Reading To Learn Tech?
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I'm reading a book right now (Real-World Cryptography - Manning Publisher[^]). In chapter 3 it provided a code example of how to generate a MAC (Message Authentication Code) using Rust. It didn't give the crates (import libraries) that were required. :| (I'm slow, I need everything.) Also, the example was two functions for generating and then reading the MAC but there was no example of the input (I'm slow, I need everything). Which brings me to my point. Do you notice that books get you so far into a subject (about 1 - 3 chapters) and then they get so far out there that you cannot move on further? You're just stuck. The author has left me behind. (I'm slow, I need everything.) So I have a lot of books that I read first 3 chapters & then fall into oblivion. (I'm slow, I need everything.) Well, that is my experience. Does that happen to you?
I'd expect a 'Hello MAC World' program at least within three chapters which gives all instructions from scratch. Otherwise beginners will get switched off.
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For me, this happens for one of two reasons. First, I didn't pay enough attention to the early material, so that when the author uses it later I get lost. I go back, read the early stuff again, and the newer material starts to make sense. Second, the author forgot the most important rule in writing: consider your audience. They take small, easy steps in the beginning. Once that part's done, they think they can change over to much bigger steps, having forgotten that their reader might still be learning the material and needs smaller steps.
Software Zen:
delete this; -
I'd expect a 'Hello MAC World' program at least within three chapters which gives all instructions from scratch. Otherwise beginners will get switched off.
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I am often guilty of your first point, but your 2nd point is definitely the one I’m talking about running into very often. :thumbsup::thumbsup:
That's the primary reason why I no longer buy tech books very often. The writing is really poor.
Software Zen:
delete this; -
That's the primary reason why I no longer buy tech books very often. The writing is really poor.
Software Zen:
delete this; -
There are a couple of publishers (O’Reilly, Manning, No Starch) who still (actually) edit most of their materials but problems still leak through.
I do like the O'Reilly quick references. They're brief and give you the basic information without fluff and a lot of worthless screen captures.
Software Zen:
delete this; -
I'm reading a book right now (Real-World Cryptography - Manning Publisher[^]). In chapter 3 it provided a code example of how to generate a MAC (Message Authentication Code) using Rust. It didn't give the crates (import libraries) that were required. :| (I'm slow, I need everything.) Also, the example was two functions for generating and then reading the MAC but there was no example of the input (I'm slow, I need everything). Which brings me to my point. Do you notice that books get you so far into a subject (about 1 - 3 chapters) and then they get so far out there that you cannot move on further? You're just stuck. The author has left me behind. (I'm slow, I need everything.) So I have a lot of books that I read first 3 chapters & then fall into oblivion. (I'm slow, I need everything.) Well, that is my experience. Does that happen to you?
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I'm reading a book right now (Real-World Cryptography - Manning Publisher[^]). In chapter 3 it provided a code example of how to generate a MAC (Message Authentication Code) using Rust. It didn't give the crates (import libraries) that were required. :| (I'm slow, I need everything.) Also, the example was two functions for generating and then reading the MAC but there was no example of the input (I'm slow, I need everything). Which brings me to my point. Do you notice that books get you so far into a subject (about 1 - 3 chapters) and then they get so far out there that you cannot move on further? You're just stuck. The author has left me behind. (I'm slow, I need everything.) So I have a lot of books that I read first 3 chapters & then fall into oblivion. (I'm slow, I need everything.) Well, that is my experience. Does that happen to you?
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I'm reading a book right now (Real-World Cryptography - Manning Publisher[^]). In chapter 3 it provided a code example of how to generate a MAC (Message Authentication Code) using Rust. It didn't give the crates (import libraries) that were required. :| (I'm slow, I need everything.) Also, the example was two functions for generating and then reading the MAC but there was no example of the input (I'm slow, I need everything). Which brings me to my point. Do you notice that books get you so far into a subject (about 1 - 3 chapters) and then they get so far out there that you cannot move on further? You're just stuck. The author has left me behind. (I'm slow, I need everything.) So I have a lot of books that I read first 3 chapters & then fall into oblivion. (I'm slow, I need everything.) Well, that is my experience. Does that happen to you?
