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Show HN: I'm writing a free book called Computer Networks from Scratch

networksfromscratch.com

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Re: Show HN: I'm writing a free book called Computer Networks from Scratch

#31

Post by sarchertech »

mabbo wrote: post #30

I recently moved from a professional developer that didn't know how networks worked to one that gave an intro talk on HTTPS to a student group. I wish I had had a book like this to make that change faster. One callout: a table of contents is needed for the online version. One that links directly to the chapters. And if one exists, it needs to be easier to find because I couldn't locate it.

>I recently moved from a professional developer that didn't know how networks worked to one that gave an intro talk on HTTPS to a student group.

That's awesome!

>I wish I had had a book like this to make that change faster.

That's the goal.

I definitely need a table of contents, but I was planning on adding it once I got a few more chapters done. Based on the comments though, I should probably add one quicker than that.

Re: Show HN: I'm writing a free book called Computer Networks from Scratch

#33

Post by sarchertech »

WalterBright wrote: post #27
sarchertech wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you! I've had a lot of fun doing them. Many of them were done on my iPad one handed (very slowly) while holding the new baby in the other arm.

It takes a surprising amount of insight to remove all the extraneous information from a drawing, bringing it to its essence. That's what makes your drawings, although appearing simple, so good. P.S. Scott Adams has talked about using the same technique for the Dilbert comics.

That's high praise, thank you! To some extent the drawings have started guiding the writing when I originally thought it would work the other way around.

Re: Show HN: I'm writing a free book called Computer Networks from Scratch

#35

Post by sarchertech »

userbinator wrote: post #14

The beginning reminded me of Petzold's Code. Was that the inspiration for this book?

That's interesting. I've given a talk various times over the years on "how the internet works", and when I later read Code I also noted the similarity in style. So no, not directly, but we apparently just have similar styles (not that I would place my book anywhere near Code).

Re: Show HN: I'm writing a free book called Computer Networks from Scratch

#36

Post by getcrunk »

sarchertech wrote: post #31
mabbo wrote: post #30

I recently moved from a professional developer that didn't know how networks worked to one that gave an intro talk on HTTPS to a student group. I wish I had had a book like this to make that change faster. One callout: a table of contents is needed for the online version. One that links directly to the chapters. And if one exists, it needs to be easier to find because I couldn't locate it.

>I recently moved from a professional developer that didn't know how networks worked to one that gave an intro talk on HTTPS to a student group. That's awesome! >I wish I had had a book like this to make that change faster. That's the goal. I definitely need a table of contents, but I was planning on adding it once I got a few more chapters done. Based on the comments though, I should probably add one quicker than th…

How many chapter do you expect to write? Ballpark? 10,20,50? Just so I can get an idea

Re: Show HN: I'm writing a free book called Computer Networks from Scratch

#38

Post by sarchertech »

getcrunk wrote: post #36
sarchertech wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I recently moved from a professional developer that didn't know how networks worked to one that gave an intro talk on HTTPS to a student group. That's awesome! >I wish I had had a book like this to make that change faster. That's the goal. I definitely need a table of contents, but I was planning on adding it once I got a few more chapters done. Based on the comments though, I should probably add one quicker than th…

How many chapter do you expect to write? Ballpark? 10,20,50? Just so I can get an idea

Probably somewhere in the 25-30 chapter range divided up into 3 parts.

Re: Show HN: I'm writing a free book called Computer Networks from Scratch

#39

Post by sarchertech »

jokoon wrote: post #23

I wish there was a comprehensive guide to implement networked physics prediction. I remember there was a good article on the theory, especially the rewind part.

I'm not sure that I'm qualified to write that book. But I do have an interest in game engines, so something with networking might be the perfect tangent for me one day.
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