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Re: a newbie sticks his toe in the water


From: Keith Wright
Subject: Re: a newbie sticks his toe in the water
Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 23:12:48 -0500

> From: address@hidden
> 
> I've just spent about an hour reading the list archives.  As
> not only a Guile newbie, but a Scheme newbie, and just about a
> programming newbie, This probably isn't the list for me, is it?

It couldn't hurt.  Just delete or ignore the part that
makes no sense.

> I guess my question is, what's a newbie to do?  Any
> suggestions?  The documentation, not just for guile, but for
> the rest of scheme, too, seems pretty lean.
> This is frustrating.

No, this is a feature.  The fact that the langage definition
fits in 40 pages or so means that you have some hope
of learning it all.  I've seen all I want of 500 page
books that turn out to say close to nothing.

The first step must be to get a copy of the R5RS Scheme
standard.  This can be obtained in a variety of formats
from <a href="http://www.schemers.org/";>Schemers Web site</a>.
Parts of it will be hopelessly obscure at first, so
you also want a good beginner's book.  The canonical
reference is:

Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs - 2nd Edition
  by Harold Abelson and Gerald Jay Sussman with Julie Sussman 

You will find links leading to the full text online
at the Schemers Web site (click: books, SICP,
"Visit the SICP2 web site!")

Of course, Guile has extended the Scheme language in several
ways, but it will be easier to understand the extensions
once you have learned the standard language itself.

        -- Keith




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