I have been using linkedin learning (formerly lynda) It has a combination of videos/text etc... Usually they consider everything but not always. Like you I need everything. I find I learn best if I have all of the following Examples!!! Good real world examples Listing of requirements to get them working (the thing it seems you are missing) Someone talking me thru steps 1.2.3.4.5. opps 4 again (I am slow I need everything) Someone having written out those steps 1.2.3.45 opps did 5 too fast again. What was 4? Again Examples to review. again because mine still isn't working (I am slow I need everything) If any of the above is missing. I am not sure I am going to learn that. ymmv
To err is human to really elephant it up you need a computer
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I have been using linkedin learning (formerly lynda) It has a combination of videos/text etc... Usually they consider everything but not always. Like you I need everything. I find I learn best if I have all of the following Examples!!! Good real world examples Listing of requirements to get them working (the thing it seems you are missing) Someone talking me thru steps 1.2.3.4.5. opps 4 again (I am slow I need everything) Someone having written out those steps 1.2.3.45 opps did 5 too fast again. What was 4? Again Examples to review. again because mine still isn't working (I am slow I need everything) If any of the above is missing. I am not sure I am going to learn that. ymmv
To err is human to really elephant it up you need a computer
Thanks for sharing that. I feel like I'm the only one who gets stuck sometimes. At work, any time I mention any problem everyone be like, "Oh no, we've never seen that. It must just be you." Yes, it's just me. Then I search & there is StackOverflow answer with 1 million upvotes :laugh:
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I'm reading a book right now (Real-World Cryptography - Manning Publisher[^]). In chapter 3 it provided a code example of how to generate a MAC (Message Authentication Code) using Rust. It didn't give the crates (import libraries) that were required. :| (I'm slow, I need everything.) Also, the example was two functions for generating and then reading the MAC but there was no example of the input (I'm slow, I need everything). Which brings me to my point. Do you notice that books get you so far into a subject (about 1 - 3 chapters) and then they get so far out there that you cannot move on further? You're just stuck. The author has left me behind. (I'm slow, I need everything.) So I have a lot of books that I read first 3 chapters & then fall into oblivion. (I'm slow, I need everything.) Well, that is my experience. Does that happen to you?
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I'm reading a book right now (Real-World Cryptography - Manning Publisher[^]). In chapter 3 it provided a code example of how to generate a MAC (Message Authentication Code) using Rust. It didn't give the crates (import libraries) that were required. :| (I'm slow, I need everything.) Also, the example was two functions for generating and then reading the MAC but there was no example of the input (I'm slow, I need everything). Which brings me to my point. Do you notice that books get you so far into a subject (about 1 - 3 chapters) and then they get so far out there that you cannot move on further? You're just stuck. The author has left me behind. (I'm slow, I need everything.) So I have a lot of books that I read first 3 chapters & then fall into oblivion. (I'm slow, I need everything.) Well, that is my experience. Does that happen to you?
Related: how, when you try to follow an online tutorial and the first steps go well, and then some weird error suddenly pops up and blocks all progress.
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I'm reading a book right now (Real-World Cryptography - Manning Publisher[^]). In chapter 3 it provided a code example of how to generate a MAC (Message Authentication Code) using Rust. It didn't give the crates (import libraries) that were required. :| (I'm slow, I need everything.) Also, the example was two functions for generating and then reading the MAC but there was no example of the input (I'm slow, I need everything). Which brings me to my point. Do you notice that books get you so far into a subject (about 1 - 3 chapters) and then they get so far out there that you cannot move on further? You're just stuck. The author has left me behind. (I'm slow, I need everything.) So I have a lot of books that I read first 3 chapters & then fall into oblivion. (I'm slow, I need everything.) Well, that is my experience. Does that happen to you?
Many languages seem to have raced to having the simplest/shortest example of Hello World by tucking away or automating a bunch of the plumbing that makes the sausage. You find tons of example code out there lacking usings, imports, and other bits similar to your example. Some of those only put the man behind a curtain because if you were to reveal him it would suddenly become an overwhelming amount of worm cans and rabbit holes. Still, I can't help but shake my head at it sometimes. I wouldn't want to be a rookie right now. Too many curtains hiding central figures and too many 'black boxes'. Many of them, you would not even know they exist which is sort of the first step to ever even being able to want to go looking for them in order to understand more. Mostly, those curtains/boxes, they are not totally bad things. Productivity is great and those things that tend to be "ok as default" or "*most* always handle themselves"... it's nice not to worry about or even see them. The problem comes when you really want to know every detail, but you can't even be sure you do. Unknowable unknowns.
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Related: how, when you try to follow an online tutorial and the first steps go well, and then some weird error suddenly pops up and blocks all progress.
