[beachstartup]

> all the ones that start by demonstrating how to do basic arithmetic in $LANGUAGE and go on to a detailed explanation of $LANGUAGE's object system.

the fact that i knew exactly what you're talking about as soon as i read it is pretty good evidence that you're right.

the best tutorials i've ever seen are ones that start with a moderately complex program and step through it line by line, explaining in plain english why things are being done. this is how both human beings and computers parse programs, so i'm not sure why a tutorial writer would do it any other way!

i think the current trend of embedding documentation within your program as markdown on github is a pretty close approximation of that.