Last Call for Comments on Most Chapters
July 3rd, 2008 by John Goerzen
We are in the final stages of getting this book ready for the production process at O’Reilly. We’re going through all the remaining feedback right now, and also getting the last few chapters ready to post.
This is the last call for comments on all chapters posted to the beta site. Once we complete this final pass, it will be too late to incorporate any changes suggested by new comments into the book.
The last three chapters will be coming along soon, and we’ll make sure to let you know about them.
Thank you again for all your insightful feedback (and even debates in the comment system). I’ve got to say that some of my favorite moments as an author of this book have been when I pull up a page, see a paragraph, and see something like “25 comments” under it — and those comments expand into a debate about what exactly I should have done right there. Or perhaps a discussion about how OCaml does it — you never know. You all rock.
This is the last call for comments on all chapters posted to the beta site. Once we complete this final pass, it will be too late to incorporate any changes suggested by new comments into the book.
The last three chapters will be coming along soon, and we’ll make sure to let you know about them.
Thank you again for all your insightful feedback (and even debates in the comment system). I’ve got to say that some of my favorite moments as an author of this book have been when I pull up a page, see a paragraph, and see something like “25 comments” under it — and those comments expand into a debate about what exactly I should have done right there. Or perhaps a discussion about how OCaml does it — you never know. You all rock.
No, you rock. Thanks for making this content available, and puh-lease let us know when we can actually purchase the book
Second printing based on further comments?
Honestly I didn’t know this book was even on the horizon, and from the looks of the beta pages available, I’m not sure I could recommend the book in the form I’m seeing it right now.
I think the idea is great but I think Haskell newbies could get VERY confused by the text in the way its organized now.
I think this book should exist though, and I think it should continue to evolve over time to keep up with Haskell’s upcoming developments.
Truly, languages like Haskell may become more and more important with all these multi-core machines on the horizon.
Hi Frank,
Generally speaking, publishers will consider printing a revised edition if the original sold well, they think the revised one would sell well, and there are important updates to make. So, in shameless plug mode, the best thing you can do to ensure a 2nd edition is to buy this one
Regarding your comments… yes, it is too late for most chapters to make comments that get into the first edition. However, you can still leave comments. I don’t know what our exact plans for the comment system are, but don’t let that discourage you.
As you probably know, any book is a work of compromise: depth vs. length, beginner vs. advanced audience, etc. Even things like where do we introduce I/O, monads, and the like are thought about carefully. We think we’ve got a good formula here, and I think the vast majority of the comments we’ve seen agree.
That’s not to say we’ve got the best possible formula, or that what we have will work for everyone. So your specific suggestions for improvement are still welcome.