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« The third era actually started [...] in 2005. In this era, books are no longer dry sequences of pages, with code snippets to run on a nearby computer; their p

« The third era actually started [...] in 2005. In this era, books are no longer dry sequences of pages, with code snippets to run on a nearby computer; their pages are full of examples, pictures, and fun. » I haven't seen the "Head first" books this article is about, but the above could be a description of any number of books from the 70s and 80s, like the Leo Brodie Forth books.

hnick 6y ago
I first started learning C as a teen with "C for Dummies" in the 90s and that series definitely included a conversational tone and humour, and were very popular at the time but perhaps not taken seriously by real professionals.
jrmcauliffe 6y ago
The Brodie Forth books were the first thing that popped into my head too, but the Head First books really are another step away from K&R C etc.
raducu 6y ago
I've read a couple and her books are amazingly good. I especially liked Head First Design Patterns -- I've read 4-5 books on the subject, but the Head First examples are the ones that have stuck with me after all these years. Her SCJP books were also exceptionally good/the gold standard as far as I remember.
- bJGVygG7MQVF8c 6y ago
  I'm honestly surprised it was a woman behind Head First books because the aesthetic of the series (in particular, the covers featuring a cute white or asian girl looking up toward the reader supplicating pose) seemed (and seem) like a kind of sexist fan service for the same online-troll demographic that drove her out of the industry. I still think the design accommodates the industry's demographics at the time. Terrible what happened to her, but those books are embarrassing. To be fair the specific decisions around what to put on the cover may not have been hers.
forrestthewoods 6y ago
You can see a significant portion of the book on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Design-Patterns-Brain-Friendly-ebook/dp/B00AA36RZY/ref=sr_1_1?crid=25QW9O9LM0MV3&dchild=1&keywords=head+first+design+patterns&qid=1588579719&s=digital-text&sprefix=head+first+design+%2Cdigital-text%2C207&sr=1-1#reader_B00AA36RZY https://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Design-Patterns-Brain-Frie...

hnick 6y ago

I first started learning C as a teen with "C for Dummies" in the 90s and that series definitely included a conversational tone and humour, and were very popular at the time but perhaps not taken seriously by real professionals.

jrmcauliffe 6y ago

The Brodie Forth books were the first thing that popped into my head too, but the Head First books really are another step away from K&R C etc.

raducu 6y ago

I've read a couple and her books are amazingly good. I especially liked Head First Design Patterns -- I've read 4-5 books on the subject, but the Head First examples are the ones that have stuck with me after all these years. Her SCJP books were also exceptionally good/the gold standard as far as I remember.

bJGVygG7MQVF8c 6y ago
I'm honestly surprised it was a woman behind Head First books because the aesthetic of the series (in particular, the covers featuring a cute white or asian girl looking up toward the reader supplicating pose) seemed (and seem) like a kind of sexist fan service for the same online-troll demographic that drove her out of the industry. I still think the design accommodates the industry's demographics at the time. Terrible what happened to her, but those books are embarrassing. To be fair the specific decisions around what to put on the cover may not have been hers.

forrestthewoods 6y ago

You can see a significant portion of the book on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Design-Patterns-Brain-Friendly-ebook/dp/B00AA36RZY/ref=sr_1_1?crid=25QW9O9LM0MV3&dchild=1&keywords=head+first+design+patterns&qid=1588579719&s=digital-text&sprefix=head+first+design+%2Cdigital-text%2C207&sr=1-1#reader_B00AA36RZY https://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Design-Patterns-Brain-Frie...