Ask HN: Has anyone read "How to create your own freaking programming language"?

[octopus]

Hello,

Has anyone read "How to create your own freaking programming language" ? I'm curious if from a 77 pages book someone could learn how to implement a programming language.

At first, the webpage of the book looked like a scam to me, but I see this book was used to implement the first version of CoffeeScript. Also, the book seems to be recommended by Matz.

[plinkplonk]

Previous HN discussion (from when the sales text on the page was way more "scammy") http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=813133

My personal opinion is that this is a "Learn compilers in 21 days" type borderline scammy book, in that it promises a result that sounds great, but is undeliverable. YMMV, and I am fairly demanding about technical/programming books, online courses etc.

Is there a market for this kind of pitch? Certainly. Is there value in the book? Opinions differ. Hear all sides, make your choice. As always, Caveat Emptor.

Note: "scammy" is my personal opinion, and my advice, which is worth precisely what you paid for it, is "If you want to learn how compilers work, go buy a good book on the topic". "Essentials of Programming Languages", for example, would teach you a much more, while still being very beginner friendly.

Other people have different opinions and think this book has merit. More power to them.

[octopus → plinkplonk]

I read the book and your guess was right, it is one of those "Learn X in 21 days" books. I'll ask for a refund.

A much better book seems to be Language Implementation Patterns by Terence Parr.

[hopeless]

I bought it, read it and it gave me huge insights into our own product which contains a scripting language (not an area I usually work on). My degree didn't include a compiler course (or perhaps it was optional and I did NLP instead).

The book is short but I didn't find it lacking. If I have a need to create my own language, I'll have no fear about the task. It was also a fun diversion during a slow week :-)

[goatslacker]

I can understand why it may 'look like a scam' to you.

The sales tactics on that page are also used by people trying to scam you into buying their product. It's almost like "it's too good to be true" -- but no, it's true and the book is quality. Buy it, you won't regret it.

Marc-André Cournoyer, the author of the book, also writes about his sales tactics if you're interested -- you should go buy that book too.

[ahoyhere → goatslacker]

"The sales tactics on that page are also used by people trying to scam you"

Who are these alleged people, where have you met them, how do you know they're scammers, and more importantly, have you ever met one doing this alleged scamming with programming books?

"Offering a full refund is something scammers do. Then they give you your money back. Run away!"

If you are so afraid of being scammed that you think a refund offer makes something suspicious, it's probably a good time to evaluate your buying habits…

[goatslacker → ahoyhere]

Do you never watch TV past 3am?

The page just makes it sound too good to be true and that makes some people skeptical.

[ahoyhere → goatslacker]

Do you think that when a person you've been dating for a year says "I love you" and when a random stranger on the street says "I love you," that both are equally suspicious?

Logic. I like to see it on HN. It is missing from this conversation.

[goatslacker → ahoyhere]

Now you're just trolling me.

[petercooper → ahoyhere]

have you ever met one doing this alleged scamming with programming books?

That's the hilarious part about this. I get similar comments from time to time, even with my free programming newsletters ("oh, you're tracking links, that's really scummy!" etc) and I think.. if I really wanted to scam people and make tons of money, I'd pick a much more gullible and grossly larger market than programmers! ;-P

[sebphfx → goatslacker]

This guy is cool too. He's the creator of Thin, the nicest ruby server and he's really involved in the Ruby community so he's not a scam artist.He's just smart.

[ricny046]

Dude, it cost only $39.99. Just buy the freaking book.

[chc]

Like Amy said, it's got at least mild approval from the creators of two popular programming languages. I don't know what I could say that would be worth as much, but for whatever it is worth, I bought it and it does exactly what it says on the tin.

[octopus]

I bought the book, looks good for now.

First impression: The book was last updated last year but the movie provided with the book is from 2009.

[ahoyhere]

What exactly are you expecting to hear? If the authors of CoffeeScript and Ruby recommend it, do you think a random HNer is going to be more persuasive?

I honestly can't imagine how you figure it "looks like a scam." It looks no more like a scam than Basecamp.

[octopus → ahoyhere]

This paragraph:

Most books on compiler are priced at more than $100 and are long and boring. My system, which contains a book (fun and to the point), exercises & solutions, three languages you can use however you want and a screencast, is only $39.99. And I even give it to you for free if you're not happy.

[ahoyhere → octopus]

What part of that, exactly?

[chc → ahoyhere]

I guess the part where it emphasizes how cheap it is compared to comparable resources (which is true mainly because the others are school textbooks) and then throws in the "free" word. That could set off too-good-to-be-true alarms.

[octopus → chc]

Yes, but I bought the book.

[ahoyhere → chc]

No, it should set off "this guy knows how to run a business and market things properly" alarms. In short: this guy knows what he's doing!

1. The price comparison? It's called anchoring. And you're supposed to do it. Moreover, it works, both for the customer and the seller.

2. You're really saying that offering to refund your money if you don't like it actually makes it suspicious?? The logical contortions here make my brain hurt…

[chc → ahoyhere]

Those are precisely the alarms I suspect it sets off. Some people are more averse to marketing than you or I — it makes them uncomfortable, because they associate it with a certain kind of marketer that is very common on the Internet. (Like I said in my other comment, I bought it and thought it was quite good.)