Hi, Jan.
We'd absolute love any help! We're mostly guessing about what developers need to know, so feedback based on your experience with Mycelium would be hugely appreciated. For example, what assumptions made by other documentation has tripped you up?[1] Which BIPs have you found hard to understand?[2] What important things just aren't documented elsewhere?[3]
Thanks!,
-Dave
[1] As an example of assumptions, one developer told us that the standard format for describing scripts is confusing to new devs because it doesn't mention the op-push-data codes that must be used. It just assumes you know about them. We revised the documentation based on his feedback.
[2] As an example of finding documentation hard to understand, when I wrote a quick test implementation of BIP70, trying to figure out one particular sentence from BIP70 cost me three hours of time.
[3] I'm sure there are plenty of examples of undocumented things. :-)
Topic: Finally a question about Bitcoin that I could not answer. (Read 15673 times)
Hi,
We've been working on a developer guide for Bitcoin.org which might be what you're looking for. We have a forum thread, GitHub repository, and a demo site.
We're actively looking for writers and reviewers, so if you'd like to help, please see the forum thread above.
Thanks!, -Dave
Looks pretty comprehensive. Thanks for the heads up.We've been working on a developer guide for Bitcoin.org which might be what you're looking for. We have a forum thread, GitHub repository, and a demo site.
We're actively looking for writers and reviewers, so if you'd like to help, please see the forum thread above.
Thanks!, -Dave
Guess it is time to chip in.
I guess there is time to write such book .
Hi,
We've been working on a developer guide for Bitcoin.org which might be what you're looking for. We have a forum thread, GitHub repository, and a demo site.
We're actively looking for writers and reviewers, so if you'd like to help, please see the forum thread above.
Thanks!, -Dave
We've been working on a developer guide for Bitcoin.org which might be what you're looking for. We have a forum thread, GitHub repository, and a demo site.
We're actively looking for writers and reviewers, so if you'd like to help, please see the forum thread above.
Thanks!, -Dave
Interestingly enough, on French Amazon, there are 4 books (from french authors) on the topic. I presume the language barrier (rather high in France) pushed for the initiative. This is even more unexpected, seeing France one of Euro countries that exhibits the least interest in Bitcoin.
aha... look at what I found:
http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920032281.do
Sounds promising. Estimated to be available August 2014.
http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920032281.do
Sounds promising. Estimated to be available August 2014.
Relatively easy to understand article, it was what made Bitcoin mostly click for me.
http://www.michaelnielsen.org/ddi/how-the-bitcoin-protocol-actually-works/
http://www.michaelnielsen.org/ddi/how-the-bitcoin-protocol-actually-works/
Jan, just curious, is the book I suggested along the lines you are looking for? I realize it isn't out and so you can't really say with any certainty... but it's helpful for me to gauge whether people think it might be interesting to them based on the superficial details (i.e., the stuff that's apparent before you actually start reading it).
Chris, interesting way of communicating information. I must admit that I have never seen anything like it. I am probably more an old-school kinda guy who would look for something boring like this.Kernighan & Richie's C book
or
Stevens TCP/IP Illustrated
... something that explains Bitcoin on the protocol level and not so much how bitcoin is used today, as this gets outdated pretty quickly.
Maybe your way is more suitable to the younger generation, good luck with your project.
or something like
Applied Cryptography: Protocols, Algorithms, and Source Code in C, Bruce Schneier ( ISBN-10: 0471117099 )
A book like that I would buy
I have started a LaTeX GitHub repository (https://github.com/TBoehm/Bitcoin-for-Dummies)
Something tells me that title is going to result in a takedown request sooner rather than later.
There is enough info about bitcoin on the net/wikipedia/bctforum, plus its opensource
That is true but Bitcoin content is spread all over the place, it is inconsistent in content and form and not written in a way that you can enter "easy" and go to the "hard" stuff by reading further. I think a book would have some advantages on that score.Imoh a good in depth book about Bitcoin would be a great thing. Even better if it gets updated continuously. Better still if its free (CC0 for example). Right? Right!
I have started a LaTeX GitHub repository (https://github.com/TBoehm/Bitcoin-for-Dummies) which we can use for collaborative writing. Also I have added a tip4commit (http://tip4commit.com/projects/660) in order to incentivise those "busy developers" to write some lines of text as well as enable people to directly support this project.
What do you think?
There is enough info about bitcoin on the net/wikipedia/bctforum, plus its opensource
Jan, I'm glad you brought this issue—and its potential—to the fore. I lament the lack of a concise 'Bitcoin book' that is like the many computer tutorial and reference guides I've enjoyed over the years. Indeed many people now prefer browsing online media in wiki or blog formats, still many others (such as myself) find value in traditional guide books and compendia. There are many classic computer books ranging from the serious and technical à la Dennis Ritchie or Donal Knuth to the more lighthearted, such as Simson Garfinkel's "Unix-Haters Handbook." So where's the bitcoin book?
