~codersonly/wizard-book-study

For studying The Wizard Book together 
metacircular evaluator that works on Racket courtesy of jim p uploaded
week 12
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#wizard-book-study

Let's study the Wizard book together.

Wizard book picture

The Wizard book (Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, a.k.a SICP) is the book that is used for teaching CS at Berkeley and Stanford Universities. It's a challenging read, introducing many fundamental concepts, and not for the faint of heart. It's one of these rare books where the reviews on Amazon are either 5 or one star. Love it or hate it.

Here is an excerpt of the preface which I found particularly arresting:

First, we want to establish the idea that a computer language is not just a
way of getting a computer to perform operations but rather that it is a novel formal medium for expressing ideas about methodology. Thus, programs must be written for people to read, and only incidentally for machines to execute. Second, we believe that the essential material to be addressed by a subject at this level is not the syntax of particular programming-language constructs, nor clever algorithms for computing particular functions efficiently, nor even the mathematical analysis of algorithms and the foundations of computing, but rather the techniques used to control the intellectual complexity of large software systems.

I tried to self-study about 5 years ago, but my brain froze around the middle, so this is why I'm organizing a group study, in the hope that peer pressure, and our combined brainpower will help us stay on course.

The excellent website https://teachyourselfcs.com/ suggests using Brian Harvey's SICP lectures and that is what we will follow there. I tried the MIT lectures but found them difficult.

The idea is: we study individually, but on an agreed schedule (i.e. watch Lectures 1,2,3 and do homework XXX), and have a regular online meetup where we exchange our issues and help each other. Provisionally the schedule is every two weeks, but we'll see what pace is comfortable/sustainable.

We will do the exams! (not the official ones)

#Reference

(Copied from Federico Gelassi's github repository)

#Books

#Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, second edition

Abelson, Harold | Sussman, Gerald Jay | Sussman, Julie

#free online version:

http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/

https://www.buchhaus.ch/de/detail/ISBN-9780262510875/Abelson-Harold/Structure-and-Interpretation-of-Computer-Programs-second-edition?bpmctrl=bpmrownr.1%7Cforeign.490271-1-0-0

#The Little Schemer

  • Recommended book to learn lisp/scheme:

https://www.buchhaus.ch/de/detail/ISBN-9780262560993/Friedman-Daniel-P./The-Little-Schemer-fourth-edition?bpmctrl=bpmrownr.1%7Cforeign.490271-1-0-0

#Simply Scheme

  • Recommended, written by the professor doing our lectures

https://www.buchhaus.ch/de/buecher/fachbuecher/informatik/programmieren/detail/ISBN-9780262082815/Harvey-Brian-University-of-California-Author/Simply-Scheme

#The Lectures

#Recordings of the lectures by Brian Harvey

https://archive.org/details/ucberkeley-webcast-PL3E89002AA9B9879E

more convenient: in youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4leZ1Ca4f0g&list=PLhMnuBfGeCDNgVzLPxF9o5UNKG1b-LFY9

#Homework

https://inst.eecs.berkeley.edu//~cs61a/reader/nodate-hw.pdf

#Homework Solutions from Brian Harvey

https://people.eecs.berkeley.edu/~bh/61a-pages/Solutions/

Other good resource: https://evarga.gitbooks.io/solutions-guide-for-the-sicp-book/content/

#cs61 library

https://inst.eecs.berkeley.edu/~cs61as/library/

#Projects

https://inst.eecs.berkeley.edu//~cs61a/reader/vol1.html

#Exams

#Homepage CS61A

https://inst.eecs.berkeley.edu//~cs61a/sp11/

#Software

We are using Racket, a dialect of Scheme. Most of the exercises can be done with the comfortable DrRacket IDE.

Some require https://stklos.net/

#Install Racket

https://racket-lang.org/download/

#Install the simply-scheme package

#lang racket type (require (planet dyoo/simply-scheme:2:2)) in the interpreter

from: http://planet.racket-lang.org/display.ss?package=simply-scheme.plt&owner=dyoo

Use 'Simply Scheme' as the selected language

#Common Racket Errors

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jGtldEcm_qPoHGknJOkWj1D4-doyBjDivaV_Vn7_Hxk/edit#

#Syntax highlighting

JetBrains Products have a Racket syntax highlighter!!!

  • Search for Racket in the Plugin Marketplace
  • Preferences/Editor/File Types : add *.scm under the Racket file

#Forums and chats

#Discord Chat

https://discord.gg/sPTMqH5zYN

#subreddit

https://www.reddit.com/r/sicp/

#StackOverflow

https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/sicp

#Reviews

https://onestepcode.com/sicp-review/

https://www.inchmeal.io/sicp/review.html

#Schedule:

#Week 1 (Functional Programming)

  • do labs for week 1
  • read the book Section 1.1, pages 1-31
  • watch the lectures 1 & 2
  • read the course notes for week 1
  • do homework for week 1
  • cross-check your homework (solutions/week1.txt)

We review this work on Review Meeting Week 1 on Wednesday 24th March, 18.30 CET

#Week 2 (Higher-order procedures)

  • do labs for week 2
  • read the book Section 1.3 - 1.2 skipped for now
  • watch the lectures 3 & 4 & 5 & 6
  • read the course notes for week 2
  • do homework for week 2 including book exercises 1.31(a), 1.32(a), 1.33, 1.40, 1.41, 1.43, 1.46
  • cross-check your homework (solutions/week2.txt)

