Hi,

While writing this book, one of my goals is to make it accessible to junior developers and beginners who haven't use compiled languages like C, C+, or Java.

Let me know how I'm doing. What is your background? Are there any places in the first two chapters that are confusing or jargon that isn't made clear? Do you find it too verbose or too slow?

Thanks, Nathan.

Bought the book this morning and have only had a chance to skim the PDF so far - but it looks like a very interesting read

Can't wait to dig into it more over the weekend

I'm a Unix (Linux) sysadmin and I've been coding in Perl for years, since before 2000. I dabble in bash, python, php when I have to and more recently code applications in javascript using meteor and node.

Learning types in languages like go or java is typically very boring. Your approach to this using examples based on space travel and historical events like rockets blowing up on take off due to rounding errors makes this really really tedious subject interesting and captivating enough to avoid brain shut down. I have found myself actively trying out the suggested exercises and experiments.

Good stuff.

When are the next chapters coming out ?

Bought the eBook today. Might try to go through it with my son. (I think the space related examples will go a long way towards keeping his interest)


Google Books says it's unable to process the ePub. I have never had this issue with other Manning ePub files.

90871 wrote:Bought the eBook today. Might try to go through it with my son. (I think the space related examples will go a long way towards keeping his interest)


Google Books says it's unable to process the ePub. I have never had this issue with other Manning ePub files.

I hope Learn Go captivates his interest.

If you don't mind my asking, how old is your son? I began to learn programming at age 8 from a book on BASIC. Helping the next generation learn programming is part of why I decided to become an author.

Thanks for letting us know about the ePub issue. I'll see if the publisher can determine the issue, and hopefully get it resolved for the next MEAP (which will include Chapter 3 as well).

Nathan.

235575 wrote:When are the next chapters coming out ?

I don't have an exact date, but Chapter 3 will be available before the end of November. The plan is to release one chapter per month.

90871 wrote:Google Books says it's unable to process the ePub. I have never had this issue with other Manning ePub files.

I've reproduced the issue and confirmed that V2 of the MEAP does process correctly. V2 will be out in the next few days and includes Chapter 3.

Nathan Youngman wrote:

90871 wrote:Bought the eBook today. Might try to go through it with my son. (I think the space related examples will go a long way towards keeping his interest)


Google Books says it's unable to process the ePub. I have never had this issue with other Manning ePub files.

I hope Learn Go captivates his interest.

If you don't mind my asking, how old is your son? I began to learn programming at age 8 from a book on BASIC. Helping the next generation learn programming is part of why I decided to become an author.

Thanks for letting us know about the ePub issue. I'll see if the publisher can determine the issue, and hopefully get it resolved for the next MEAP (which will include Chapter 3 as well).

Nathan.

He's only 7 so I need to keep my expectations realistic, but we've done a tiny bit of Python together and that went fairly well.

The V2 ePub also worked for me on Google Books. Thanks!

90871 wrote:
He's only 7 so I need to keep my expectations realistic, but we've done a tiny bit of Python together and that went fairly well.

At that age (or age 8 ), I was exposing myself to code and typing things in, but I didn't understand what I was doing. If he does, that's really awesome.

I don't think my book is quite that beginner friendly (yet), but I'm curious how it goes.

For a story book about computing concepts rather than code itself, I'd highly recommend Lauren Ipsum. It's a fun read for adults too.

The V2 ePub also worked for me on Google Books. Thanks!

Glad to hear it.

I’ll be 60 later this year (that’s the plan, anyway ) and started to program as an undergrad back in the late 70s (Fortran, using punch cards).

Over the years I’ve dabbled in a bunch of different languages - Sinclair Basic, Visual Basic, C++, C#, Python, Java, ActionScript - very much as a hobbyist, usually trying to write simple games.
I recently got interested in GO for its potential as a backend language for web development (again very much as a hobbyist). As you must know, most of the GO books out there at the moment kind of assume that the reader is already an experienced, possibly professional, C/C++/Java programmer. Not only are many of those books inaccessible but they contain a distinct lack of exercises. (Same is true of many of the current video courses.)

Your book is a very welcome breath of fresh air. Only had it a couple of days but already managed to work my way through the first 4 chapters. Having a ton of fun AND, most importantly, feeling that I’m finally getting some traction with this language. Very much looking forward to the rest of it. If the first 4 chapters are any guide, you’ve done a great job. Many Thanks and Good Luck with the final product. It deserves a very wide audience.

Hi Sam.

Thank you for your kind words.

Hopefully the learning curve remains gentle throughout. If you run into any difficulties, please let me know.

Nathan.

Sam Pollard wrote:I’ll be 60 later this year (that’s the plan, anyway ) and started to program as an undergrad back in the late 70s (Fortran, using punch cards).

Over the years I’ve dabbled in a bunch of different languages - Sinclair Basic, Visual Basic, C++, C#, Python, Java, ActionScript - very much as a hobbyist, usually trying to write simple games.
I recently got interested in GO for its potential as a backend language for web development (again very much as a hobbyist). As you must know, most of the GO books out there at the moment kind of assume that the reader is already an experienced, possibly professional, C/C++/Java programmer. Not only are many of those books inaccessible but they contain a distinct lack of exercises. (Same is true of many of the current video courses.)

Your book is a very welcome breath of fresh air. Only had it a couple of days but already managed to work my way through the first 4 chapters. Having a ton of fun AND, most importantly, feeling that I’m finally getting some traction with this language. Very much looking forward to the rest of it. If the first 4 chapters are any guide, you’ve done a great job. Many Thanks and Good Luck with the final product. It deserves a very wide audience.