HTDP and LLMs
The original post asks about using "How to Design Programs" (HTDP) with LLMs. One user, "sulam", suggests that while LLMs likely have already scraped the content of HTDP, directing the LLM to emphasize specific embeddings would improve results. They state this emphasis makes "the chances of you getting good results exponentially higher."
The Value of HTDP
Several users highlight the value of HTDP as a resource for learning to program, especially regarding its impact on problem-solving skills. "adamddev1" says that "Working through this was extremely helpful in getting me to think about building things with types, functions, and recursion. I saw an exponential increase in my problem-solving abilities after it. Can't recommend it enough."
Comparison to Other Books
Some users compare HTDP to other programming resources, like "A Philosophy of Software Design" and "The Rust Book". "Jtsummers" differentiates HTDP from Ousterhout's "A Philosophy of Software Design", noting that "HTDP teaches how to program. Philosophy does not... Philosophy assumes you know how to program, and attempts to teach a way of programming. HTDP starts from the beginning with no assumptions about the reader's ability to program."
"ZoomZoomZoom" contrasts HTDP and Concepts, Techniques, and Models of Computer Programming with "The Rust Book," saying the latter "presents a specific language model in its relation to the hardware and common applications one faces while implementing what Concepts and HTDP teach to, well, design." Steve Klabnik ("steveklabnik"), who contributed to "The Rust Book" appreciated this perspective, replying "Thank you, that’s very kind. It was a lot of work!"
HTDP Edition and Related Resources
There's a brief discussion on the HTDP edition date, with "KingEllis" pointing out discrepancies. "jamie_ca" provides a direct link and clarifies that it may be a digital release of an older publication, stating: "I think this is the 2024 digital release of the 2014/2018 physical publication."
Further discussion revolves around related books, with "ZoomZoomZoom" recommending "Concepts, Techniques, and Models of Computer Programming First Edition" as a "great read and, for many, a fresh perspective."
Tooling and Typesetting
Several users discuss the tooling behind the HTDP website's formatting. "Jtsummers" identifies Matthew Butterick as the creator of the HTML layout, citing his other works like Practical Typography and Pollen. "neilv" adds that Scribble, "like LaTeX, but in Scheme," was also used. "Matthew Butterick did the visual redesign of the Web format output."