4 ms·

I wouldn't make my worst enemy try to program without the internet...

Jtsummers 7y ago
Programming without the internet isn’t hard. It’s like driving without a GPS. You have to commit more to memory, or, you know, use offline resources.
- odyssey7 7y ago
  Ah, working through K&R was such a pleasant time, back in undergrad.
  - TurkishPoptart 7y ago
    Which book?
    - Jtsummers 7y ago
      They’re referring to K&R’s The C Programming Language [0]. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_C_Programming_Language https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_C_Programming_Language
- bifrost 7y ago
  I got started with python via a book on a plane, no computer, no internet (a looong time ago)...
  - justinclift 7y ago
    Did similar once... but hadn't run through the first setup piece where it ran through installing all the dependencies for the approach in the book. Which (obviously) couldn't work, as there was no way to download those dependencies mid-flight. Made some progress with the book during the flight, but it was mostly theoretical rather than being able to do the things. ;)
  - elihu 7y ago
    My introduction to programming in the 90's was a phonebook-sized tome called "Learn Visual C++ in 12 easy lessons" or something like that. It came with a CD with Microsoft Visual C++ 1.0. For some reason, it didn't work; I couldn't compile hello world. So I learned C++ just by reading the book, learning all about complicated object oriented features without ever having written any code. About six months later or so I got access to a Borland C++ compiler, and at that point I could actually do stuff. It's possible to learn to program that way if you don't have any better alternative, but it's not a path I'd recommend if you do.
- Rebelgecko 7y ago
  If you're able to set things up beforehand, it's not even that hard to get crutches like offline copies of Stackoverflow and Wikipedia via DB dumps
scarejunba 7y ago
Yeah, but you can't provide the Internet because there are those who will use it to coordinate crimes. So that leaves choices: * No programming * Programming with no Internet Preload it with books.
- alexpotato 7y ago
  Dave Beazley did it AND talked about it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ4Sn-Y7AP8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ4Sn-Y7AP8 Summary: he was involved in patent litigation and had to analyse a codebase on a computer locked in a vault. He couldn't bring in any electronics but he did discover that Python was installed on the machine he was using. The video describes the rest.
- codexon 7y ago
  How about providing web access through remote desktop that has a browser with websockets, flash, and non-GET requests disabled and only retrieving pages through a squid cache?
  - justinclift 7y ago
    Sounds like it'd be a variable result. eg depending on the skill and personality of the person involved, over time they may or may not learn to exploit that system too.
  - catalogia 7y ago
    They could just solicited donations of programming books for prison libraries. There are a few million prisoners in America, getting one programing book for every ten prisoners would only mean a few hundred thousand books. I'm sure that many could be scrounged up. That's really not that many books in the grand scheme of things. And for such a worthy cause, I'm sure you wouldn't have trouble finding people to donate a book.
desc 7y ago
I learned to program without the Internet. There was just a blocky image on the TV, a rubber keyboard, and 16K of RAM. The overwhelming majority of the available memory resided in the programmer's head. While I'd never consider trying to impose that approach on someone, I'd certainly suggest it. It really encourages attention to detail and total focus, which are increasingly valuable skills these days.

Programming without the internet isn’t hard. It’s like driving without a GPS. You have to commit more to memory, or, you know, use offline resources.

odyssey7 7y ago
Ah, working through K&R was such a pleasant time, back in undergrad.
- TurkishPoptart 7y ago
  Which book?
  - Jtsummers 7y ago
    They’re referring to K&R’s The C Programming Language [0]. [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_C_Programming_Language https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_C_Programming_Language
bifrost 7y ago
I got started with python via a book on a plane, no computer, no internet (a looong time ago)...
- justinclift 7y ago
  Did similar once... but hadn't run through the first setup piece where it ran through installing all the dependencies for the approach in the book. Which (obviously) couldn't work, as there was no way to download those dependencies mid-flight. Made some progress with the book during the flight, but it was mostly theoretical rather than being able to do the things. ;)
- elihu 7y ago
  My introduction to programming in the 90's was a phonebook-sized tome called "Learn Visual C++ in 12 easy lessons" or something like that. It came with a CD with Microsoft Visual C++ 1.0. For some reason, it didn't work; I couldn't compile hello world. So I learned C++ just by reading the book, learning all about complicated object oriented features without ever having written any code. About six months later or so I got access to a Borland C++ compiler, and at that point I could actually do stuff. It's possible to learn to program that way if you don't have any better alternative, but it's not a path I'd recommend if you do.
Rebelgecko 7y ago
If you're able to set things up beforehand, it's not even that hard to get crutches like offline copies of Stackoverflow and Wikipedia via DB dumps

scarejunba 7y ago

Yeah, but you can't provide the Internet because there are those who will use it to coordinate crimes. So that leaves choices: * No programming * Programming with no Internet Preload it with books.

alexpotato 7y ago
Dave Beazley did it AND talked about it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ4Sn-Y7AP8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZ4Sn-Y7AP8 Summary: he was involved in patent litigation and had to analyse a codebase on a computer locked in a vault. He couldn't bring in any electronics but he did discover that Python was installed on the machine he was using. The video describes the rest.
codexon 7y ago
How about providing web access through remote desktop that has a browser with websockets, flash, and non-GET requests disabled and only retrieving pages through a squid cache?
- justinclift 7y ago
  Sounds like it'd be a variable result. eg depending on the skill and personality of the person involved, over time they may or may not learn to exploit that system too.
- catalogia 7y ago
  They could just solicited donations of programming books for prison libraries. There are a few million prisoners in America, getting one programing book for every ten prisoners would only mean a few hundred thousand books. I'm sure that many could be scrounged up. That's really not that many books in the grand scheme of things. And for such a worthy cause, I'm sure you wouldn't have trouble finding people to donate a book.

desc 7y ago

I learned to program without the Internet. There was just a blocky image on the TV, a rubber keyboard, and 16K of RAM. The overwhelming majority of the available memory resided in the programmer's head. While I'd never consider trying to impose that approach on someone, I'd certainly suggest it. It really encourages attention to detail and total focus, which are increasingly valuable skills these days.