. Regularity beats long weekends because what you have learned settles during the breaks.
Which source suits you? A short decision aid
The following questions help you find the right form without a long search.
- Do you want to understand fundamentals and context? Pick a well-structured book, printed or as an e-book. Pay attention to year of publication and edition.
- Do you want to learn a specific framework quickly? Take a current tutorial with a continuous project. Books on fast-moving technologies age faster.
- Do you need a reference? An e-book with full-text search is usually more practical than a thick book that sits unused on the shelf.
- Do you have a tight budget? Free tutorials, libraries, damaged copies and remainders help. Before every purchase ask yourself whether a free offer does the same.
- Do you learn best with others? Look for forums, study groups and meetups. Exchange makes every form of learning better.
You do not have to decide on one form. Many learners start with a tutorial, reach for a book for background and use an e-book as a reference. Try what fits your daily routine and switch without a guilty conscience if something does not work.
Old links and memories: what you can do if you are looking for BücherBillig
If you come across BücherBillig in an old forum post, a directory or a review, the link now leads to this page. That can be confusing, so we say it clearly: the shop no longer delivers, orders are no longer possible and old customer accounts no longer exist.
If you are looking for a specific book that you saw or bought at BücherBillig in the past, the ISBN usually helps. With it you find the book at antiquarian dealers, on marketplaces and in library catalogues, even if the title is different in a newer edition. For IT books it also pays to look for the software version in the title or subtitle. A book on a very old version is a collector item but rarely a good learning companion.
If you only searched for the name out of nostalgia: nice that BücherBillig stayed in your memory. We also like to look back on the time when specialist books travelled cheaply to many shelves and desks.
What we do today and how to get in touch
BücherBillig and the book trade have become a web agency, and the tutorials are our way of passing on knowledge. If a tutorial has helped you, we are happy about a message. If a topic is missing, tell us, because the series come from the questions we are asked.
If you work with online shops professionally, we are there for that too: as a partner for Magento and Hyvä, for agencies and for merchants who want to make their shop faster and cleaner. How the collaboration looks is described on the page partners and cooperation.
And if you only wanted to know whether BücherBillig still exists: no, but the concern has remained. Good knowledge should not fail because of the price.
Start with a tutorial today
This is how we carry on the idea of BücherBillig: pick a series, open the first chapter and build along. All tutorials are freely readable and available in German and English.
Go to the tutorialsFrequently asked questions about BücherBillig, IT books and tutorials
Does BücherBillig still exist?
No. BücherBillig was an online shop for cheap IT books, remainders and damaged copies from 2002 to 2020 and has been closed since 2020. The domain redirects to mironsoft.de.
Who ran BücherBillig?
The shop was developed and maintained by mironsoft. The owner was Oksana Mironjuk.
Where do I find cheap IT books today?
Damaged copies and remainders are available from specialised dealers, on marketplaces and at antiquarian dealers. Always check year of publication, edition and condition, especially for books on fast-changing technologies.
What is a damaged copy?
A book with a small cosmetic flaw that does not affect the content. It is usually marked with a stamp and offered considerably cheaper.
Are e-books better than printed books?
Not in principle. E-books are strong in search and mobility, printed books in concentrated reading. Many combine both.
Why does mironsoft offer tutorials?
Because expert knowledge ages quickly today and a maintained tutorial with a continuous project offers a learning path that single code snippets do not. That is our deliberate decision.
Are the tutorials free?
Yes, the tutorials are freely readable. There are currently 17 series with more than 600 chapters, in German and English.
Which tutorial do I start with if I have never programmed?
With the HTML tutorial for beginners and then the JavaScript tutorial. After that you can decide on React, Symfony or Magento depending on your goal.
Cookie-Details
| Name | Anbieter | Laufzeit | Zweck |
|---|---|---|---|
Cookie-Details
| Name | Anbieter | Laufzeit | Zweck |
|---|---|---|---|
Cookie-Details
| Name | Anbieter | Laufzeit | Zweck |
|---|---|---|---|
Cookie-Details
| Name | Anbieter | Laufzeit | Zweck |
|---|---|---|---|