4 ms·

has anyone succeeded learning a language with technique like this? this feels like more of a reference for someone who knows the language already....

by ljk 12y ago

thomasfoster96 12y ago
I use this + Rosetta code to get a grasp of a language. I would be able to write something big in the language, but learnxinyminutes.com and Rosetta code allow me to translate bits of code or understand a language I otherwise wouldn't know.
wsc981 12y ago
As a reference, it seems quite useful. Not sure how well this would be suited to learning a new language though. To really learn programming one has to invest several years, of course [0]. --- [0]: http://norvig.com/21-days.html http://norvig.com/21-days.html
mdcox 12y ago
To pick up the basics of a language similar to one you already know? Sure. I used this site to write something in Nim just a few days ago. Do I know the conventions or idioms? No. Do I know the advanced features of Nim? I sincerely doubt it. But I know Python, and seeing the syntax written out is enough for me to correct my informed guesses in how to write it. I doubt I could use it to pick up Haskell or a language whose paradigm I was unfamiliar with though.
- wilg 12y ago
  Tried just this with Haskell, got about halfway through before I started feeling like things were being glossed over.
  - logicallee 12y ago
    how long did it take you to read halfway through?
    - wilg 12y ago
      Not sure, maybe 10-15 minutes?
  - codygman 12y ago
    Mind elaborating where you felt like things were being glossed over? Is glossing over things necessarily a bad thing? Isn't learnXinY just an introduction site? Have you tried the howistart[0] for Haskell? 0: http://howistart.org/posts/haskell/1 http://howistart.org/posts/haskell/1
    - wilg 12y ago
      Not saying I don't like the site – it's pretty cool. Just replying to the person talking about trying to pick up unfamiliar languages with it. I started getting a bit turned around when I got to Guards and Pattern Matching, which are concepts I'm not super familiar with. I wasn't really legitimately trying to learn Haskell, just casually looking into it for funzies.
hayksaakian 12y ago
I knew ruby, java, and javascript I wanted to contribute to a golang project I spent an hour going through the whole page on Go and then used it as a reference during my actual code writing. I also use that site as an intro to new languages because of a consistent style of content.
deleted 12y ago
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kraftman 12y ago
I use it as a quick syntax reminder when I'm dipping into a language I haven't used for a while.
klibertp 12y ago
Yeah, it's easy: once you know a dozen languages or so the quick reference like this one is all you really need to learn most languages, at least to the point of comfortably writing everyday code. I say "most" languages, because this kind of reference doesn't work for languages based on completely different semantics than the languages you know: APL and J are the primary examples for me (EDIT: also, Forth. But not Factor or Cat or Joy... dunno why exactly). Anyway, this is great for polyglot programmers, who would be bored to tears by "beginners guide" to just about any language and who know enough about how programming languages work. It's probably of very little help to programmers who know only a very few languages and/or for those who didn't study programming language design, though. In my case I successfully used this site (and some other resources, as well) to get up to speed with Haxe, Nim, LiveScript and Lua, but then again, learning new languages is something I do all the time (https://klibert.pl/articles/programming_langs.html https://klibert.pl/articles/programming_langs.html) for years now, so I may not be the best example :)

has anyone succeeded learning a language with technique like this? this feels like more of a reference for someone who knows the language already....

by ljk 12y ago

has anyone succeeded learning a language with technique like this? this feels like more of a reference for someone who knows the language already....

thomasfoster96 12y ago

I use this + Rosetta code to get a grasp of a language. I would be able to write something big in the language, but learnxinyminutes.com and Rosetta code allow me to translate bits of code or understand a language I otherwise wouldn't know.

wsc981 12y ago

As a reference, it seems quite useful. Not sure how well this would be suited to learning a new language though. To really learn programming one has to invest several years, of course [0]. --- [0]: http://norvig.com/21-days.html http://norvig.com/21-days.html

mdcox 12y ago

To pick up the basics of a language similar to one you already know? Sure. I used this site to write something in Nim just a few days ago. Do I know the conventions or idioms? No. Do I know the advanced features of Nim? I sincerely doubt it. But I know Python, and seeing the syntax written out is enough for me to correct my informed guesses in how to write it. I doubt I could use it to pick up Haskell or a language whose paradigm I was unfamiliar with though.

wilg 12y ago
Tried just this with Haskell, got about halfway through before I started feeling like things were being glossed over.
- logicallee 12y ago
  how long did it take you to read halfway through?
  - wilg 12y ago
    Not sure, maybe 10-15 minutes?
- codygman 12y ago
  Mind elaborating where you felt like things were being glossed over? Is glossing over things necessarily a bad thing? Isn't learnXinY just an introduction site? Have you tried the howistart[0] for Haskell? 0: http://howistart.org/posts/haskell/1 http://howistart.org/posts/haskell/1
  - wilg 12y ago
    Not saying I don't like the site – it's pretty cool. Just replying to the person talking about trying to pick up unfamiliar languages with it. I started getting a bit turned around when I got to Guards and Pattern Matching, which are concepts I'm not super familiar with. I wasn't really legitimately trying to learn Haskell, just casually looking into it for funzies.

hayksaakian 12y ago

I knew ruby, java, and javascript I wanted to contribute to a golang project I spent an hour going through the whole page on Go and then used it as a reference during my actual code writing. I also use that site as an intro to new languages because of a consistent style of content.

deleted 12y ago

[deleted]

kraftman 12y ago

I use it as a quick syntax reminder when I'm dipping into a language I haven't used for a while.

klibertp 12y ago

Yeah, it's easy: once you know a dozen languages or so the quick reference like this one is all you really need to learn most languages, at least to the point of comfortably writing everyday code. I say "most" languages, because this kind of reference doesn't work for languages based on completely different semantics than the languages you know: APL and J are the primary examples for me (EDIT: also, Forth. But not Factor or Cat or Joy... dunno why exactly). Anyway, this is great for polyglot programmers, who would be bored to tears by "beginners guide" to just about any language and who know enough about how programming languages work. It's probably of very little help to programmers who know only a very few languages and/or for those who didn't study programming language design, though. In my case I successfully used this site (and some other resources, as well) to get up to speed with Haxe, Nim, LiveScript and Lua, but then again, learning new languages is something I do all the time (https://klibert.pl/articles/programming_langs.html https://klibert.pl/articles/programming_langs.html) for years now, so I may not be the best example :)