

Let’s Build a Simple Interpreter, Part 2 - rspivak
http://ruslanspivak.com/lsbasi-part2/

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stcredzero
From the post:

 _As Ralph Waldo Emerson said:_

 _“If you learn only methods, you’ll be tied to your methods. But if you learn
principles, you can devise your own methods.”_

This was one of the main points of "The Trial of the Gang of Four" at OOPSLA
'99\. Everyone was so busy talking about the patterns that they spent little
time thinking about the principles that the patterns were supposed to be
talking about. Programming Patterns were also meant as a literature for
programmers, not as cookbooks.

Maybe this is a bit misguided. Cooks start out following recipes, then learn
to apply principles. Recipes can't keep cooks from making bad food, but they
can often help cooks make acceptable or even good food.

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dang
Off topic, but the attribution of that quote to Emerson is probably bogus.

[https://www.google.com/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=principles+met...](https://www.google.com/search?tbo=p&tbm=bks&q=principles+methods+inauthor:%22Ralph+Waldo+Emerson%22&num=10)

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stcredzero
Good to know!

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xigency
Those are some pretty heavy reading recommendations for a fairly simple
exercise in Python. I wouldn't generally go from making a calculator to
working on a compiler. If one were to read a book on compiler theory and
design with the intention of writing a compiler, I would recommend the book
Engineering a Compiler, however. The book is based on a course taught at Rice
University that is fairly comprehensive.

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swah
Protip: always start a Part N post w/ a paragraph saying "If you haven't read
Part N-1, here it is blablabla".

(Wow, I feel like patio11 now)

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cardiffspaceman
The link is fairly close to the beginning but not right at the top. It
consists of the words, "Part 1" with a dotted underline so it would be easy to
miss.

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swah
Oh, I found it now!

