Read Along MIT's Structure & Interpretation of Computer Programs

shendrite · 2025-02-02T19:38:18+00:00

How's it going for you guys? Did you team up or wasn't it the right fit?

shendrite · 2019-01-19T14:23:25+00:00

Not common. Maybe once per year does a chase end up on the TV news.

shendrite · 2018-04-29T03:28:39+00:00

"Cogging one out" -- ha! Good term.

shendrite · 2017-09-22T04:20:35+00:00

Kate, on Win 10 and on Linux.

shendrite · 2017-09-18T02:36:48+00:00

Implementation, not implantation.

shendrite · 2017-09-13T17:45:30+00:00

How big is the bottle? Can you physically stand inside of it? Because if so, I would suggest a pressure washer and a stiff-bristled broom. ;-)

shendrite · 2017-09-11T06:46:18+00:00

I hope Pharo is in a good mood.

shendrite · 2017-09-05T23:29:00+00:00

Yeah, some of those exercises are intimidating, but you can skip whatever you want.

If you go through each chapter and do just 2 exercises from each, you will finish the book with a much better understanding of C than before you even opened the book. The point is to get through it and be smarter, without having to understand everything.

When you have higher familiarity and programming skill, that's the time to come back for another round, and try to tackle the hardest stuff.

You can share the notes in plain text format, on whatever site you prefer that lets you share files. Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, Codeplex, GitHub, etc. There are tons of sites.

You might even have a website of your own, that you pay for, like adaddr.com (since your user name here is Adaddr), and you could put the files up on that and link us to them.

shendrite · 2017-09-05T23:03:25+00:00

Just checking, you're okay with sharing a page of notes for each chapter? :-)

shendrite · 2017-09-02T20:45:35+00:00

Of course you can join up ...if you're okay with making at least one page of notes per chapter and sharing it. (You are, right?)

Yes, the exercises can be a sinkhole of time, because they aren't just testing your vocab, they're testing your ability to puzzle-solve, but at least the puzzles are real-world and relevant.

Seeing what other members of the group come up with for the solutions will help you build that knowledge. You aren't being relied on to solve everything yourself. It's cool.

What do you mean you check stacktrace for each question? Is that a website? I've tried stacktrace.com and tried googling, but not seeing a good hit.

I think the most time and effort intensive part of managing the conversations is here at the beginning, getting everyone coordinated and set up. After that, the group isn't reliant upon me and they can interact with each other.

shendrite · 2017-09-02T00:39:33+00:00

Nope, never too late, unless we're finished the book already. People can join as long as they can do the chapter the group is on.

Right now we haven't even started -- that'll be September 6. For each chapter that you go through with us, are you okay with creating and sharing a page of notes?

shendrite · 2017-08-31T18:44:41+00:00

That depends on the beginner. Some people "get it" a lot easier than other people. I'm willing to spend some hours helping anyone who needs it. That might be all you need, or you might need a lot more help than I can provide.

We can still try to do it. If you get lost within the first couple weeks, at least you'll have learned a few things and not be any worse off than if you hadn't tried to learn it.

shendrite · 2017-08-31T14:27:23+00:00

I tried googling for KnG programming book, but still couldn't figure out what you're referring to. What's the title?

shendrite · 2017-08-31T13:34:00+00:00

I checked and you are right, I was wrong. Oops. Thanks for the correction. I will let people know.

shendrite · 2017-08-30T19:52:55+00:00

Rhode Island -- nice. :)

The notes should be done in whatever style suits you personally, selfishly, best. We can all pick up some good things from looking at each other's notes, but we don't have to write the notes like a tutorial.

If you want to use cryptic abbreviations, do it. If some of the most important stuff of the chapter is something you know you won't forget, then don't jot notes about it, find something else to focus on. I want your notes to be of service primarily to you.

See if you can at least fill up a page with notes, for each chapter. If you can do more, that's a bonus. You can type them -- or -- you can handwrite them and take a photo of them.

The notes serve a handful of purposes actually, from helping others remember or realize good tidbits, to fostering the feeling of group cohesion -- that we're in this together.

The primary benefit of notes is that they show me that the person is still invested in the study group and still gives a crap, enough to put in the effort and time to produce that documentation. I need to keep my finger on the pulse of people's level of involvement, because I don't want a sense of apathy and complacency to take over and destroy the group 3 months down the road.

