Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy vs An Introduction to Functional Programming Through Lambda Calculus
When comparing Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy vs An Introduction to Functional Programming Through Lambda Calculus, the Slant community recommends Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for most people. In the question“What are the most influential books every programmer should read?” Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is ranked 32nd while An Introduction to Functional Programming Through Lambda Calculus is ranked 43rd. The most important reason people chose Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is:
Programmers seem to love this book. The whole reason I read it was that my professors referenced it all the time in college, and I see references to it all the time when looking up how to use this, that, or the other new tool I've been learning to use.
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Referenced all the time
Programmers seem to love this book. The whole reason I read it was that my professors referenced it all the time in college, and I see references to it all the time when looking up how to use this, that, or the other new tool I've been learning to use.
Pro Works with most programming languages
Lambda calculus can be done with paper and pencil, but any programming language with lambda (like Python) can work with it.
Pro Hard to put down
Learn how to build a functional programming language from first principles.
Pro Non-technical
This book doesn't assume any kind of math or programming knowledge beyond elementary school.
Cons
Con Not actually a programming book
But that wasn't what the question was. The question was what are the most influential books.
Con Hard to pick up
The first chapter is reportedly not so good.