Nick Parlante Document Archive

This is just a simple archive I've put together of the most generally useful programming handouts I've produced over the years while teaching one class or another. These documents are free for non-commercial use, but I retain copyright to them (in case I write a book someday I suppose).

• Essential C.pdf -- a 30 page review of all of C's major features. Too dense to teach you the language from scratch, but ample for review or to look things up. Includes a 1-page summary of the most important functions in the ANSI libraries (in tiny print).
• Essential C++.pdf -- starts with a 2 page introduction to OOP vocabulary and concepts, followed by a 20 page review of C++'s major features, and 10 pages of C++ examples which emphasize overriding and inheritance. C++ is an enormous language -- this handout just hits the key stuff I thought was most useful.
• Programming on Unix.pdf -- This is an introduction to building programs on Unix: the compile process, makefiles, and Emacs.
• Practical_HI_Examples.pdf -- 20 pages of photos and screen-shots which illustrate Human Interface (HI) design principles. This was a lot of fun to put together.
• Coding Standards.pdf -- A whimsical 2 page review of coding quality levels. Includes the never-before-revealed secret to writing good code: take the time to write fully polished code on the first pass, instead of whipping out low quality code first and debugging and improving it over time.
• Decomposition and Style.pdf -- The why and how of breaking big problems into littler problems. Includes procedural and object-oriented examples. Also includes basic tips for writing well structured C code.
• Documentation.pdf -- Tips for writing code with good style and useful documentation. You may not read it, but you want the people who write the code you read to read it.
• Sample C Code.pdf -- 5 pages or so of C code which demonstrates reasonably good coding style, decomposition, and documentation. Not the impossibly perfect style which no one actually uses, just good looking code.
• Debugging.pdf -- Introduction to the approaches, techniques, and psych required to enter the debugging zone.
• LISP Examples.pdf -- My favorite LISP functions. How can anyone resist?

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nick@cs.stanford.edu