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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 programmingscience]]

| genre = [[Textbook]]

| publisher = [[MIT Press]]

| pub_date = 19851984 (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 = https://{{URL|mitpress.mit.edu/sicp}}

}}

'''''Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs''''' ('''''SICP'''''), alsois 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"Wizard book''',Book" in [[hacker culture]].<ref>{{CitationCite book |last1=Raymond contribution |first1=Eric WizardS. Book|url=http://archive.org/details/newhackersdictio00raym | title = The New Hackerhacker's Dictionarydictionary |last2=Steele edition|first2=Guy |date=1991 2nd|___location=Cambridge, Massachusetts| yearpublisher = 1993MIT Press |others=Internet contribution-urlArchive |isbn= http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/978-0-262-68069-1}}.</ref> is a [[computer science]] textbook. It aims to teachteaches fundamental principles of [[computer programming]], including [[recursion]], [[abstractionAbstraction (computer science)|abstraction]], [[modularModular programming|modularity]], and [[programming language]] [[metalinguisticMetalinguistic abstraction|design]] and [[interpreterProgramming (computing)language implementation|implementation]]. It is widely considered a classic in [[hacker culture]].<ref>{{citation | url = http://grokcode.com/11/the-top-9-in-a-hackers-bookshelf/ |title= Grok code | contribution = The Top 9{{frac |1|2}} Books in a Hacker's Bookshelf |accessdate = 2010-10-23}}</ref>

It was first published in 1985 by [[MIT Press]] andpublished writtenthe byfirst [[Massachusettsedition Institutein of Technology]] (MIT) professors [[Harold Abelson]]1984, and [[Geraldthe Jaysecond Sussman]],edition within Julie Sussman1996. It was formerly used as the textbook offor MIT's introductory programmingcourse classin [[computer science]] from 1984 to 2007. SICP focuses on discovering general [[Pattern|patterns]] for solving specific problems, and building robust[[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#Assember|assembler]] to implement Lisp interpreters and [[compiler]]s.

== CharactersContent ==

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#AssemberAssembler|assembler]] to implement Lisp [[Interpreter (computing)|interpreters]] and [[compiler]]s.

Several fictional characters appear in the book:

Topics in the books are:

* Alyssa P. Hacker, a Lisp hacker

* Ben Bitdiddle, a hardware expert

* Cy D. Fect, a "reformed C programmer"

* Eva Lu Ator, an evaluator

* Lem E. Tweakit, an irate user

* Louis Reasoner, a loose reasoner

=== Chapter 1: Building [[Abstraction (computer science)|Abstractions]] with [[Function (computer programming)|Procedures]] ===

== License ==

# The Elements of Programming

# Procedures and the [[Process (computing)|Processes]] They Generate

# Formulating Abstractions with Higher-Order Procedures

=== Chapter 2: Building Abstractions with [[Data]] ===

The book is licensed under a [[Creative Commons]] Attribution ShareAlike 4.0 License.<ref>{{Citation | title = SICP | publisher = MIT press | url = http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/}}.</ref>

# 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, a hardware expert

* [[Side effect (computer science)|Cy D. Fect]], a "reformed C programmer"

* [[Evaluator|Eva Lu Ator]]

* Lem E. Tweakit, an irate user

* Louis Reasoner, a "loose reasoner"

== License ==

The book is licensed under a [[Creative Commons]] Attribution -ShareAlike 4.0 LicenseInternational (CC BY-SA 4.0) license.<ref>{{CitationCite web |url=http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/ |title = SICP | publisher = MIT pressPress |access-date=2007-11-11 url |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 offor MIT's oldformer introductory programming classcourse, 6.001.,<ref>{{cite web | url = httphttps://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWebcourses/Electricalelectrical-Engineeringengineering-and-Computercomputer-Sciencescience/6-001Spring001-structure-and-interpretation-of-computer-programs-spring-2005/CourseHome/ | work = OpenCourseWare | title = Electrical Engineering and Computer Science &#124; 6.001 Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs |date=Spring 2005 |website=OpenCourseWare |publisher = MIT | accessdate access-date=20112020-06-2821}}</ref> Thisfrom classfall has1984 beenthrough replacedits bylast 6.0001semester,<ref>{{Citation|title=Catalog|url=http://student.mit.edu/catalog/search.cgi?search=6.0001|contribution=6.0001|publisher=MIT}}.</ref> whichin usesfall [[Python (programming language)|Python]]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://www.mitadmissions.org/topicsblogs/learning/courseworkentry/the_end_of_an_era_1.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-date=2018-08-21 |title = MIT Admissions | type = blog comment | contribution = The End of an Era | accessdate access-date= 2008-08-05}}.</ref> Other schools also made use of the book as a course textbook.<ref>{{cite web| first = Edward C | last = Martin | url= httphttps://wwwmitpress.schemersmit.comedu/schoolssites/default/files/sicp/adopt-list.html | title=Universities and Colleges Using SchoolsSICP |publisher=MIT SchemersPress |access-date = 20092022-0703-2030 |accessdatearchive-date= 20112022-0604-28}}</ref> The second edition23 ({{ISBN|0archive-262url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423072605/https://mitpress.mit.edu/sites/default/files/sicp/adopt-51087list.html |url-1status=dead }}) appeared in 1996.</ref>

More recently it is used as the textbook of MIT's Large Scale Symbolic Systems class, 6.945.<ref>http://eduapps.mit.edu/textbook/books.html?Term=2016SP&Subject=6.945</ref>

== Reception ==

''[[Byte (magazine)|Byte]]'' recommended SICP in 1986 "for professional programmers who are really interested in their profession". The magazine statedsaid 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 news book|url=https://archive.org/details/byte-magazine-1986-11/page/n83/mode/1up| title=Byte StructureMagazine andVolume Interpretation11 ofNumber Computer12: ProgramsKnowledge Representation| work=Byte | date=November 1986|language=English |page=70 |last =Kilov | first = Haim | page = 70}}</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= 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 ==

SICP has been influential in computer science education, and a number ofseveral 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 thatand usesJack SchemeWisdom

* ''[[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 incongruitiesdeficiencies in SICP

* ''[[Essentials of Programming Languages]] (EoPL)'', a book for Programming Languages courses

* ''[[Lisp in Small Pieces]] (LiSP)'', a book full of Scheme interpreters and compilers

== See also ==

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

== References ==

{{reflist|30emReflist}}

== External links ==

* [http://{{Official website|mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/ Official site]}}

* [httphttps://groups.csailocw.mit.edu/mac/classescourses/6.-001/abelson-sussmanstructure-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:19851984 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]]