I used to lurk around world4ch /prog/ before I was actually interested in programming, and I will always remember their mantra regarding this book. Was it all just pointless spam? Or was this a legitimately good book to be introduced into programming by?
Name:
Anonymous2014-11-19 0:03
It doesn't really teach you how to program. Rather, it teaches you why.
>>3 Yes, it does that. But if you're not yet comfortable with the idea that typing arbitrary text into the computer can make it do things, or if you haven't figured out that the computer isn't a mind reader, then I'm not sure SICP is the best way to come to grips with such basic concepts.
SICP is obsolete. Read Java for Dummies and Sam's Teach Yourself XML in 24 hours instead.
Name:
Anonymous2014-11-19 2:17
i'm reading it right now, it is awesome.
Name:
Anonymous2014-11-19 3:39
>>3 Scheme and Lisp are very easy to learn. Anybody can learn Lisp in three or four pages. SICP teaches you magic. Anybody can learn Lisp and it takes more education than basic Lisp to learn how to use it to cast spells into your computer.
Name:
Anonymous2014-11-19 3:52
>>7 SICP didn't teach me anything I hadn't already figured out on my own.
Name:
Anonymous2014-11-19 3:53
Should I read my SICP today?
Do you know how to build data structures with nothing but lambda? If so, yes; if not: very yes.
Name:
Anonymous2014-11-19 4:03
>>4 I assumed such. I was just clarifying because your comment "it doesn't really teach you how to program" confused me. Yes, I would like to learn the basics of programming beforehand.
>>9 Such things are precisely what I want to learn. I'm not even entirely sure what a data structure specifically is, but I want to be aware of terminology and concepts before I dive into programming.
But is SICP the best choice? I hear there are other books from the same series.
>>10 It's simply a must-read. Watching the video lectures is also acceptable.
Name:
Anonymous2014-11-19 5:52
>>11 Well one could easily infer that. But I'm sure there is more too it than that.
Name:
Anonymous2014-11-19 6:24
>>13 Not really. Well, maybe, but just because you don't know all the theory behind forming a cardinal relationship between two sets doesn't mean you can't count rocks on your fingers.