I’ve been looking for original tech tutorials on the net. I read _Why’s guide to Ruby some time ago and really loved the style, finding it a great approach to check out Ruby, and to learn in general.
Unfortunately most tutorials on the net are pretty dry in comparison, so I decided to try and hunt down more of these fun ‘books’.
_Why’s Poignant Guide to Ruby
_Why’s guide is an awesome introduction to Ruby. You’ve probably already heard of it (it’s world renown), and if not then you should definitely check it out. It’s how I first got into Ruby (and dynamic languages in general).
Unfortunately _Why has disappeared from the programming world for now, shutting down all his sites and code repositories last year. But his book lives on, and those who have read it await his return (kinda like Jesus).
Learn You a Haskell for Great Good
Now functional languages are well-known for being a bit abstract and ‘out there’. Not as straight forward as procedural code, and not as intuitive as the object-oriented paradigm, but arguably much more powerful, functional programming is well worth checking out.
A good place to start is Haskell and the guide ‘Learn You a Haskell for Great Good’. Inspired by _Why’s Ruby guide, it is really easy to understand, and a joy to read (doesn’t feel like learning at all!).
AES Encryption
The only other similarly styled tutorial I could find was one about the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). A pretty heavy subject, but made easier by the stick man drawings.
Seven Languages in Seven Weeks
The pragmatic publishers produce some great books, and one on the cards for this summer is ‘Seven Languages in Seven Weeks’. This book will run through seven languages including Ruby and Haskell, teaching the basics of each in turn.
I think a great compliment to this book would be a collection of alternative tutorials, (we already have the two for Ruby and Haskell).
Any More?
So if you know of any other similar ‘alternative tutorials’ I’d love to check them out – please drop me a comment if you have any ideas!?
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Matthew Lucas. Matthew Lucas said: Learn Haskell from an Elephant and Ruby from a fox http://bit.ly/cx8TcN [...]
[...] few months ago I published a post on keeping techie books entertaining, led by Why’s? poignant guide to Ruby. It seems the trend is catching on [...]