Re: the real world of Haskell books (Re: [Haskell-cafe] Online RealWorld Haskell, problem with Sqlite3 chapters)
On Fri, Sep 5, 2008 at 7:50 PM, Derek Elkins <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > To make what (I believe) Claus is saying more explicit and direct, add a > note to the beginning of the book (or somewhere reasonably prominent) > that states something along the lines [...] We will add a link to an errata site in the final version. Thanks for the suggestion; it's an obvious thing to do in retrospect. ___ Haskell-Cafe mailing list Haskell-Cafe@haskell.org http://www.haskell.org/mailman/listinfo/haskell-cafe
Re: the real world of Haskell books (Re: [Haskell-cafe] Online RealWorld Haskell, problem with Sqlite3 chapters)
On Fri, 2008-09-05 at 20:55 +0100, Claus Reinke wrote: > >> Seriously, though, what is the RWH authors' plan for tackling > >> the eternal frustration of Haskell book authors, a moving target? > > > > Other tech books face the same problem, which, if they sell > > successfully and the authors haven't moved into caves afterwards to > > recover, they address with subsequent editions. If readers find that > > specific pieces of information have bitrotted, I'm sure we'll hear > > about it. In that case, we'll create a wiki page with errata, and link > > to it from the book site. > > Just saying, it is worth planning for, especially if the book is > going to be successful. I understand if creating that book at > breakneck speed has left you looking forward to a break (not > of the neck;-), but laying out a strategy for this, and putting it in > the preface, might avoid sorrows later. You do have the online > version and commenting system in place which you could keep > around, you could even keep copies of the precise code versions > you use, although adapting the text is more appropriate for this > style of book. To make what (I believe) Claus is saying more explicit and direct, add a note to the beginning of the book (or somewhere reasonably prominent) that states something along the lines: "As time progresses parts of this book are going to become out-of-date, in particular code examples will. See for errata or read the comments for that section on the online version of the book for details resolving these issues. Alternatively, send an email to ." I would recommend having a mailing list or some such as then you can potentially leverage the community to resolve such issues leading to less pressure on you three and likely faster responses. ___ Haskell-Cafe mailing list Haskell-Cafe@haskell.org http://www.haskell.org/mailman/listinfo/haskell-cafe
Re: the real world of Haskell books (Re: [Haskell-cafe] Online RealWorld Haskell, problem with Sqlite3 chapters)
Seriously, though, what is the RWH authors' plan for tackling the eternal frustration of Haskell book authors, a moving target? Other tech books face the same problem, which, if they sell successfully and the authors haven't moved into caves afterwards to recover, they address with subsequent editions. If readers find that specific pieces of information have bitrotted, I'm sure we'll hear about it. In that case, we'll create a wiki page with errata, and link to it from the book site. Just saying, it is worth planning for, especially if the book is going to be successful. I understand if creating that book at breakneck speed has left you looking forward to a break (not of the neck;-), but laying out a strategy for this, and putting it in the preface, might avoid sorrows later. You do have the online version and commenting system in place which you could keep around, you could even keep copies of the precise code versions you use, although adapting the text is more appropriate for this style of book. Thompson and Hudak both have had home pages for their books, but that didn't prevent their readers coming to the mailing lists instead, often frustrated at the beginning of their threads, sometimes disappointed at the end (in spite of a succession of strong Haskell hackers reviving SOE support again and again, there were gaps in between). And your book looks like it is going to suffer more, being completed before, but published after several changes (more base breakup, last time that extralibs come with ghc, haskell platform, extensible exceptions, ..) as well as being detailed and concrete about the use of several real-world libraries/tools subject to normal evolution. Anyway, good luck!-) Claus ___ Haskell-Cafe mailing list Haskell-Cafe@haskell.org http://www.haskell.org/mailman/listinfo/haskell-cafe
