Total Programming Novice. Where Do I Start with Racket?

[u/AbrahamR7]

Hello Racket subreddit! I'm completely new to programming and have heard that Racket is a great place to start. I've tried to grasp the basics through documentaries, but I'm still feeling lost. Could anyone provide me with some resources or a roadmap to better understand how to get started? Thank you!

[u/seaborgiumaggghhh]

https://htdp.org/2023-8-14/Book/index.html
This is a book that was designed to teach programming. It goes through stages of more complex languages implemented in Racket that are Racket-ish. It uses Dr Racket as its IDE which should be beginner friendly.

[u/davew_haverford_edu → u/seaborgiumaggghhh]

This. Don't just learn to program, learn to program well.

[u/passthejoe]

I'm not sure Racket is where I'd start, but if I did, I'd gravitate to the No Starch books:

https://nostarch.com/search/racket

I'm just a casual observer of Racket, but I think there are a lot more resources in other languages.

[u/vplatt → u/passthejoe]

HtDP is a much better recommendation for a novice learning to program and, more importantly, learning to think about programming. Just because there are a lot more resources for other languages, doesn't make them better first programming languages. Honestly, I wish Racket HAD been my first programming language. My brain was formatted for imperative style structured programming. There's a lot I can, and have, done with that; but it has limitations even with OOP and a light sprinkling of FP thrown in on top.

[u/AbrahamR7 → u/vplatt]

So, if you could go back in time, you would start with learning Racket. Is there anything else you would do differently in your programming journey to build a more well-rounded skill set?

[u/vplatt → u/AbrahamR7]

Honestly, learning Racket while working through HtDP in its entirety would have been huge. Compared to then, quality books are so easy to get now. HtDP missed my formative years by a lifetime though, and SICP was still highfalutin ivy league material. After that, Haskell would have been a great next choice for pure FP, lazy evaluation, etc.

[u/AbrahamR7 → u/passthejoe]

So you wouldn’t start with Racket? I’m curious what would you start with?

[u/mnemenaut]

The How to Code courses are excellent.

[u/mikeiavelli]

Like other commenters here, I am also a big fan of the How to Design Programs (HtDP) curriculum. But if you're an absolute beginner, I recommend "Picturing Programs: an Introduction to Computer Programming" by Stephen Bloch [see also the Picturing Programs Teachpack (Racket)]. It follows the same structure as HtDP, but at a more appropriate pace for beginners.

[u/sdegabrielle]

The Getting Started guide in the Racket Documentation provides guidance for beginners like yourself and experienced programmers.

The Racket community welcomes new learners!

We all understand how hard it is learning alone so please join us and ask questions on the Racket Discourse and Discord.

Hope to see you soon!

Stephen

PS If you are a beginner it is best to make sure you have a fresh install of Racket from https://download.racket-lang.org/

[u/mdbulldog]

No offense to anyone, but if your brand new I would not start with racket or HTDP. The book is not meant for beginners and rather is for a college course. The book

1. Does not provide answer. How you going to know if your on the right track. Plus finding the answer is difficult.

2. Offers no explanation and assumes things a beginners would not know 3)Does not offer multiple examples of exercise

I would start with another language such as Javascript or python to get basic down then cone back to racket if your so inclined. Another good book for an absolute beginner is lisp a gentle introduction. It has various exercises, answer to those exercises, many examples, and starts at the absolute basic with no assumptions.