Book about D

[Trevor Parscal]

> Perhaps a community effort to write a D book, preferably one that they 
> would eventually try to print.  It could be made up from the best D 
> articles on the web and then throughly reviewed until all the pieces 
> fitted together.
> 
> -Joel

I would propose that 3 different texts are essential to making a language gerenally accessable.

1. As a first language
Most C books assume you know nothing, which makes it a good first language for people. I believe D is a great first language (if not because it's easier than C, than at least because it's fun) Having a book that assumes no programming knowledge makes it much more likley that someone will start with D instead of ending up with it (as most of us have)

2. Coming from a C-like language
Most of us have learned D as a second, third, or nth language, and it's the simularity to C that made D easy to pick up for us. Although many of us also knew other languages like Java or variations of C like C++ or Objective C, it's pretty safe to say that a book that assumed knowledge of C would have been just as easy to use. A book like this could/should also be very useful for porting existing C code to D.

3. Reference for existing users
As you learn the language, there are a few things that you will forget from time to time, or perhaps never quite picked up completely. A book like this should be as simple and to the point as possible, but have enough information to serve it's purpose. I imagine the contents of this type of book would greatly expand if phobos or tango were included, but they both have their own online manuals, and need for their own books.

It looks like we have some authors out there who are willing and able, but they will need to work together under some sort of organization or leadership if they are going to make some wiki books that are worthy of print.

-Trevor