Hi, I am enjoying reading Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs. But I find exercises to be a blocker. They take lot of time to do, especially in chapter 1-2.Should I just read SICP in one go, and not solve the problems? Did anyone of you faced same problem? My feeling is that doing exercises helps to understand concepts better. But, some exercises which are maths oriented can be left out.
+1
A:
I'm working through SICP too, while watching the lecture videos. I've decided to take my time and work through all of the exercises. I find that writing code helps me learn new concepts a lot more thoroughly than just reading a book. Your mileage may vary though. SICP is definitely an excellent book and there's much to be learned, even if you skip some of the exercises that don't interest you.
Bill the Lizard
2009-10-13 16:54:31
have you set yourself a time-frame, within which to read the book?
jack
2009-10-13 16:56:58
Not really. I'm watching the lecture videos and blogging my notes and exercise solutions, so I expect it to take several months.
Bill the Lizard
2009-10-13 17:01:29
+1
A:
I'm reading through Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, also, but I'm doing the exercises as I go along. I think that's the only way to do it.
The one exception for me so far is a problem that says something like "to solve this problem in its full generality is very hard". (I don't have the book here, so I can't give you an exact reference.) I thought about that one, but am planning on coming back to it after I've read the entire book. I plan on doing that with any other exercises that are explicitly marked extremely hard that I can't make any headway on after an hour or so.
You say that the exercises take you a lot of time to do, but not that you can't do them. If that is the case, then I recommend you do them.
Paul Reiners
2009-10-13 16:59:01
+3
A:
There is a group of people on Google Groups banding together to read through SICP. Some of the group meetings are also recorded (I haven't watched them, so I can't say anything about their quality). This group might help you stay motivated to finish the entire book.
There has also been at least one discussion thread about pacing and which problems are the most important, etc. This might help you determine which set of problems, exercises are worth looking at on short time.
Jon Homan
2009-10-13 17:12:02
+3
A:
You'll get as much out of this classic book as you put into it. There's certainly no harm in skipping the exercises to enjoy the exposition in the book, get familiar with the terminology, etc., but you won't really know the material until you do the work.
I also find the work fun to do, but my friends all think I'm weird.
Jonathan Feinberg
2009-10-13 17:48:33