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I can't praise HtDP enough (disclaimer: I've only done through chapter 4 of the first edition). Still, what I did was sufficient to fundamentally change me as a
by muraiki 12y ago
I can't praise HtDP enough (disclaimer: I've only done through chapter 4 of the first edition). Still, what I did was sufficient to fundamentally change me as a programmer.
When I first began learning how to program I started off with Python using some courses on Udacity. But somehow I found HtDP (I think via HN) and it really taught me, well, how to design programs.
It also made thinking functionally my default mode of thought. I remember hearing about FP and asking a friend experienced in FP "How do I think this way?" and he wasn't really sure how to answer. HtDP helped teach me that way and made it natural.
The only criticism I can give of the first edition is that it was at times verbose, but it is clearly written as a textbook (and is definitely suitable for self-study). The second edition appears to be more streamlined. Something that might be more of a "dive into it" kind of book is "Realm of Racket," although it doesn't appear to go as deeply into Racket's language-making capabilities and lispy features like macros.
- shriramkmurthi 12y agoIndeed, the first edition is draggy at the beginning. The second edition is meant precisely to dive right in and get cracking, without sacrificing any principles. I recommend people read the second edition instead of the first one. [Why should you trust me? My name's on the cover. <-;]
- muraiki 12y agoThank you, that is good to know. Also, please know that I am sincerely grateful for all of your work. Without the software and materials that you and your team labored to create -- and which you provide freely -- I might not be a professional programmer today.
- shriramkmurthi 12y agoWow, thanks. I passed this remark on to the rest of the team. Totally made our day!
- xaritas 12y agoI'm teaching my kids how to program using the 2nd edition because it's the introduction to programming that I always wish I had received. They love it! Thanks.
- peatmoss 12y agoOh my yes. I've half played with the idea of aping it for beginning R programmers, replacing some of the examples with suitably analogous data-y examples. Book has definitely improved my coding.