Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs - Revision history

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	'''''Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs''''' ('''''SICP''''') is a [[computer science]] textbook by [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] professors [[Harold Abelson]] and [[Gerald Jay Sussman]] with Julie Sussman. It is known as the "Wizard Book" in [[hacker culture]].<ref>{{Cite book \|~~last~~=Raymond \|~~first~~=Eric S. \|url=http://archive.org/details/newhackersdictio00raym \|title=The New hacker's dictionary \|last2=Steele \|first2=Guy \|date=1991 \|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts\| publisher = MIT Press \|others=Internet Archive \|isbn=978-0-262-68069-1}}</ref> It teaches fundamental principles of [[computer programming]], including [[recursion]], [[Abstraction (computer science)\|abstraction]], [[Modular programming\|modularity]], and [[programming language]] [[Metalinguistic abstraction\|design]] and [[Programming language implementation\|implementation]].		'''''Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs''''' ('''''SICP''''') is a [[computer science]] textbook by [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] professors [[Harold Abelson]] and [[Gerald Jay Sussman]] with Julie Sussman. It is known as the "Wizard Book" in [[hacker culture]].<ref>{{Cite book \|last1=Raymond \|first1=Eric S. \|url=http://archive.org/details/newhackersdictio00raym \|title=The New hacker's dictionary \|last2=Steele \|first2=Guy \|date=1991 \|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts\| publisher = MIT Press \|others=Internet Archive \|isbn=978-0-262-68069-1}}</ref> It teaches fundamental principles of [[computer programming]], including [[recursion]], [[Abstraction (computer science)\|abstraction]], [[Modular programming\|modularity]], and [[programming language]] [[Metalinguistic abstraction\|design]] and [[Programming language implementation\|implementation]].

	[[MIT Press]] published the first edition in 1984, and the second edition in 1996. It was used as the textbook for MIT's introductory course in [[computer science]] from 1984 to 2007. SICP focuses on discovering general [[Pattern\|patterns]] for solving specific problems, and building [[Software system\|software systems]] that make use of those patterns.<ref>{{Citation \|last=Harvey \|first=B \|year=2011 \|contribution-url=http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/~bh/sicp.html \|contribution=Why SICP matters? \|title=The 150th anniversary of MIT \|publisher=[[Boston Globe]]}}.</ref>		[[MIT Press]] published the first edition in 1984, and the second edition in 1996. It was used as the textbook for MIT's introductory course in [[computer science]] from 1984 to 2007. SICP focuses on discovering general [[Pattern\|patterns]] for solving specific problems, and building [[Software system\|software systems]] that make use of those patterns.<ref>{{Citation \|last=Harvey \|first=B \|year=2011 \|contribution-url=http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/~bh/sicp.html \|contribution=Why SICP matters? \|title=The 150th anniversary of MIT \|publisher=[[Boston Globe]]}}.</ref>
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	''[[Byte (magazine)\|Byte]]'' recommended SICP in 1986 "for professional programmers who are really interested in their profession". The magazine said that the book was not easy to read, but that it would expose experienced programmers to both old and new topics.<ref name="kilov198611">{{cite book\|url=https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1986-11/page/n83/mode/1up\|title=Byte Magazine Volume 11 Number 12: Knowledge Representation\|date=November 1986\|language=English \|page=70 \|last=Kilov \|first=Haim}}</ref>		''[[Byte (magazine)\|Byte]]'' recommended SICP in 1986 "for professional programmers who are really interested in their profession". The magazine said that the book was not easy to read, but that it would expose experienced programmers to both old and new topics.<ref name="kilov198611">{{cite book\|url=https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1986-11/page/n83/mode/1up\|title=Byte Magazine Volume 11 Number 12: Knowledge Representation\|date=November 1986\|language=English \|page=70 \|last=Kilov \|first=Haim}}</ref>

	A review of SICP as an undergraduate textbook by [[Philip Wadler]] noted the weaknesses of the Scheme language as an introductory language for a computer science course.<ref>{{Cite journal \|last=Wadler \|first=P \|date=1987-03-01 \|title=A critique of Abelson and Sussman or why calculating is better than scheming \|url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/24697.24706 \|journal=SIGPLAN ~~Not.~~ \|volume=22 \|issue=3 \|pages=83–94 \|doi=10.1145/24697.24706 \|issn=0362-1340}}</ref> Wadler criticized in particular the lack of [[pattern matching]], obscuring [[equational reasoning]] and making the teaching of proofs harder; the lack of [[Algebraic data type\|algebraic data types]] in Scheme and the over-reliance on [[cons]] pairs for both code and data representation, which can confuse beginning students; and the choice of [[Strict evaluation\|strict]] instead of [[lazy evaluation]] as the standard evaluation strategy.		A review of SICP as an undergraduate textbook by [[Philip Wadler]] noted the weaknesses of the Scheme language as an introductory language for a computer science course.<ref>{{Cite journal \|last=Wadler \|first=P \|date=1987-03-01 \|title=A critique of Abelson and Sussman or why calculating is better than scheming \|url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/24697.24706 \|journal= ACM SIGPLAN Notices\|volume=22 \|issue=3 \|pages=83–94 \|doi=10.1145/24697.24706 \|issn=0362-1340}}</ref> Wadler criticized in particular the lack of [[pattern matching]], obscuring [[equational reasoning]] and making the teaching of proofs harder; the lack of [[Algebraic data type\|algebraic data types]] in Scheme and the over-reliance on [[cons]] pairs for both code and data representation, which can confuse beginning students; and the choice of [[Strict evaluation\|strict]] instead of [[lazy evaluation]] as the standard evaluation strategy.

