What learning resources are available?

[H. S. Teoh]

On Tue, Feb 18, 2014 at 07:17:53PM +0000, Mark Isaacson wrote:
> Hi everyone - I'm a D newbie with a very strong C++ background
> looking to get started. I've read "The D Programming Language" a
> couple of times now, but I've heard rumblings at several points in
> time from several people that some if its contents are now out of
> date or no longer reflect best practices.

I would say that most of TDPL is still applicable today. The parts that
are out-of-date are mostly confined to the more advanced features. There
has been some new syntax added since, but they have mostly been
syntactic sugar, not fundamental changes, so you should notice very few
discrepancies there.

Another great resource is Ali Cehreli's introductory book to D:

	http://ddili.org/ders/d.en/

It takes a different approach from TDPL, and is more recent, so you may
find it helpful.


> What would be the best way to bridge the learning gap between TDPL's
> publication and now?

Honestly, there's not that much of a gap. I'd wager at least 80% (if not
more) of TDPL is still relevant today.


> What other resources would be most useful in establishing a working
> knowledge of idiomatic D?

Read Phobos source code, perhaps? :)  I'm quite serious, actually.
Phobos source code is actually very readable as far as standard
libraries go (compared to, say, glibc, which is not only an eyesore but
will give you a headache for weeks). I've found it a pleasure to read,
for the most part.  (There are some dark corners in Phobos code, but you
don't have to go there to pick up the latest D practices!)


> What's the best way to stay informed about such changes in the
> future? (Is there a mailing list, or should I just be reading dmd
> changelogs?)
[...]

This forum should keep you pretty up-to-date. ;-)


T

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