We review this work on Review Meeting Week 2 on Wednesday 7th April, 18.30 CET

#Week 3 (Recursion and iteration)

  • do labs for week 3
  • read the book Section 1.2 through 1.2.4 (pages 31–47)
  • watch the lectures 7 & 8
  • read the course notes for week 3
  • do homework for week 3 including book exercises 1.16, 1.35, 1.37, 1.38
  • cross-check your homework (solutions/week3.txt)
  • do Project 1 - reference/berkeley_cs61a_material/course_reader_vol_1/project_1

We review this work on Review Meeting Week 3 on Wednesday 28th April, 18.30 CET

#Week 4 (Data abstraction)

  • do labs for week 4
  • read the book Sections 2.1 and 2.2.1 (pages 79–106)
  • watch the lectures 9 & 10 & 11
  • read the course notes for week 4
  • do homework for week 4 including book exercises 2.7, 2.8, 2.10, 2.12, 2.17, 2.20, 2.22, 2.23
  • cross-check your homework (solutions/week4.txt)

We review this work on Review Meeting Week 4 on Wednesday 19th May, 18.30 CET

#Week 5 (Hierarchical data)

  • do labs for week 5
  • read the book Section 2.2.2–2.2.3, 2.3.1, 2.3.3
  • watch the lectures 12 & 13 & 14
  • read the course notes for week 5
  • do homework for week 5 including book exercises 2.24, 2.26, 2.29, 2.30, 2.31, 2.32, 2.36, 2.37, 2.38, 2.54
  • cross-check your homework (solutions/week5.txt)
  • do First Midterm

We review this work on Review Meeting Week 5 on Wednesday 9th June, 19.00 CET

#Week 6 (Generic Operators)

  • do labs for week 6
  • read the book Sections 2.4 through 2.5.2 (pages 169–200)
  • watch the lectures 16 & 17
  • read the course notes for week 6
  • do homework for week 6 including book exercises 2.74, 2.75, 2.76, 2.77, 2.79, 2.80, 2.81, 2.83
  • cross-check your homework (solutions/week6.txt)
  • do Project 2 - section 2.2.4 of the book - all exercises

We review this work on Review Meeting Week 6 on Wednesday 30th June, 19.00 CET

#Week 7 (Object-oriented programming)

We review this work on Review Meeting Week 7 on Wednesday 21st July, 19.00 CET

#Week 8 (Assignment, state, environments)

We review this work on Review Meeting Week 8 on Wednesday 25th August, 19.00 CET

#Week 9 (Mutable data, vectors)

  • do labs for week 9
  • read the book Section 3.3.1–3
  • watch the lectures 24 & 25 & 26
  • read the course notes for week 9
  • do homework for week 9 including book exercises 3.16, 3.17, 3.21, 3.25, 3.27
  • cross-check your homework (solutions/week9.txt)
  • do Project 3a (with a partner)

We review this work on Review Meeting Week 9 on Wednesday 15th September, 19.00 CET

#Week 10 (client/server, concurrency)

  • do labs for week 10
  • read the book Section 3.4
  • watch the lectures 29 & 30 & 31 & 32
  • read the course notes for week 10
  • do homework for week 10 including book exercises 3.38, 3.39, 3.40, 3.41, 3.42, 3.44, 3.46, 3.48, 3.33 to 3.37
  • cross-check your homework (solutions/week10.txt)
  • do Project 3b (with a partner)

We review this work on Review Meeting Week 10 on Wednesday 6th October, 19.00 CET

#Week 11 (Streams)

  • do labs for week 11
  • read the book Section 3.5.1–3, 3.5.5
  • watch the lectures 27 & 28 & 33 & 34 & 35
  • read the course notes for week 11
  • do homework for week 11 including book exercises 3.50, 3.51, 3.52, 3.53, 3.54, 3.55, 3.56, 3.64, 3.66, 3.68
  • cross-check your homework (solutions/week11.txt)

We review this work on Review Meeting Week 11 on Wednesday 27th October, 19.00 CET

#Week 12 (Metacircular evaluator)

  • do labs for week 12
  • read the book Section 4.1.1–6 and MapReduce paper in course reader.
  • read MapReduce paper
  • watch the lectures 36 & 37
  • read the course notes for week 12
  • do homework for week 12 including book exercises 4.3, 4.6, 4.7*, 4.10*, 4.11*, 4.13, 4.14, 4.15
  • cross-check your homework (solutions/week12.txt)
  • do Third Midterm

We review this work on Review Meeting Week 12 on Monday 29th November, 19.00 CET

#Week 13 (Analyzing evaluator, MapReduce)

  • do labs for week 13
  • read Therac paper
  • watch the lectures 38 & 39
  • read the course notes for week 13
  • do homework for week 13 including book exercises 4.22, 4.23, 4.24
  • cross-check your homework (solutions/week13.txt)

We review this work on Review Meeting Week 13 on TBD

#Week 14 (lazy evaluator, nondeterministic evaluator)

  • do labs for week 14
  • read the book Section 4.2, 4.3
  • watch the lectures 42 & 43 & 44
  • read the course notes for week 14
  • do homework for week 14 including book exercises 4.25, 4.26, 4.28, 4.42, 4.45, 4.49, 4.50, 4.52
  • cross-check your homework (solutions/week14.txt)
  • do Project 4 (with a partner)
  • do Final Exam

We review this work on Review Meeting Week 14 on TBD