	== Influence ==		== Influence ==

imported>Drummingman: Reverted edits by 2603:7000:7D00:6B70:F88:344E:9C5E:BF13 (talk) to last version by Reify-tech: nonconstructive edits

2025-03-10T21:16:42Z

Reverted edits by 2603:7000:7D00:6B70:F88:344E:9C5E:BF13 (talk) to last version by Reify-tech: nonconstructive edits

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{{Short description|Computer science textbook}}
{{Redirect|SICP}}
{{Infobox book
| italic title = force
| name = Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (SICP)
| image = SICP cover.jpg
| caption = Cover of the second edition
| author = [[Harold Abelson]], [[Gerald Jay Sussman]], Julie Sussman
| cover_artist =
| country =
| series =
| subject = [[Computer science]]
| genre = [[Textbook]]
| publisher = [[MIT Press]]
| pub_date = 1984 (1st ed.), 1996 (2nd ed.), 2022 ([[Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, JavaScript Edition|JavaScript ed.]])
| media_type =
| pages = 657
| isbn = 0-262-51087-1
| isbn_note = (2nd ed.)
| oclc =
| dewey =
| congress = QA76.6 .A255 1996
| website = {{URL|mitpress.mit.edu/sicp}}
}}

'''''Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs''''' ('''''SICP''''') is a [[computer science]] textbook by [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] professors [[Harold Abelson]] and [[Gerald Jay Sussman]] with Julie Sussman. It is known as the "Wizard Book" in [[hacker culture]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Raymond |first=Eric S. |url=http://archive.org/details/newhackersdictio00raym |title=The New hacker's dictionary |last2=Steele |first2=Guy |date=1991 |location=Cambridge, Massachusetts| publisher = MIT Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-262-68069-1}}</ref> It teaches fundamental principles of [[computer programming]], including [[recursion]], [[Abstraction (computer science)|abstraction]], [[Modular programming|modularity]], and [[programming language]] [[Metalinguistic abstraction|design]] and [[Programming language implementation|implementation]].

[[MIT Press]] published the first edition in 1984, and the second edition in 1996. It was used as the textbook for MIT's introductory course in [[computer science]] from 1984 to 2007. SICP focuses on discovering general [[Pattern|patterns]] for solving specific problems, and building [[Software system|software systems]] that make use of those patterns.<ref>{{Citation |last=Harvey |first=B |year=2011 |contribution-url=http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/~bh/sicp.html |contribution=Why SICP matters? |title=The 150th anniversary of MIT |publisher=[[Boston Globe]]}}.</ref>

MIT Press published a [[JavaScript]] version of the book in 2022.<ref>{{Cite book |publisher=MIT Press |year=2022 |url=https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/structure-and-interpretation-computer-programs-1 |title=Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs: JavaScript Edition |isbn=9780262543231}}</ref>

== Content ==
The book describes computer science concepts using [[Scheme (programming language)|Scheme]], a dialect of [[Lisp (programming language)|Lisp]]. It also uses a [[virtual machine|virtual]] [[register machine]] and [[Assembly language#Assembler|assembler]] to implement Lisp [[Interpreter (computing)|interpreters]] and [[compiler]]s.

Topics in the books are:

=== Chapter 1: Building [[Abstraction (computer science)|Abstractions]] with [[Function (computer programming)|Procedures]] ===
# The Elements of Programming
# Procedures and the [[Process (computing)|Processes]] They Generate
# Formulating Abstractions with Higher-Order Procedures

=== Chapter 2: Building Abstractions with [[Data]] ===
# Introduction to Data Abstraction
# Hierarchical Data and the [[Closure (mathematics)|Closure Property]]
# Symbolic Data
# Multiple Representations for Abstract Data
# Systems with Generic Operations

=== Chapter 3: Modularity, [[Object (computer science)|Objects]], and [[State (computer science)|State]] ===
# [[Assignment (computer science)|Assignment]] and [[Local variable|Local State]]
# The Environment Model of Evaluation
# Modeling with Mutable Data
# [[Concurrency (computer science)|Concurrency]]: Time Is of the Essence
# Streams

=== Chapter 4: [[Metalinguistics|Metalinguistic]] Abstraction ===
# The [[Meta-circular evaluator|Metacircular Evaluator]]
# Variations on a Scheme – [[Lazy evaluation|Lazy Evaluation]]
# Variations on a Scheme – [[Nondeterministic algorithm|Nondeterministic Computing]]
# [[Logic programming|Logic Programming]]

