I'm looking for online resources about the Scheme programming language.

September 21, 2004 5:58 PM

I'm looking for online resources about the Scheme programming language. I'm a computer science major, and though I've already taken a class in it, that was a couple of years ago, and I've whacked my head on a lot of stuff since then. I'm just looking for a simple, easy-to-understand introduction or refresher course.

Oh, and book recommendations are cool, too. Just, ya know, I like things convenient. And free. Mostly free.

posted by billybunny to Computers & Internet (9 answers total)

It's rare for a programming textbook to also be a work of art. Meet "The Little Schemer" by Daniel P. Friedman and Matthias Felleisen. I don't program Scheme anymore, but this book is so beautiful and so deep, I still read it sometimes, just for fun.

It's even a great book for non-programmers who want to intellectual play and stimulation.

It doesn't meet either of your needs -- it's not online and it's not free. But it's great. And you can always get it through interlibrary loan. Old editions -- which should still meet your needs -- are called "The Little Lispter."
posted by grumblebee at 6:08 PM on September 21, 2004

Two Scheme bibles are Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs and How to Design Programs. Both free.
posted by reynaert at 6:09 PM on September 21, 2004

Two great programs to try are Scheme48 and TinyScheme; both are interpreters for the Scheme language, and both are lightweight. (TinyScheme is exceedingly lightweight.)

As for literature, I learned the hard way (using reference texts). The nice thing about Scheme is that its specification is fairly small and not terribly difficult; R5RS is the latest version of it, hosted at MIT (and elsewhere).
posted by moz at 6:28 PM on September 21, 2004

Be aware that "The Little Lisper" (still have my copy) doesn't play nice with Scheme due to semantic differences in the languages.
posted by plinth at 6:33 PM on September 21, 2004

MIT's scheme class is also on open course ware, if that helps you at all.

SICP is a bible, and if you like physics, you might look at SICM (... Mechanics).
posted by whatzit at 6:34 PM on September 21, 2004

Teach Yourself Scheme in Fixnum Days.
posted by kenko at 6:52 PM on September 21, 2004

Response by poster: The class I'm in that requires scheme is actually being taught by Friedman; he's recommended "The Little Schemer," too. Obviously. I'll see if I can grab a copy of it somewhere.
posted by billybunny at 8:26 PM on September 21, 2004

These are not direct answers to your question but they are good resources for scheme: readscheme and schemers.
posted by rdr at 9:48 PM on September 21, 2004

if you're looking for a scheme implementation, no-one has mentioned plt scheme which is (are?) widely respected, i think.
and when i googled for that, to post the right link, i also found this cookbook, which might be useful if you're looking for something fairly quick and simple (sicp is a classic, but not really a quick into to the language; little schemer is soemthing you'll probably either love or find deeply irritating).
posted by andrew cooke at 3:05 PM on September 22, 2004