tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182705499898252496.post8421676541581972494..comments2010-02-11T13:21:07.387-05:00Bill the Lizardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09810099093752485841noreply@blogger.comBlogger19125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182705499898252496.post-56891467090851240872010-02-11T13:21:07.387-05:002010-02-11T13:21:07.387-05:00Ala&#39;a [cmo-0],<br />Thanks for the link. I think it&#39;s almost time to post another list of free books. I just found some good PDFs at the Numerical Recipes web site. They&#39;re older versions of the books, but much of the content is still relevant (particularly the C book, since C syntax seems like it will never go away).Bill the Lizardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09810099093752485841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182705499898252496.post-19098321549019227602010-02-11T10:56:09.772-05:002010-02-11T10:56:09.772-05:00Hi,<br /><br />check this also:<br />Foundations of Computer Science (Al Aho and Jeff Ullman)<br />http://infolab.stanford.edu/~ullman/focs.htmlAla'a [cmo-0]http://www.blogger.com/profile/07219552118842265775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182705499898252496.post-24011153377956863412009-02-16T08:50:00.000-05:002009-02-16T08:50:00.000-05:00Pollux,<BR/>Thanks for the recommendation and the links. I'm glad you mentioned the approach of taking 20 minutes a day to work through a book. I've used that method to get through several programming books, and I find that those 20 minute sessions really add up over time.Bill the Lizardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09810099093752485841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182705499898252496.post-70830638947777689922009-01-17T19:17:00.000-05:002009-01-17T19:17:00.000-05:00SICP is really worth reading. I am "only" at the middle of the 2nd chapter but it is a solid material. I try to take 20 minutes before i start my work every day to read it.<BR/><BR/>You can find SICP in <A HREF="http://www.codepoetics.com/wiki/index.php?title=Topics:SICP_in_other_languages" REL="nofollow">other languages</A> than Scheme.<BR/><BR/>I don't have read through one of them but if you are interested...<BR/><BR/>Last but not least, you can follow the path of Eli Bendersky to complete SICP... Or just read his <A HREF="http://eli.thegreenplace.net/2008/04/18/sicp-conclusion/" REL="nofollow">conclusion</A> to gain enough motivation to start it!Polluxhttp://www.poxd.org/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182705499898252496.post-11892290087803252142008-12-19T08:40:00.000-05:002008-12-19T08:40:00.000-05:00dandrew,<BR/>Thanks for the information about "Concepts, Techniques, and Models of Computer Programming". I hadn't heard of it before. I'm having a little trouble with the URL to the early draft, and can't seem to get it to open (I get a blank page). <A HREF="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&fkt=973&fsdt=1442&q=Concepts%2C+Techniques%2C+and+Models+of+Computer+Programming&btnG=Google+Search&aq=f&oq=&aqi=" REL="nofollow">Google</A> and <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concepts,_Techniques,_and_Models_of_Computer_Programming" REL="nofollow">Wikipedia</A> seem to link to the same URL. Anyone else having this problem? I'll check a different computer when I go home.Bill the Lizardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09810099093752485841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182705499898252496.post-5522983168404044812008-12-19T02:48:00.000-05:002008-12-19T02:48:00.000-05:00"Concepts, Techniques, and Models of Computer Programming" is often viewed as a followup to SICP. Eraly drafts of the book were available free before it was published by MIT. For example, at http://www.ulb.ac.be/di/rwuyts/INFO020_2003/vanRoyHaridi2003-book.pdf<BR/><BR/>Info on the printed edition is at:<BR/>http://www.info.ucl.ac.be/~pvr/book.htmldandrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08448405778797936419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182705499898252496.post-9442684188464197362008-12-17T15:10:00.000-05:002008-12-17T15:10:00.000-05:00...and for CS math I found <A HREF="http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~jean/gbooks/geomath.html" REL="nofollow">Basics of Algebra and Analysis for Computer Science</A>.Bill the Lizardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09810099093752485841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182705499898252496.post-16647411199213369172008-12-16T15:24:00.000-05:002008-12-16T15:24:00.000-05:00I also just found <A HREF="http://www.charlespetzold.com/dotnet/index.html" REL="nofollow">.NET Book Zero</A> by Charles Petzold for free online. It's an introduction to C# and the .NET Framework for programmers who have experience with C or C++.Bill the Lizardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09810099093752485841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182705499898252496.post-85678259953545798472008-12-16T12:04:00.000-05:002008-12-16T12:04:00.000-05:00wtanksley,<BR/>Thanks for the recommendations. I'm a long time reader of Paul Graham, so I'm surprised at myself for not knowing that On Lisp was available. I'll be sure to add the Forth books to my ever-growing book queue as well.