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I wouldn't mind those kinds of book titles so much if they just said "Learn basic [language] syntax in [n] [units of time]". Not as catchy I guess, though.
by i80and 17y ago
I wouldn't mind those kinds of book titles so much if they just said "Learn basic [language] syntax in [n] [units of time]". Not as catchy I guess, though.
- GrandMasterBirt 17y agoWell, you can learn the syntax but the problem is when someone says they "know java" usually you care about them not just knowing java syntax, but the pitfalls, many frameworks that exist, general approach to problems, etc. Just because I know Java + Ruby Syntax + Some stuff on RoR does not mean I am a good RoR programmer, there's just so much more to RoR than the syntax. I want to see someone completely grok pointer logic in 24 hrs from knowing nothing.
- TheTarquin 17y agoSpeaking as someone who has had to maintain code written by someone who "learned" from these books, I completely agree. What was there was certainly C++ in a purely linguistic sense, but as code it was complete gibberish.
- deleted 17y ago[deleted]
- dejv 17y agoI am maintaining "code" written by person who was given this kind of book and told to build ERP. (This person don't have any previous knowledge on programming, mathematics or even computers) 10 years later it is worst than your nightmares.
- camwest 17y agoI think these books feed off the fact that most new programmers are doubly ignorant. They don't even know how much they don't know.
- eru 17y agoI am quite fond of "Write Yourself a Scheme in 48 Hours" (http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Write_Yourself_a_Scheme_in_48_Hours http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Write_Yourself_a_Scheme_in_48_H...). But I guess it is only the very brave who will use it to learn Haskell and Scheme.