Simply Scheme
by Brian Harvey · first published 1994
63% recommend30% neutral7% critical
Why HN recommends it
Free, gentle introduction to Scheme and computer science, a stepping stone before SICP. Suits newcomers from varied backgrounds, and its renamed terms make lambda and list operations easier to grasp.
Common criticism: Some find it too simplistic and prefer HTDP, The Little Schemer or SICP
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…help you acclimate to the concepts in SICP, I recommend the following steps: First, read "Concrete Abstractions" by Max Heilparin (http://gustavus.edu/+max/concrete-abstractions-pdfs/index.html) and "Simply Scheme" by Brian Harvey (http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~bh/ss-toc2.html). Neither of these books assume much programming knowledge, and should be accessible to anyone. Next, listen to or watch Brian Harvey's lectures…
on “Easing into SICP” ↗…appreciate SICP. Actually, having a lot of programming experience enables you to work through SICP in a breeze... EDIT: After reading through the comments, probably it would be a good idea to skim through "Simply Scheme" by Brian Harvey and Matthew Wright. Many people think its the "predecessor" of SICP and probably would be a good complement for you: http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/~bh/ss-toc2.html If you are choosing…
on “Ask HN: Confused semi-newbie programmer needs some advice.” ↗Two others for Scheme: The Scheme Programming Language, 4th Ed. by R. Kent Dybvig[1] Simply Scheme: Introducing Computer Science by Brian Harvey and Matthew Wright, 2nd Ed.[2] [1]: http://www.scheme.com/tspl4/ [2]: http://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~bh/ss-toc2.html
on “Free Programming Ebooks” ↗…practice, and in order to practice, you need a foundation. This book gives you a good foundation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structure_and_Interpretation_of... SICP is an extraordinarily difficult book; "Simply Scheme" by Brian Harvey and Matt Wright is a good stepping-stone.
on “The perils of programmer education in the bazaar” ↗…programming grades 4-8? UC Berkeley switched from SICP to (SICP - Scheme + Python) and I love both scheme and python but haven't the foggiest idea which is actually better for the student. I grew up on Simply Scheme (by Brian Harvey and Matt Wright) and SICP. In the mid 90s, python wasn't available as an option for me. After using HyperTalk '92-'95, learning Scheme was enlightening, and it was my language of choice…
on “Empire of Code – Space Strategy Game from CheckIO” ↗I would recommend: 1) Install Racket (http://racket-lang.org/) 2) Read Simply Scheme (https://www.cs.berkeley.edu/~bh/ss-toc2.html) by Brian Harvey and Matthew Wright. It's free. Harvey taught the Scheme classes at UC Berkeley for many years, and is an outstanding (and award-winning)…
on “Why we hate Lisp” ↗Harvey and Wright's _Simply Scheme_ is another excellent book that does not get enough mention.
on “Show HN: Bel” ↗…college-level problems in science and engineering. If you can solve them at all, that's a reason for pride, not discouragement. To restore your confidence, you could have a look at Brian Harvey's textbook Simply Scheme. It is intended for students from a wider range of backgrounds and does not assume a heavy science/math background.
on “Tell HN: Trying to learn from SICP makes me cry” ↗…https://inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~cs61a/reader/ 12. Play JSRobowar https://statico.github.io/jsrobowar/ 13. Read "Development of the C Language" https://www.bell-labs.com/usr/dmr/www/chist.html 14. Read "The Mythical Man-Month" 15. Read "Simply Scheme" 16. Read "The C Programming Language"
on “Ask HN: What habits make a programmer great?” ↗Books -ANSI Common Lisp by Paul Graham -On Lisp by Paul Graham -Simply Scheme -The Little Schemer -Structure And Interpretation Of Computer Programs -Paradigms of Artificial Intelligence Programming Implementations Common Lisp - any should be fine, I’ve used sbcl and clisp Scheme…
on “Ask HN: I want to start learning Lisp. Where do I begin?” ↗…on I really struggled with `lambda`. It was a meaningless word to me. The classic complaints with CAR and CDR et al didn't help. More meaningless words. Finally, I managed to stumble across the book "Simply Scheme". And the first thing it did was rename everything. It didn't take long to realize that `lambda` was a function. And then, the light clicked on. "Oh." During my learning of computer concepts, etc. there…
on “Chicken Scheme” ↗Yes, but (arguably) a better book than Simply Scheme, if you are needing something more introductory than SICP.
on “SICP Prequel Textbook” ↗There's a book called "Simply Scheme" that is meant to serve as an introduction to SICP. So, you could "prep" yourself for your pursuits if you first go through this book. Good Luck, Shubham Harnal.
on “Ask HN: Working through SICP. Did you make it?” ↗…soft spot for books that I can read on my BlackBerry. SICP, The Art of Unix Programming, Software Engineering for Internet Applications, SQL for Web Nerds, Practical Common Lisp, Dive Into Python, now Simply Scheme. If only the Handbook of Applied Cryptography had their chapters in HTML.
on “How to Learn Stuff While Procrastinating Online” ↗SCIP should always be in the list as one of the best programming books ever written. Others are 'Simply Scheme: An introduction to computer science', simply scheme is an alternative to "How to design Programs", http://htdp.org/, both books are written for non-programmers but they provide a gentle introduction…
on “Ask HN: What's the best technical eBook you have read?” ↗