[alexanderthe-]

The book is great, I've been working through HTDP and it's generous amount of programming exercises casually over the past year as a self learner. I had been dabbling in programming over the past several years (as a true dilettante) and have utilized several resources on my journey (CS50, Programming: Principles and Practice Using C++, a touch of SICP), but it wasn't until progressing through HTDP that I really felt confident I was learning HOW to program. The pedagogy the book uses instruct a beginner on how to program is sound and uses many of the concepts touched upon by the popular "Learning How to Learn" edX course. The natural progression of the exercises as well as the evolution of the language used throughout the book(BSL or Basic Student Language) pair nicely and you slowly feel yourself becoming "wizardly" as the training wheels are slowly being stripped away.

The authors do a good great job in promoting good software craftsmanship from the very beginning of the text. Like any good teachers they reinforce the importance of developing good habits that as a beginner you sometimes take for granted, such as writing unit tests for newly defined functions. Thinking through programming exercises is done methodically with HTDPs Design Recipe, which enforces the use a function signature, purpose statement (comments), a header, and functional examples - followed by a template to flesh out the basic structure of the code you will be using to define your function.

I've watched most of the SICP lectures by Sussman and Abelson and while brilliant, it becomes quite clear that even the professional programmers in the room have trouble keeping up with the pace of the lectures. As a beginner, I was acutely aware that I had bitten off more than I could chew and I will revisit them and SICP after completion of HTDP.

As a side note, I discovered small typo in one of the examples and emailed the lead author (Matthias Felleisen) and he responded to me same day very appreciative that I took the time to do so. If he or any of the other authors read this, thank you! I'm still diligently making my way through and enjoying your text!