Surely, this is a golden opportunity for someone to write the next classic.
Surely, this is a golden opportunity for someone to write the next classic.
http://www.befuddled.org/befuddled
It's a very light hearted (but technical!) book on how Bitcoin works.
Thank you.
Where is the Piachu's dissertation...?
Edit: found the link
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/my-bitcoin-master-thesis-88149
Edit: found the link
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/my-bitcoin-master-thesis-88149
Jan, I'm glad you brought this issue—and its potential—to the fore. I lament the lack of a concise 'Bitcoin book' that is like the many computer tutorial and reference guides I've enjoyed over the years. Indeed many people now prefer browsing online media in wiki or blog formats, still many others (such as myself) find value in traditional guide books and compendia. There are many classic computer books ranging from the serious and technical à la Dennis Ritchie or Donal Knuth to the more lighthearted, such as Simson Garfinkel's "Unix-Haters Handbook." So where's the bitcoin book?
Surely, this is a golden opportunity for someone to write the next classic.
Surely, this is a golden opportunity for someone to write the next classic.
http://www.befuddled.org/befuddled
It's a very light hearted (but technical!) book on how Bitcoin works.
Jan, I'm glad you brought this issue—and its potential—to the fore. I lament the lack of a concise 'Bitcoin book' that is like the many computer tutorial and reference guides I've enjoyed over the years. Indeed many people now prefer browsing online media in wiki or blog formats, still many others (such as myself) find value in traditional guide books and compendia. There are many classic computer books ranging from the serious and technical à la Dennis Ritchie or Donal Knuth to the more lighthearted, such as Simson Garfinkel's "Unix-Haters Handbook." So where's the bitcoin book?
Surely, this is a golden opportunity for someone to write the next classic.
Surely, this is a golden opportunity for someone to write the next classic.
khan academy has a pretty good bitcoin presentation
Jan, just curious, is the book I suggested along the lines you are looking for? I realize it isn't out and so you can't really say with any certainty... but it's helpful for me to gauge whether people think it might be interesting to them based on the superficial details (i.e., the stuff that's apparent before you actually start reading it).
Chris, interesting way of communicating information. I must admit that I have never seen anything like it. I am probably more an old-school kinda guy who would look for something boring like this.Kernighan & Richie's C book
or
Stevens TCP/IP Illustrated
... something that explains Bitcoin on the protocol level and not so much how bitcoin is used today, as this gets outdated pretty quickly.
Maybe your way is more suitable to the younger generation, good luck with your project.
Thanks for the feedback. The book is mostly focused on the protocol and not how Bitcoin is used... but it makes use of comics, humor, and metaphors.
Kind of like this book about Lisp:
http://landoflisp.com/
I did a Bitcoin presentation today at a company where I used to work (which happens to make hardcore cryptography for big classical financial institutions) and an old colleague asked me:
"If the Satoshi white paper is above my level, where do I find a book that explains all this in layman terms?"
... and I said "Hmm... good question."
I spent several years reading + writing code and forums to get my understanding of Bitcoin, and consider myself one of the few who really understand how Bitcoin works. Bitcoin has come far, but yet, we do not have a proper piece of literature that explains how it really works.
There is a book for everything.... except Bitcoin. There must be a big opportunity waiting here.
When I search for Bitcoin on Amazon I feel ashamed.
"If the Satoshi white paper is above my level, where do I find a book that explains all this in layman terms?"
... and I said "Hmm... good question."
I spent several years reading + writing code and forums to get my understanding of Bitcoin, and consider myself one of the few who really understand how Bitcoin works. Bitcoin has come far, but yet, we do not have a proper piece of literature that explains how it really works.
There is a book for everything.... except Bitcoin. There must be a big opportunity waiting here.
When I search for Bitcoin on Amazon I feel ashamed.
Wow, that's so true..oh how we don't think of the simplest things!
There is a project called Bitcoinomics: https://www.goldsilverbitcoin.com/bitcoinomics-the-book/
But I don't know if it's maintained anymore or not.
But I don't know if it's maintained anymore or not.
Jan, just curious, is the book I suggested along the lines you are looking for? I realize it isn't out and so you can't really say with any certainty... but it's helpful for me to gauge whether people think it might be interesting to them based on the superficial details (i.e., the stuff that's apparent before you actually start reading it).
Chris, interesting way of communicating information. I must admit that I have never seen anything like it. I am probably more an old-school kinda guy who would look for something boring like this.Kernighan & Richie's C book
or
Stevens TCP/IP Illustrated
... something that explains Bitcoin on the protocol level and not so much how bitcoin is used today, as this gets outdated pretty quickly.
Maybe your way is more suitable to the younger generation, good luck with your project.
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