Timeline for Why do people use programming books?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
11 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 29, 2011 at 4:14 | comment | added | SingleNegationElimination | Hmm. Come to think of it; A big part of how I learned was neither from a book, nor by doing, I did go to school for this. Extended, formal education in a field is of huge value; It also means that I can pick up this language or that technology without much trouble (a few weeks) and become proficient (a year or so) without ever really getting stuck, since I've got that framework of education to build from. | |
| Jul 29, 2011 at 1:24 | history | edited | Peter Mortensen | CC BY-SA 3.0 |
added 55 characters in body
|
| Jul 28, 2011 at 15:09 | history | made wiki | Post Made Community Wiki by Mild Fuzz | ||
| Jul 28, 2011 at 14:17 | comment | added | Jim C | Books are becoming digital media. Admittedly the current generation of dedicated e-book readers like the kindle don't do well with technical books, like programming books. Given how fast the hardware is advancing, I think in just a few years you will have much better e-book readers and much better e-books to go with them. Books on programming have always been a popular way to learn new languages and technologies. I don't see this changing and with new formats books will become an even better tools for learning. | |
| Jul 28, 2011 at 13:55 | comment | added | zzzzBov | I think this is a case of confirmation bias. @Alex seems to be looking for a certain answer. I'm not saying this answer is bad per se, but it's certainly not the best answer provided by any stretch of the imagination. | |
| Jul 28, 2011 at 12:20 | comment | added | cledoux | @Alex About digital media. That really depends on the topic being addressed by the media. If the media is addressing such things as how to do x in language y, or the most efficient way to code in z, then I agree with your statement. However, other topics (usually more advanced, theoretical topics), such as NP, P, algorithm analysis, etc, IMHO are usually addressed best by a text book. Take Knuth's The Art of Programming. It's quite an old text, but still considered one of the foremost books on programming. | |
| Jul 28, 2011 at 10:00 | comment | added | Alex Hope O'Connor | Should note I am not against reading, I just think digital media is usually a lot more current and engaging. | |
| Jul 28, 2011 at 9:36 | comment | added | Joris Timmermans | Be careful to avoid becoming a "self-taught" programmer that thinkthey know it all because they worked through a simple problem, badly, and feels themselves "too good" to read books. | |
| Jul 28, 2011 at 7:50 | vote | accept | Alex Hope O'Connor | ||
| Jul 29, 2011 at 0:13 | |||||
| Jul 28, 2011 at 6:24 | comment | added | Justin Shield | +1: I think you've nailed it. Learn by doing, the most valuable books I own were specific to an application I was writing at the time. | |
| Jul 28, 2011 at 5:19 | history | answered | SingleNegationElimination | CC BY-SA 3.0 |