Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
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. It teaches fundamental principles of computer programming, including recursion, abstraction, modularity, and programming language design and implementation.
Cover of the second edition | |
| Author | Harold Abelson, Gerald Jay Sussman, Julie Sussman |
|---|---|
| Subject | Computer science |
| Genre | Textbook |
| Publisher | MIT Press |
Publication date | 1984 (1st ed.), 1996 (2nd ed.), 2022 (JavaScript ed.) |
| Pages | 657 |
| ISBN | 0-262-51087-1 (2nd ed.) |
| LC Class | QA76.6 .A255 1996 |
| Website | mitpress |
MIT Press published the first edition in 1984, and the second edition in 1996. It was formerly used as the textbook for MIT's introductory course in computer science. SICP focuses on discovering general patterns for solving specific problems, and building software systems that make use of those patterns.
MIT Press published the JavaScript edition in 2022.