In a sense, maybe relish it. Be persistent and figure it out. You'll learn things the example wasn't ever going to otherwise teach you. Many folks learned to do this before StackOverflow (or even Google) existed. Different people have the different modes of doing their best learning. I think that it is inherent to the craft that learning to dig is maybe, in essence, learning to do. That said, hiding all the shovels is understandable but disconcerting. OTOH, rooms full of shovels are almost as bad and maybe worse.
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Related: how, when you try to follow an online tutorial and the first steps go well, and then some weird error suddenly pops up and blocks all progress.
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Many languages seem to have raced to having the simplest/shortest example of Hello World by tucking away or automating a bunch of the plumbing that makes the sausage. You find tons of example code out there lacking usings, imports, and other bits similar to your example. Some of those only put the man behind a curtain because if you were to reveal him it would suddenly become an overwhelming amount of worm cans and rabbit holes. Still, I can't help but shake my head at it sometimes. I wouldn't want to be a rookie right now. Too many curtains hiding central figures and too many 'black boxes'. Many of them, you would not even know they exist which is sort of the first step to ever even being able to want to go looking for them in order to understand more. Mostly, those curtains/boxes, they are not totally bad things. Productivity is great and those things that tend to be "ok as default" or "*most* always handle themselves"... it's nice not to worry about or even see them. The problem comes when you really want to know every detail, but you can't even be sure you do. Unknowable unknowns.
-
I'm reading a book right now (Real-World Cryptography - Manning Publisher[^]). In chapter 3 it provided a code example of how to generate a MAC (Message Authentication Code) using Rust. It didn't give the crates (import libraries) that were required. :| (I'm slow, I need everything.) Also, the example was two functions for generating and then reading the MAC but there was no example of the input (I'm slow, I need everything). Which brings me to my point. Do you notice that books get you so far into a subject (about 1 - 3 chapters) and then they get so far out there that you cannot move on further? You're just stuck. The author has left me behind. (I'm slow, I need everything.) So I have a lot of books that I read first 3 chapters & then fall into oblivion. (I'm slow, I need everything.) Well, that is my experience. Does that happen to you?
Yep, been there. I think during my career (now over!) there's only been 3 books that I really worked through: 1) Z-80 Microcomputer Handbook (published in 1978, when I built my first computer). 2) Starting Forth 3) Understanding Digital Signal Processing All the other tech books I've purchased just provided bits and pieces, basically just filling in specific blanks.
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I'm reading a book right now (Real-World Cryptography - Manning Publisher[^]). In chapter 3 it provided a code example of how to generate a MAC (Message Authentication Code) using Rust. It didn't give the crates (import libraries) that were required. :| (I'm slow, I need everything.) Also, the example was two functions for generating and then reading the MAC but there was no example of the input (I'm slow, I need everything). Which brings me to my point. Do you notice that books get you so far into a subject (about 1 - 3 chapters) and then they get so far out there that you cannot move on further? You're just stuck. The author has left me behind. (I'm slow, I need everything.) So I have a lot of books that I read first 3 chapters & then fall into oblivion. (I'm slow, I need everything.) Well, that is my experience. Does that happen to you?
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Yep, been there. I think during my career (now over!) there's only been 3 books that I really worked through: 1) Z-80 Microcomputer Handbook (published in 1978, when I built my first computer). 2) Starting Forth 3) Understanding Digital Signal Processing All the other tech books I've purchased just provided bits and pieces, basically just filling in specific blanks.
My knock-down, number-one, all-time stranded-on-a-dessert-island favorite book is... Programming Windows 3.1 [^] by Charles Petzold (only $99 right now at amazon :laugh: ) It was a complete and thorough software development training guide. I wonder if "kids these days" would even read a tome like that?? Now all they want is "what's the javascript that makes this do that?" :laugh:
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My knock-down, number-one, all-time stranded-on-a-dessert-island favorite book is... Programming Windows 3.1 [^] by Charles Petzold (only $99 right now at amazon :laugh: ) It was a complete and thorough software development training guide. I wonder if "kids these days" would even read a tome like that?? Now all they want is "what's the javascript that makes this do that?" :laugh:
I was deep into embedded programming by the time the Petzold book came out so I only did a little bit of it. It was a good book, but not real relevant to what I was programming for. On the Windows side I mostly did RAD (VB, Delphi, C++ Builder) programs for test equipment.