Author : Charles Wetherell
Update May 4, 2006 : Woo hoo! I found a copy, reasonably priced and OK condition, from a seller at Amazon.
It's such a shame that Prentice-Hall doesn't reprint this book. Most software-related books published today are pedestrian and basically dull, and dull-minded. There are a few exceptions (Pragmatic Programmer, notably), but what I see today are books whose main attribute is that they are wide enough on the shelf to compete for attention against other equally mundane books.
"Etudes" was different; it was different even at the time it was published. Though it was written in a light and conversational style, it had little fluff. It was language-neutral, for the most part, and most of the 'etudes' would still be interesting problems today. It presented programming as a fun and intellectually challenging activity.
And maybe that explains why it hasn't been, and won't be, reprinted: the goal today seems to be to treat programming as little more than clerical work in which an army of mutually replaceable programmers toils away, building 'applications' on top of 'frameworks' in order to 'enable enterprise integration' and 'deliver business value'.
Ye gods! What a world we live in.
Update, March 27, 2006 : I have been seeing the book on sale various places for between $80 and $150. Recently, though, I saw a copy on sale for $703 !!!
No, sorry, there's no excerpts here. I'm trying to locate this book, and this page is just to keep my notes.
ISBN:0132918072
Published January 1978
At
Library of Congress :
LC Control Number: 77013961
Type of Material: Book (Print, Microform, Electronic, etc.)
Personal Name: Wetherell, Charles, 1946-
Main Title: Etudes for programmers / Charles Wetherell.
Published/Created: Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice-Hall, c1978.
Description: viii, 200 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.
ISBN:0132918072
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Subjects: Computer programming--Problems, exercises, etc.
LC Classification: QA76.6 .W477
Dewey Class No.: 001.6/42
CALL NUMBER: QA76.6 .W477
| NewBookForm |
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| status: | completed |
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| isbn: | 0132918072 |
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| title: | Etudes for Programmers |
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| author: | Charles Wetherell |
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| category: | technical |
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| comments: | Long out of print, but one of the best and most sought-after books about software ever written. |
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