=== Chapter 5: Computing with [[Register machine|Register Machines]] ===
# Designing [[Register machine|Register Machines]]
# A Register-Machine Simulator
# [[Register allocation|Storage Allocation]] and [[Garbage collection (computer science)|Garbage Collection]]
# The Explicit-Control Evaluator
# Compilation

== Characters ==
Several humorously-named fictional characters appear in the book:
* Alyssa P. Hacker, a Lisp [[hacker]]
* Ben Bitdiddle
* [[Side effect (computer science)|Cy D. Fect]], a "reformed C programmer"
* [[Evaluator|Eva Lu Ator]]
* Lem E. Tweakit
* Louis Reasoner, a "loose reasoner"

== License ==
The book is licensed under a [[Creative Commons]] Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0) license.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/ |title=SICP |publisher=MIT Press |access-date=2007-11-11 |archive-date=2017-12-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171226134539/http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/ |url-status=dead }}.</ref>

== Coursework ==
The book was used as the textbook for MIT's former introductory programming course, 6.001,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/electrical-engineering-and-computer-science/6-001-structure-and-interpretation-of-computer-programs-spring-2005/ |title=Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; 6.001 Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs |date=Spring 2005 |website=OpenCourseWare |publisher=MIT |access-date=2020-06-21}}</ref> from fall 1984 through its last semester, in fall 2007.<ref>{{Citation |first=Donald |last=Guy |quote=I talked to Professor Sussman on the phone... He said that he'd actually been trying to have 6.001 replaced for the last ten years (and I read somewhere that Professor Abelson was behind the move too). Understanding the principles is not essential for an introduction to the subject matter anymore. He sees 6.001 as obsolete. |url=http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/the_end_of_an_era_1 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180821202714/http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/the_end_of_an_era_1 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2018-08-21 |title=MIT Admissions |type=blog comment |contribution=The End of an Era |access-date=2008-08-05}}</ref> Other schools also made use of the book as a course textbook.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://mitpress.mit.edu/sites/default/files/sicp/adopt-list.html |title=Universities and Colleges Using SICP |publisher=MIT Press |access-date=2022-03-30 |archive-date=2022-04-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423072605/https://mitpress.mit.edu/sites/default/files/sicp/adopt-list.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== Reception ==
''[[Byte (magazine)|Byte]]'' recommended SICP in 1986 "for professional programmers who are really interested in their profession". The magazine said that the book was not easy to read, but that it would expose experienced programmers to both old and new topics.<ref name="kilov198611">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1986-11/page/n83/mode/1up|title=Byte Magazine Volume 11 Number 12: Knowledge Representation|date=November 1986|language=English |page=70 |last=Kilov |first=Haim}}</ref>

A review of SICP as an undergraduate textbook by [[Philip Wadler]] noted the weaknesses of the Scheme language as an introductory language for a computer science course.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wadler |first=P |date=1987-03-01 |title=A critique of Abelson and Sussman or why calculating is better than scheming |url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/24697.24706 |journal=SIGPLAN Not. |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=83–94 |doi=10.1145/24697.24706 |issn=0362-1340}}</ref> Wadler criticized in particular the lack of [[pattern matching]], obscuring [[equational reasoning]] and making the teaching of proofs harder; the lack of [[Algebraic data type|algebraic data types]] in Scheme and the over-reliance on [[cons]] pairs for both code and data representation, which can confuse beginning students; and the choice of [[Strict evaluation|strict]] instead of [[lazy evaluation]] as the standard evaluation strategy.

== Influence ==
SICP has been influential in computer science education, and several later books have been inspired by its style.
* ''[[Structure and Interpretation of Classical Mechanics]] (SICM)'', another book that uses Scheme as an instructional element, by Gerald Jay Sussman and Jack Wisdom
* ''[[Software Design for Flexibility]]'', by Chris Hanson and Gerald Jay Sussman
* ''[[How to Design Programs]] (HtDP)'', which intends to be a more accessible book for introductory Computer Science, and to address perceived deficiencies in SICP
* ''[[Essentials of Programming Languages]] (EoPL)'', a book for Programming Languages courses

== See also ==
* ''[[Compilers: Principles, Techniques, and Tools]]''{{snd}} also known as ''The Dragon Book''

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Official website|mitpress.mit.edu/sicp}}
* [https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/6-001-structure-and-interpretation-of-computer-programs-spring-2005/video_galleries/video-lectures/ Video lectures]
* [https://media.githubusercontent.com/media/sarabander/sicp-pdf/master/sicp.pdf Book compiled from TeX source]
* [https://xuanji.appspot.com/isicp/ Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs. Interactive Version]

{{Lisp programming language}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1984 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:1996 non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Computer science books]]
[[Category:Computer programming books]]
[[Category:Creative Commons-licensed books]]
[[Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology]]
[[Category:Scheme (programming language)]]
[[Category:Lisp (programming language)]]