<BR/><BR/>Thanks also for clearing up my question about using Scheme with the SICP examples. I've always wanted to learn Scheme, so it looks like I should definitely give SICP a try.Bill the Lizardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09810099093752485841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182705499898252496.post-47518194650319416812008-12-16T11:56:00.000-05:002008-12-16T11:56:00.000-05:00Bill, Scheme is a Lisp dialect; SICP actually uses Scheme rather than (say) Common Lisp for its examples. The translation is mostly trivial, except for a missing feature on one side or the other (macros aren't trivial to translate, nor is call/cc).wtanksleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03283393679440645366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182705499898252496.post-73725135205379459132008-12-16T11:54:00.000-05:002008-12-16T11:54:00.000-05:00SICP is good, all right. I don't know if I'd say it's the best ever, but it's very good. Two other excellent online books (again, not "best ever") are:<BR/><BR/>Paul Graham's <A HREF="http://www.paulgraham.com/onlisp.html" REL="nofollow">On Lisp</A>, about using Lisp's syntactic flexibility to improve your code; and Leo Brodie's <A HREF="http://thinking-forth.sourceforge.net/" REL="nofollow">Thinking Forth</A>, about using the simplicity behind Forth's designs in your own designs. (You may also want to read Brodie's <A HREF="http://home.iae.nl/users/mhx/sf.html" REL="nofollow">Starting Forth</A>, also online, if you're not the type that can just skim over programming languages you don't know yet.)<BR/><BR/>If you really want to get "out there", check out Iverson's <A HREF="http://www.jsoftware.com/jwiki/Books" REL="nofollow">Calculus</A> (link includes other books he's posted online), RIP. This is an opportunity to learn a unique and useful programming language, J, while at the same time reviewing/learning calculus. The two most amazing things about this book is that first, it teaches calc without using limits (cool, less boring); and second, it teaches aspects of calc that are normally considered very advanced, like fractional integrals, and makes the completely reasonable for beginners.wtanksleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03283393679440645366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182705499898252496.post-82423131703007315612008-12-16T10:28:00.000-05:002008-12-16T10:28:00.000-05:00Brian,<BR/>Thanks for the tip. I've heard that SICP is a Lisp book. Can the exercises be done in any language, or would I need to stick to Lisp? Is Scheme a suitable substitute?Bill the Lizardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09810099093752485841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182705499898252496.post-91642108965947232292008-12-16T09:37:00.000-05:002008-12-16T09:37:00.000-05:00I have to agree that SICP is a great book. Well worth your time. I especially recommend working through the exercises.Brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09558353111194421812noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182705499898252496.post-66942882330014833032008-12-16T08:37:00.000-05:002008-12-16T08:37:00.000-05:00Thanks for that endorsement of SICP, jkff. I'll certainly take it into consideration.Bill the Lizardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09810099093752485841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182705499898252496.post-28579741206652722852008-12-16T08:30:00.000-05:002008-12-16T08:30:00.000-05:00Trust me, SICP is the best programming book in existence. To no book and no man do I owe more of my programming skills and inclinations than I do to SICP.<BR/><BR/>You should also have a look at the corresponding video lectures: they differ from the book in the sense that they are more understandable and cover some topics that the book doesn't. On the other hand, the book covers some topics that the lectures don't. In any case, Abelson and Sussman are both very good speakers and it is a joy to listen to them.jkffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16923431648214439769noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182705499898252496.post-75880075662992083552008-12-16T07:45:00.000-05:002008-12-16T07:45:00.000-05:00mhd,<BR/>Thanks for the perspective on HOP.Bill the Lizardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09810099093752485841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182705499898252496.post-15276278983274225472008-12-16T07:31:00.000-05:002008-12-16T07:31:00.000-05:00I'd say HOP is on the 'Advanced Perl' level, slightly lower if you've got previous experience in functional programming.<BR/><BR/>It's basically the functional programming equivalent to Damian Conways OOP Perl book (Manning, also recommended).mhdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04809394741127675820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182705499898252496.post-81034559003942336462008-12-15T22:22:00.000-05:002008-12-15T22:22:00.000-05:00Andy,<BR/>Thanks for the link to Higher-Order Perl. I learned Perl exclusively from O'Reilley books, and I'd never heard of it before. If you've read the O'Reilley Perl series, can you give me a rough estimate of where Higher-Order Perl fits on the Learning-Programming-Mastering Perl scale?Bill the Lizardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09810099093752485841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9182705499898252496.post-32072729637838051332008-12-15T21:56:00.000-05:002008-12-15T21:56:00.000-05:00MJD's fantastic Higher-Order Perl <A HREF="http://perlbuzz.com/2008/12/higher-order-perl-available-for-free-download.html" REL="nofollow">was recently made available for free download</A>, too.Andy Lesterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09755104360043101497noreply@blogger.com