[Mastering-perl] master perl chapter layout

[brian d foy]

On 10/2/06, Derek B. Smith <derekbellnersmith at yahoo.com> wrote:

> I am reading a book called Head First Java b/c I want
> to learn Java as Java and Perl are a good mix of
> technologies to know.  In this book there are many
> small snippets of code that are short and sweet,
> questions and spaces for me to write down what I think
> is the right answer then at then end of the chapter
> are the correct answers explained...

> Do you plan on have sections where the reader can
> answer and write down answers to questions within each
> chapter? Do you plan on having some of the examples I
> listed above?

I've been asked by O'Reilly about writing a "Head First" book for
Perl, but Mastering Perl is going to be a traditional Nutshell book
with the same format and style as the other O'Reilly Perl books.

I think the "Head First" stuff might work well for introductions to
topics, but the format would seem overly burdensome for advanced
material. You'll notice that all of the Head First books are large,
but that's not because of the amount of information. Having seen only
a couple of the books, I've been disappointed at how much information
they are able to convey due to the limitations of the format. Indeed,
I've been disappointed at the focus on format over good information.

The "Head First" series is basically publishing on the cheap. The art
is freely available clip-art, and the author does the layout and so
on, handing in a ready-to-publish book. This is similar to what WROX
and some other extinct publisher have done. One of the reasons I write
for O'Reilly is that they have a great set of editors. The real
strength of a publisher is the ability of editors to judge and give
feedback on content. The fine folks at O'Reilly aren't going to let us
say grossly incorrect in a Nutshell book. "Head First" books don't get
the same sort of support, and I think its apparent in the quality of
its content.

Kathy Sierra, who came up with the format, says that people certainly
like it a lot, but I haven't ever heard anything about whether people
learn better (or even as much) from the books. It seems to me that it
would be okay to read it the first time, but looking up something
would be particular frustrating when you want to verify something
rather than play along in a graphic novel. I'm sure that people do
like the experience better, but I've also found that what people like
isn't always the best thing for them.

-- 
brian d foy <brian.d.foy at gmail.com>
http://www.pair.com/~comdog/