Seven Languages in Seven Weeks
by Bruce Tate · first published 2010
61% recommend35% neutral5% critical
Why HN recommends it
Broad tour of languages from different paradigms (Ruby, Io, Prolog, Scala, Erlang, Clojure, Haskell). Suits programmers stuck in one or two imperative languages who want to see functional, logic and concurrent styles.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…occasionally (but very, very briefly) for years. I bought a book on Scheme in 1995, to give you a sense of how long I wandered in the wilderness. It wasn't until I discovered Erlang in 2012 (thanks, Seven Languages in Seven Weeks) that I finally found the motivation, aided in no small part by the fact that it's a very simple language and it's designed for server programming, where I've always been happiest. I still haven't graduated…
on “Why is learning functional programming so damned hard? (2019)” ↗Seven Languages in Seven Weeks[1] [1] http://pragprog.com/book/btlang/seven-languages-in-seven-wee...
on “What is your favorite programming/computer-related book?” ↗…articles, books, source code. The more it is different from what you already know the better. Get as diverse a coverage as possible. Same goes for programming languages. A good starting point is the book "Seven languages in seven weeks" because it covers a broad spectrum of language types. But much more important than reading is doing: write a lot of code. Do the exercises in books you read, try out what you see in examples/articles/source…
on “Ask HN: Strategy to become the best programmer possible?” ↗…a lonely island with me where I was stranded, it would still have to be C. To those here who would like to have some guidance diving into other languages I can recommend these two books: Bruce Tate: Seven Languages in Seven Weeks https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Languages-Weeks-Programming-Pro... Bruce Tate: Seven More Languages in Seven Weeks https://www.amazon.com/Seven-More-Languages-Weeks-Shaping/dp... You can work through them…
on “Trying new programming languages helped me grow as a software engineer” ↗…programmer. Ongoing reading and playing is required whether you've got a degree or not. For a broad introduction to your craft go buy Code Complete. For a survey of popular programming language paradigms get Seven Languages in Seven Weeks. There's a lot more to read but seriously reading those two will be a nice start and will have a practical impact for you.
on “Ask HN: What are the consequences of learning something by yourself?” ↗http://paulgraham.com/pfaq.html If you don't have a programmer friend you can lean on Seven Languages in Seven Weeks[1] by Bruce Tate will give you a nice overview of some good languages, so you can pick one that fits your way of thinking (or learn multiple languages and pick the right tool for the job for each project).…
on “Ask HN: What language should a technically literate person learn first?” ↗Agreed, working with APL has been an extremely valuable exercise. Another experience I found enlightening was working through the Pragmatic Programmers book Seven Languages in Seven Weeks which points out the more interesting and distinguishing features of Ruby, Io, Prolog, Scala, Erlang, Clojure and Haskell: http://pragprog.com/book/btlang/seven-languages-in-seven-wee...
on “Being a polyglot programmer” ↗Hi HN, I've been reading through Bruce Tate's excellent Seven Languages in Seven Weeks and really enjoying the chapter on Io (http://iolanguage.org). The example problems in the book have been fun to solve, but I want to see how the language scales to larger problems. This is where my problem…
on “Ask HN: How do you test-drive a new programming language? What do you build?” ↗Seven Languages in Seven Weeks: A Pragmatic Guide to Learning Programming Languages by Bruce Tate Seriously, check out this book. It's delightful! It'll level you up as a software developer. Also, I've heard it heavily influenced…
on “Ask HN: Which books do you consider real gems in your field of work/study?” ↗- Practical Vim - Seven Languages in Seven Weeks Career changing for me.
on “Ask HN: Which books you have read till now that were worth investing time in?” ↗Just bought the ebook of Seven Languages in Seven Weeks. I liked Bruce Tate's talk on it at Lone Star Ruby Conf; I was going to wait to buy it until I actually had time to read it, but I figure it'll never be cheaper than right now. Looks like a really good…
on “The Pragmatic Bookshelf 40% Black Friday Sale” ↗Seven Languages in Seven Weeks: A Pragmatic Guide to Learning Programming Languages. Bruce A. Tate
on “Which programming book you just couldn’t stop reading from start to end?” ↗Try the book, "Seven Languages in Seven Weeks" which covers Clojure, Scala and a bunch of other languages. I've only just got it and it looks good so far. http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Languages-Weeks-Programming-Prog...
on “The Python Paradox is now the Scala Paradox” ↗My current list of most recommended books (and that I have read) are, in no particular order: Seven Languages in Seven Weeks The Elements of Computing Systems: Building a Modern Computer from First Principles The Pragmatic Programmer Programming Challenges Statistics: A Gentle Introduction (not exactly a programming book,…
on “Books Programmers Don't Really Read But Recommend” ↗The most fun computer science related projects I've found are (1) learning new languages and (2) writing new languages. For (1), I picked up the book Seven Languages in Seven Weeks[0] and learned to write (really basic) Ruby, Io, Erlang, Prolog, Scala, Clojure and Haskell. I didn't write anything great, but it was a lot of fun to play with new ideas. For (2) I decided a couple…
on “Feynman: I am burned out and I'll never accomplish anything” ↗