When comparing The Little Schemer vs exercism.org, the Slant community recommends The Little Schemer for most people. In the question“What are the best resources to learn Scheme?” The Little Schemer is ranked 2nd while exercism.org is ranked 3rd. The most important reason people chose The Little Schemer is:
"The Little Schemer" teaches Scheme while also challenging the readers thought process in order to improve overall programming abilities.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Aids in teaching programming logic as well as Scheme
"The Little Schemer" teaches Scheme while also challenging the readers thought process in order to improve overall programming abilities.
Pro Creative and humorous teaching style
The authors write in a humorous and witty style that keeps the readers attention throughout the book.
Pro Human review and feedback
Rather than merely test for code correctness, Exercism uses peer review to improve general programming techniques. Users are encouraged to comment on others' solutions, and refine their own based on feedback.
Pro Practice with production tools
Unlike many code practice websites, Exercism requires the user to develop and test entirely offline, submitting only the finished code. This promotes familiarity with essential tools and workflow, not just the bare language.
Cons
Con Lack of detail for more difficult concepts
"The Little Schemer" does touch on more advanced Scheme concepts, however includes only a weak explanation of them. For more advanced topics, the sequel "The Seasoned Schemer", is required.
Con Custom commandline client
Exercism requires using a CLI utility to fetch and submit exercises. This is inconvenient compared to web-only alternatives, and poses an additional barrier to entry for some users.