41–50 of 194 posts
This is a good question for old timers that learned to code by rote with a home computer back in the day when you could learn a language and all of it from a couple of manuals. But times have changed and nowadays I do not have any books directly relevant to my current programming skill set - Stack Overflow is my friend. So what books do I have? Books on usability and web accessibility are good reads, however no obvio…
It might be a good place to start, at the very least. But it will only appeal to a certain sort of person.
One of the key things to also understand here is - what is missed out in this type of training. Tools. Tools. Tools.
As developers we have come far away from limited IDEs. We rely on so many tools that knowing-they-exist or sometimes mastering them is difference between good-or-bad devs. I would recommend to read printed material about IDEs, screen shots of tools.
Couple of other things I have found really helpful: * I had underestimated Medium as a platform to rely for tech news till lately. There is so much of latest developer/platform news and articles. Print outs of these definitely help. * Stackshare posts (http://stackshare.io/featured-posts) on what stacks/tools companies use (and how) are eye opening to say the least. Print outs of this.
I'd recommend he read the "structure and interpretation of computer programs". It's written for audience who would, at the time, have found programming novel, but would be at home with math. Hence it's written in a language that allows you to expand out the program by pencil and paper, much the same way you would simplify an equation, to see if it works. Also the following books, which I've copied and pasted from som…
Suggestions for absolutely no computers:
* CLRS, the classic. (I just skimmed the intro, though, and if he has no background in uni-level maths, it might be a little tough to digest.)
* (maybe) the Head First series (as someone else suggested). I'm wary of suggesting it not just because I have no experience with the books (I only even mention it because I know they're ubiquitous), but also because bad habits are formed early, and this could do that.
* Patterson and Hennessy - Computer Organization and Design (5d.)
* Sebesta - Concepts of Programming Languages (11d.) (but only after finishing some of CLRS, and even then I don't know how appropriate this is)
=====
What kind of experience did he have with computers before he went in?
Depending, you may be able to make recommendations about stuff relevant to what he's used.
=====
Can you get him something like a TI-84? Because even that will at least allow him to go in and write TI-BASIC.
I have no idea about prison security and how things work, but are there programmable gadgets that are allowed inside? Ie. something that is really a computer inside but doesn't qualify as a proper computer when it comes to the rules. Some pocket tetris or similar game that could be hacked to run some kind of programming environment? Some old computing gadget that runs a basic interpreter? Edit: TI calculator mentione…
What is the most capable programmable device, that would not be considered a computer by the rules? How about a graphical calculator like a TI-83? While I was stuck in school and did not have access to a computer, I wanted to challenge myself during classes. The most interesting distraction by far was to play around with the programming functions of my TI-82 calculator that was required for math classes. Even with al…
I also did programming with my TI calculators back in school.
Print out the better ones.
Get him familiar with the lingo.
My biggest stumbling block was learning the ever changing language of all aspects of computing.
Then buy him Learn to Program by Chris Pine. I would also want him very comfortable with UNIX, and the command line.
When he gets out,if he has some support; he will do just fine.