On Wed, Mar 25, 2009 at 12:45 PM, Jonathan Lettvin <[email protected]> wrote: > ... > Learning J is a true challenge for me. > I am looking for any ways to ease the hard parts. > ...
Jonathan, Here are some (fragmentary) thoughts on beginning to learn J. The three books that are included in the Getting Started document are all worth reading. The technique I used was to read all of them, alternating among them depending on my mood. I found it useful to get the same material through several styles. The list is here: http://www.jsoftware.com/jwiki/Books Some of the Labs that are available under the Studio menu of the J console are introductory. They're definitely worth going through, even repeatedly. However, my experience is that following along with the labs is not going to be enough for anybody to develop satisfying competence with J. Also, note that some labs involve more advanced material and there isn't much structure there to guide a student among them. I strongly urge you to print out the reference card Henry Rich created as a companion to J for C Programmers. This card is not only a great item for handy reference, it is a great way to explore J. Each facet of the language occurs there with an example that shows how it is used, Putting a lot of attention there helped me a lot. It's well worth printing it in color and getting it laminated. http://www.jsoftware.com/jwiki/HenryRich?action=AttachFile&do=view&target=J602_RefCard_color_letter_current.pdf Best regards, Tracy ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm
