Foreword

How far things have come! I started D in 1999. The odds of any new programming language endeavor succeeding were minimal.

But here we are with the latest book on D, Learning D by Michael Parker.

The arc of programming languages I've learned follows a consistent pattern – my first Fortran code looked a lot like Basic. My first C code looked similar to Fortran. C++ code looked similar to C, and my early D code looked similar to C++. It takes some time to get used to a language before learning its own idiomatic style, and this is what it takes before the source code starts to shine.

After all, if your D code looks similar to C++, what's the point?

Learning D fills the need to get up-to-speed quickly by explaining how to write code in a way that fits in perfectly with D's combination of characteristics. Far from being a dry technical specification, Michael writes about D from a more personal perspective, as you'd expect from someone tutoring you. He lists how to use the features, how they compare with other languages, and offers best practices. He offers background anecdotes and explanations for why some things are the way they are, and how D has evolved, which can be surprisingly helpful in using the language more effectively.

D has been characterized in many ways, but my favorite is that it is designed to be fun to program in. After all, programming being our profession, isn't it better when we enjoy our tools?

I know this book is a labor of love from Michael, as the language itself is a labor of love from myself and the rest of the D community. I hope this joy is successfully imparted to you, the reader and programmer. I'm sure that Michael and I would be well rewarded for our endeavors if this is the case.

Enjoy!

Walter Bright

Creator of the D Language and Engineer