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Ask HN: Learning to code, without a computer?

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Re: Ask HN: Learning to code, without a computer?

#141

Post by empath75 »

llamaz wrote: post #21
ajamesm wrote: post #11

Sounds like a great opportunity to learn set theory, abstract algebra, number theory, linear algebra. You could get a working comprehension of cryptography or computer graphics. You could get a handle on category theory. Those are topics that one could make progress on with only a pencil, paper, and the occasional phone call to a mentor. I cannot imagine submitting punch cards and reading JavaScript stack traces by m…

He wants to learn to code, not how to become a mathematician. As an EE student, there are plenty of engineers who know nothing about those topics (except maybe linear algebra) that have successfully completed the image processing/computer vision course.

I'm not even a great programmer, but I found learning formal logic, abstract algebra and category theory to be incredibly useful. That, algorithms and data structures. That's what I would study if I were in prison. Not, trying to learn Python or something, which could be a dead language by the time you get out.

Re: Ask HN: Learning to code, without a computer?

#143

Post by iamcreasy »

informatimago wrote: post #7

Learning to code without a computer is what we all did, 40 years ago! He may write programs on paper, and send them to you to type them in, compile them, and print out a listing with the errors. You then send back the listing, and he will correct his program and repeat. He'll become a great programmer, since he will have to be extra careful to avoid losing one week on some typo. Now, it's been a few years since gcc h…

What is 'listing of the compiled source'?

Re: Ask HN: Learning to code, without a computer?

#144

Post by kzahel »

wiseleo wrote: post #140
kzahel wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Last Mile is now up and running in 4 California state prisons. Folsom Women's Facility, Ironwood State Prison, Chuckawalla State Prison, and of course San Quentin. We're going to be expanding into a few more in 2017. You can see some of the details of how we setup the classroom here: https://github.com/thelastmile/intranet

What happened with Last Mile and Quora? We liked those answers. :) (I am one of Top Writers)

Good question. I think it's just one of those things that takes a lot of time to manage and update, and we are understaffed and somehow it's not prioritized. I'll bring it up and see if I can get some more updates going..

Re: Ask HN: Learning to code, without a computer?

#145

Post by db48x »

RandomOpinion wrote: post #121
givinguflac wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, this is an incredible list. I think this is probably the best first step, and some of the other excellent responses I've got here would be a step two or three. I really appreciate you taking the time to provide these suggestions.

I cannot say I agree that the list of books provided by llamaz is good. The suggestions given so far are college-level CS textbooks (like SICP) and may be too difficult to start with for somebody without the necessary background knowledge. Unless your friend was already a college student in a CS program, I would recommend looking for books and instructional materials targeted at the high-school level instead. Also be…

SICP is an introductory text, and is usually taught to first-year undergraduates. We don't even know what sort of educational background this friend has, but if he can do algebra, then he'll be able to do the exercises in the first chapter and check his answers. Furthermore, because Scheme uses the substitution model, doing the exercises on paper is possible. It'll take care and attention to detail, but every Scheme expression can be expanded and reduced according to simple rules, just like in algebra. The same cannot be said for most other languages.

Re: Ask HN: Learning to code, without a computer?

#147

Post by sAuronas »

Be like Malcolm X and read every programming book he can get. Send him PDF copies. I'm self-taught. I obviously had a computer but I spent a ton of time just reading and studying other people's code. There was a time as a kid when I wanted to play the Sax but my mom made me wait a year. I bought a book and learned the fingerings and played by air for a whole year and took first chair the next. If he is really motivated, he can do it. In fact... I'll contribute and send him books as well as advise on how to get there. Send me a message and I'll help you help him.

Re: Ask HN: Learning to code, without a computer?

#148

Post by sfifs »

When I was 11, I learned to code BASIC by reading a programming language manual that came with IBM PCs by writing out programs in a notebook. It was many months before I actually touched a real computer (which was a learning experience in itself, but didn't change what I had picked up too much).

So definitely possible.

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