I am a professional computer book author. I’ve been working in the field for over 30 years. While I strive to make all my books the best that they can be, I recognize that I’m in an industry that routinely publishes a lot of crap.
Yes, I still buy computer books. Just bought one the other day. Forty bucks! Sheesh. I remember when even the most heavy of the nerd books were $30.
You probably think I’m crazy for buying any book. After all, a lot of the “good stuff” is already online, right? For an old fart like me, it’s just not the same.
I could go to the online PHP manual to look up a function. I’ve done in many times. But my PHP in a Nutshell book is a far better reference. For one, it’s better-written. For two, I can scribble in the margins. For three, I can dog-ear popular pages, which still beats any web search no matter how fast the Internet connection.
Actually, being better-written is what a computer book is all about.
The Internet is full of schlock. In fact, a lot of what you find when searching for reference material on the Internet is repetitious stuff. Rarely is there anything unique or insightful. Try looking up any Unix command line function like ifconfig and you’ll see what I mean: It’s all the same documentation.
Of course, computer books can be just as bad.
The problem with laying down good money for a computer book is that you’re taking a risk. It’s a risk that the content will be junk. That’s why I prefer to buy computer books at a brick-and-mortar store instead of online.
Recently I bought one of the worst computer books evar. I won’t name it, but it was supposed to be a technical reference for a programming language. The book is sloppily organized, contains meandering text, and for a programming language reference contains no examples.
I mean, when I want to look up the fragus() function, I want to see more than just text that reads:
The
fragus()function returns the fragus computation for the most significant byte of the operator. It returns an error status of 0 otherwise.
No examples. No reference to what a fragus computation is. No mention of why it’s necessary or how it’s used.
One of the most important things missing is how to react when things go wrong. Most of the idiots who write computer books must be so good at what they do that nothing ever screws up. Yet, the reason people are buying a reference is that they probably don’t get it and are experiencing massive screw-ups.
Oh I could go on, but I’ll spare you.
Perhaps the best advantage of going to a brick-and-mortar bookstore is that you can relish the satisfaction of returning the book and getting all your money back.
“The problem with laying down good money for a computer book is that you’re taking a risk. It’s a risk that the content will be junk. That’s why I prefer to buy computer books at a brick-and-mortar store instead of online.”
Unless the author’s name is Dan Gookin or Andy Rathbone 😛 Then to me it doesn’t matter where I buy.
I’ve also found a lot of the non-informational bits on the internet that just leave me wondering, “How do I do this?” Nothing on the internet seems well written anymore.
Comment by linuxlove — August 25, 2010 @ 4:56 am
Dan- What you describe is the rule rather than the exception as far as programming books go. Programming book authors all love to show every last detail of the language but never give you the big picture. Now that programming is becoming more of a mainstream skill that people need to learn you think things would improve for programming books but theyre not. As an example, C is seeing an upsurgence in use as C++ is turning out to be overly complicated for most situations, and yet by far the most recommended book for learning C is still K&R. And yes I do recommend your book CFDAIODR when I see people ask about C books in online discussions as that book will save so much wasted time and prevent frustration. I recently bought a book that bucks the trend and makes learning new programming languages exciting and fun, this book has not been released yet and is in beta:
http://pragprog.com/news/seven-languages-in-seven-weeks-now-in-beta
check this book out, it gives a quick up and running tutorial in 7 cutting edge languages
Comment by BradC — August 26, 2010 @ 6:54 am
That’s a pretty interesting book! What a great idea. I know that many languages are similar, but to shove them all into one book is unique. I hope that book does well.
Comment by admin — August 26, 2010 @ 7:06 am
I bought C++ for Dummies buy Stephen Randy Davis. It came with a CD filled with examples, extra chapters, and programming tools that are immesurably useful. It even had all of the book examples in .cpp files that you could look at. Easily the best programming book I ever bought.
Comment by gamerguy473 — August 27, 2010 @ 6:41 pm
I hear otherwise about the C++ book, but I’m glad you’re happy with it.
Comment by admin — August 27, 2010 @ 6:55 pm
gamerguy473- C++ for Dummies was my first programming book that I bought back in 2001, easily the worst C++ book ever. If youre new to programming I promise you the wow factor of running C++ programs out of that book are going to wear off fast because most all the early C++ books try to sell OOP as the only way to program. OOP is just a tool that fits certain situations, it is not a way of improving programming nor does it make old style C programming obsolete. People who just accept OOP at face value and use it for everything end up always making bloated and over complicated programs. If after a couple of months you are scratching your head and asking yourself why am I doing this, then by Dans book “C for Dummies All-in-One Desk Reference” so that you really understand the low level part of C++ and then learn OOP with Java.
Comment by BradC — August 28, 2010 @ 8:23 am
It was the book that started me out for C++. I will admit that it didn’t cover nearly enough to make anyone a pro with C++. But it was certainly a good starter book (at least for me). I’m about to buy a more advanced book to learn a little more about the intricacies of the language.
Comment by gamerguy473 — August 28, 2010 @ 1:05 pm