[ILUG-BOM] Seek advice to quit Windows

Philip Tellis philip.tellis@[EMAIL-PROTECTED]
Sat Jan 20 10:31:30 IST 2007


I don't agree on any of the programming book recommendations.  All books 
on programming languages are filled with the author's own biases and in 
some cases, lack of proper research.  K&R may be good for C, but it's 
not something you should start with.

I'd recommend that people start learning a language without the aid of a 
book, but by reading other people's code and using grep and the man page 
for any function that they don't understand.  Start by reading simple 
programs, and modifying them to suit your own needs.

Once you've gotten some distance into the language, that's when you can 
pick up books.  My favourites would be the "Practice of Programming" and 
the "Elements of Programming Style".  Neither are language specific, and 
both are excellent regardless of the language you're using.

"Programming Pearls" and "More Programming Pearls" by Jon Bentley are 
also great, are again language independent, and have stood the test of 
time.

When you've moved sufficiently high up the ladder, and your brain is in 
high absorbant mode, pick up the "Art of Computer Programming".



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