Not quite sure where this should go so I posted it here.

My discussion topic for today is: Books vs PDF documents which is better for learning a programming language.

I had always used books for many many years, when first starting out in Visual Basic and then when I was learning HTML and then onto learning PHP. But recently whilst learning Java I have been using a PDF document which has the contents of the book on it, this way it makes it easy to copy and paste the code, to return to pages easier and to search the document for keywords/useful information.

Book on the other hand are much easier to make notes in, can be carried around (unless they are over 1000 page which a lot of core programming books can be) and cannot be lost if a computer was to fail. Also I feel there is a feeling of material possession when you own a book that you don't get when you buy a PDF there is something satisfying of dragging home a huge book and looking through its nice crisp pages.

So which is it to be? PDF/Ebooks OR Books? Discuss!

I personally prefere books because they're easier to read and I don't need my laptop to actually read them.

Depends on the type of book. PDFs do have a number of things going for them. If it's a code-based book, where you're going to want to read it in front of a computer anyway, then PDFs are just more convenient. They also have the advantage that you can often get them cheap and/or free. Dead-tree technical books can get very expensive, especially the esoteric ones - I've seen some that cost over a dollar per page. And, of course, searching a PDF is just a lot easier than searching for something in a paper book.

In general, though, I prefer paper. You can curl up in a chair with them, toss them on the floor without worrying that they'll break, carry them anywhere without worrying about batteries, etc. I also find that reading paper is easier on my eyes than reading a screen, but maybe that's just me. And, as you said, they just feel more substantial than some bits on a screen.

I prefer paper books, I have always found them alot easier to read on the eyes, etc, And with a book you will never have the problem: only 10 pages left.,...CRASH. Screw that it may not have happened often but 1 time is enough for me to never use the product again. When I am reading a book I want to read it through not have to worry about power failure, crashes, battery dies, files corrupted, etc. That will never happen to a paper book, which is why I will always prefer paper books.

Thanks for the input guys some really nice ideas. I do prefer books but the one thing I find difficult is the weight of them. I have an ebook reader and can carry thousands of PDFs around with me if I were to carry the equivalent books with me I would be in hospital with a broken back!

while i prefer being able to physically browse a book -- I have a subscription to Safari books online and usually get my monies worth out of it.

Online editions are good for quick reference/research. Books are better for learning.

Online editions can often be used for copy/paste which can speed learning.

I have just noticed in the back of my apress PHP book that you can get the companion Ebook for just $10 with the purchase of the book. So learn from the book and copy code from the PDF.

aren't you all forgetting something? RUBBISHY BOOKS!!! you must have bought a book for a princely sum then discovered it doesn't do what it said on the cover? it only introduces a small part of the language? or one of those 'compendium of mistakes' books...here's how not to do it, none of which you would ever do...i snatched 1000-ebooks from ebay, and it was brilliant..otherwise how can you keep up with every plug-in available? or when you need just one tiny piece of code...if the book is good enough on pdf you'll buy it anyway and one other thing...finding it is easier with ebooks? no way, try indexing your annotations

That's called piracy

I prefer books, because are better. Books you can read anywhere

This post has been edited by CoderManNET: 19 May, 2009 - 01:52 AM

i'm downloading PDF Books and Printing it

Is that not expensive?

It can be. But depending on the book and the printing equipment you have available, it can still be significantly cheaper than buying a bound version. You kind of need to do the math to see if it makes sense.

I printed out a few e-books back when I was in grad school. In that setting, it was great, because I could print as many pages as I wanted to in the computer lab for free, and then get it bound in the print shop, also for free. However, I stopped doing that once I was out of school. It wasn't so much the cost of the paper and ink (though that stuff isn't cheap), as it was the inconvenience. I never had a high-speed, duplexing printer, so printing out hundreds of pages took a really long time. And when I was done, instead of a nicely bound book, I had a huge pile of papers, way thicker than the bound version, that I had to eather put in a loose leaf binder or pay to have bound at the local Staples. And either way, it's less convenient to carry around and read than a regular book. So it just wasn't worth the trouble to me.

Each has advantages. I like paper books if they are general info. But I like PDF references because I can search the text. Even with an index, paging through a 600+ page book for a specific term is a pain.

Like a few others here I would suggest you try to get the same info in both formats when you can.

Having the paper book and the pdf in your computer gives you the best of both worlds.

You read the book and then have a problem and remember you read about the solution in the book. Instead of having to leaf through the index and try to locate it you can use the real search facilities available in a digital medium and find the relevant part you want quickly and easily.

NickDMax makes a great point about O'Reilly's Safari service. Really worth checking out if you haven't already.

I would say PDF, once you can download them, then print them out and read them.

Being an author I like books. I like seeing things in print.

However, I would like to see the world move to a paperless society and believe that eBooks/PDFs are the way of the future.