Choosing the perfect gift for that programmer in your life can be a daunting task! We’re here to help with a guide on the things we find interesting, and useful as we were (and are!) learning how to program.
Programming Arduino, by Simon Monk – This is a fantastic place to start if you’d like to start out with the Arduino. It would be a great complement to our new Learn Arduino series, also by Simon Monk and Ladyada, on the learning system.
Adafruit ARDX – v1.3 Experimentation Kit for Arduino – Interested in making neat stuff with an Arduino but not sure where to start? This kit includes all the pieces needed to complete 11 different circuits, along with a experimenter’s guide booklet & breadboard layout sheets. It has everything you need to be playing upon arrival.
Programming the Raspberry Pi, by Simon Monk – Create innovative programs and fun games on your tiny yet powerful Raspberry Pi. The Pi is a great tool to learn with, and is made even better with this book.
Raspberry Pi Starter Pack – Learning how to program on a desktop computer and outputting “Hello World” is useful, but maybe not as interesting as blinking LED’s on a Raspberry Pi with Python. The Pi is a really powerful tool to learn how to program, and once you’ve mastered your language of choice, you can use your Pi in many creative ways!
JavaScript: The Definitive Guide, by David Flanagan – This is my favorite book on JavaScript. It covers everything you’d ever want to know over a massive 1100 pages. As you learn JavaScript, it will be a great reference for a long time. One of the newer features in version 6, is that it covers some basics of using node.js (which the Adafruit WebIDE is written in). Once you’ve mastered JavaScript, you can also take a look at the fantastic Node Beginner ebook.
The C Programming Language, by Kernighan and Ritchie – Referred to as the K&R book, it is widely considered the best book on programming in C. It was first published in 1978, this latest revision is from 1988. It covers the original ANSI C revision.
The Pragmattic Programmer, by Hunt and Thomas – This book is great for once you’ve already learned a language or two. It’s a language agnostic guide to programming, explaining how knowledge, and not one language or IDE is the key to survival in a career of programming.
Das Keyboard – Until we can program directly using the power of our minds, we need to use a keyboard. What better way then with a loud clickety-clackety keyboard from Das. The Das keyboards use mechanical key switches similar to the classic IBM Model M keyboards that are still considered one of the best keyboards ever made.
SHIPPING DEADLINES
Here are your 2012 shipping deadlines for ordering from Adafruit. Please review our shipping section if you have specific questions on how and where we ship worldwide for this holiday season.
UPS ground (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 14, 2012 – Arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
UPS 3-day (USA orders): Place orders by Wednesday 11am ET – December 19, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS 2-day (USA orders): Place orders by Thursday 11am ET – December 20, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS overnight (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 21, 2012 – Arrive on 12/24/2012.
UPS International: Place orders by Monday 11am ET – December 17, 2012. Can take up extra time due to worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
Please note: We do not offer Saturday service for UPS.
Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2012, Christmas, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013, New Year’s Day, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
United States Postal Service, First Class and Priority (USA orders): Place orders by Friday – December 14, 2012 – Arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
USPS First class mail international (International orders): Place orders by Friday – November 23, 2012. Can take up to 30 days ore more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner, but not a trackable service cannot be guaranteed to arrive by 12/24/12.
USPS Express mail international(International orders): Place orders by Friday – December 14, 2012. Can take up to 15 days or more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2012 or sooner.
Gift Certificates are always available at any time.
When in doubt contact us!
I’m going to disagree with you on the C book. Its actually one of the WORST for beginning programmers, and given that if you’re wanting to learn C usually first, i’d skip it. Grab a good text book from a university and go through that, it has better examples and projects for beginners.
Also that book is from 1988, yes C hasn’t changed much, but having something with more updated language may be the difference between getting totally frusterated and being totally awesome.