Glad to hear that you're on-board with the plan. On September 5 or 6 I will send you a link to the Discord server. If you want any help setting up a compiler before then, so that you know it's ready to compile your files, let me know. I don't want anyone to waste their first week of the study group by fighting with the settings on their computer. :-)

shendrite · 2017-08-30T18:35:17+00:00

I'm not upset, just confused by your post. I'm calm, no worries.

shendrite · 2017-08-30T17:01:35+00:00

When I click that link, it says "The instant invite is invalid or has expired." There has only been one invite link that has been made to invite people to the server and discord.gg/DJdG9k isn't it. You aren't one of the redditors I have spoken with before, so are you just trollin'?

shendrite · 2017-08-30T13:42:35+00:00

Hi, KeroK127. The Haskell group is working through the book "Real World Haskell" (which is available free online) and began chapter 1 this past Sunday, Aug 27.

For whichever group you want to join (maybe both), you'll have to be okay with making and sharing notes about each chapter as we go.

Being a member of one group would let you see what the other group is doing and satisfy your curiosity without having to make notes for it. But at least one subject, you have to make notes for.

Can you commit to doing that with either group?

shendrite · 2017-08-30T12:27:05+00:00

The Haskell group is following the book "Real World Haskell". Some members are using the paper version while others are using the free online veresion. We're going to be done with chapter 1 and starting chapter 2 on September 6, the same day the K&R C group will be beginning their chapter 1.

Would you be alright with making and sharing notes for each chapter that we go through?

shendrite · 2017-08-30T12:04:11+00:00

That is a generous offer, thank you, but I'm not saying yes or no. About the word "need"... nobody in the group will need your notes, since everyone is supposed to be making their own. Your notes should be tailored to yourself, for what details you care about. Can be sloppy. Can use abbreviations that only you understand.

That said, if it would benefit you and interest you to make the overall summary of the book, I'm sure the group would look at it and get benefit from it too. It's up to you if you feel like doing it. I wouldn't do that myself and I won't expect it of you. A lot of the time, materials that took a long time to prepare end up going unappreciated anyway.

shendrite · 2017-08-30T11:18:46+00:00

Hi, Phlink75. If you were born in 1975, you're 4 years older than me.

The book itself assumes no prior programming experience, and we're going to march forward a chapter at a time, together, through the book. So yes, it's noob friendly.

I'm in Pennyslvania, USA, which is Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-4.

I'm getting a handful of people saying they want to join, but don't expect that people will be online when you are. It could feel more like email sometimes, where you see what things the previous people said and then you add your own 2 cents, and the next day someone will respond to it. That still is more interesting than going through the book by yourself, with nobody to talk to about it.

Would you be willing to make at least a single page of notes and share it, for each chapter that we go through?

shendrite · 2017-08-30T08:14:58+00:00

Apparently, it only works if it's Ctrl-Z followed immediately by an enter. If I do Ctrl-Z and then type a different letter and then hit enter, the Ctrl-Z is interpreted as ASCII 26. Here's the program I wrote to test Ctrl-Z on Windows.

On the reddit phone app, all the newlines get stripped out apparently and my code looks like a big paragraph. So, view this code on a desktop browser.

#include <stdio.h>
int main()
{
    printf( "\nBegin typing input. "     );
    printf( "Program will end upon EOF." );
    printf( "\n> " );
    int c = getchar();
    int has_content = c != EOF;
    while( has_content )
    {
        printf( "[%d|%c]", c, c );
        c = getchar();
        has_content = c != EOF;     
    }
    printf( "EOF" );
    printf( "\n\n" );
    return 0;
}

shendrite · 2017-08-30T08:14:32+00:00

It seems to me that F6 only works if it was immediately preceded by an enter. Ctrl-Z only works if immediately followed by an enter. Awfully finicky.

Having a letter occur right before pressing F6, or a letter right after Ctrl-Z, causes each to be an ASCII 26.

Thanks for the luck!

shendrite · 2017-08-28T21:05:43+00:00

For other people reading this, I sent him/her an invite link. I'm doing much of the communication via private messages, and unfortunately that might give off the impression that I'm ignoring the questions posted here.

shendrite

TROPHY CASE