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Would you buy a book titled "Introduction to Lazarus/FPC" from lulu.com?

No
7 (15.6%)
Yes, if it cost no more than $10
14 (31.1%)
Yes, if it cost no more than $25
15 (33.3%)
Yes, if it cost no more than $50
9 (20%)

Total Members Voted: 43

Voting closed: October 29, 2009, 05:54:50 am

Author Topic: Would you buy a book titled "Introduction to Lazarus/FPC" from lulu.com?  (Read 38815 times)

Troodon

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Suppose a book titled "Introduction to Lazarus/FreePascal Compiler", in English, were available for purchase on the Internet from an established print-on-demand publisher, such as www.lulu.com. Such a book would provide you with screenshot-driven installation steps on Windows and Linux, and enough information/examples to get you started on database access, 2D/3D graphics, hashes, regular expressions, multithreading, and a few other tricks in Lazarus/FPC. Would you buy such a book and what is the maximum price you would be willing to pay for it?
« Last Edit: September 29, 2009, 07:10:11 am by Troodon »
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idog

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Re: Would you buy a book titled "Introduction to Lazarus/FPC" from lulu.com?
« Reply #1 on: September 30, 2009, 11:53:47 am »
I like this idea and I'd seriously consider buying it... or at least recommending it to others, because personally I did some programming before. The thing is that here in Israel, the shipping rates from the US tend to be pretty high (~$11 from Amazon, for instance) and that means the book will have to be pretty cheap (up to $15, perhaps?) to make the overall payment worthwhile.

Ñuño_Martínez

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Re: Would you buy a book titled "Introduction to Lazarus/FPC" from lulu.com?
« Reply #2 on: September 30, 2009, 01:22:13 pm »
That's a great idea! I'm not sure if I would buy (convince me if you can!  >:D I'm joking ;) ) but I'm sure I would to recommend to anybody who is starting with FPC/Lazarus.

WTB, did you consider to release it as an eBook? Here in Spain there are an editor who would be interested. May be they help you to find a translator...

I say: "Go for it!"
« Last Edit: September 30, 2009, 01:26:27 pm by Ñuño_Martínez »
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idog

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Re: Would you buy a book titled "Introduction to Lazarus/FPC" from lulu.com?
« Reply #3 on: September 30, 2009, 01:34:30 pm »
Good thing you reminded me, Ñuño... I'm a translator myself (Engligh->Hebrew), and wouldn't mind going into such a project. But I don't know any relevant publishers here!

Troodon

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Re: Would you buy a book titled "Introduction to Lazarus/FPC" from lulu.com?
« Reply #4 on: September 30, 2009, 05:38:13 pm »
Hi guys,

Thank you for your feedback. I am looking forward to writing such a book, although there are a few factors that must be taken into account before making a decision.

I'll wait a month to collect the poll answers and then I will assess the situation.

There are 5200+ users registered to this forum and I suppose those are all the people potentially interested in Lazarus/FPC. Assuming that only 1-2% visit the forum on a regular basis there may be 50-100 visitors every month. Of these, I assume around 50% are at a beginner to intermediate level while the rest have more experience in Delphi/FPC/programming and would not be interested in purchasing an introductory book. Therefore, after a month there may be 25-50 votes cast in the poll; they will be "representative" for the 5200+ users of this forum.

Regarding the economics of publishing a book, the "less than $10" option is actually unrealistic but I left it there nevertheless (should probably count as a "No"). Lulu.com allow you to simulate publishing a book and, as it turns out, even when checking out the least expensive options, the cost of printing a 150 page book is almost $10. Now, if you look at how other programming books are priced at lulu.com you will notice that most of them sell for $25 or less (and that also includes lulu.com's take), which suggests that $25 is the ceiling to be considered. Last but not least, there are shipping charges and the order is to be placed online, which requires a credit card or a PayPal account.

Regarding shipping, I think lulu.com have at least one printer in Europe, which should reduce shipping costs in the EU and nearby areas, but I need to confirm that.

If at least half of the voters indicate that they are interested then I think it would be worthwhile writing and publishing the book. Once the English version is available we can discuss translation options. I can write the book in English and French but your help will be required and appreciated for the Spanish, Hebrew, and other versions. As far as I know there is already a FPC book available in German.
« Last Edit: September 30, 2009, 07:06:53 pm by Troodon »
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Ñuño_Martínez

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Re: Would you buy a book titled "Introduction to Lazarus/FPC" from lulu.com?
« Reply #5 on: September 30, 2009, 06:14:01 pm »
May be you should announce this thread in the FPC's mailing list. May be there are people interested or just people who can help you in some ways. ;)

I did post announces in two Spanish forums about Delphi and Lazaurs.
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LazaruX

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Re: Would you buy a book titled "Introduction to Lazarus/FPC" from lulu.com?
« Reply #6 on: September 30, 2009, 08:33:16 pm »
I honestly  tell you, probably I will not buy it, just because Introduction to lazarus FPC, is to generic, and I don't know how much your Lazarus/FPC knowledge is.
If somebody like Vincent, Marc, Sekel or Theo would have written that book, then I would probably buy it, because I know the knowledge they have of Laz/FPC, others.. i don't know, what they know,...

Troodon

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Re: Would you buy a book titled "Introduction to Lazarus/FPC" from lulu.com?
« Reply #7 on: September 30, 2009, 09:00:09 pm »
I don't know how much your Lazarus/FPC knowledge is.

That's a straight answer and I appreciate it. I definitely do not claim to be better at it than the makers of FreePascal and Lazarus. The documentation available online is the ultimate reference, and the examples provided with the package, along with tutorials and the wiki, are the most up to date source of information for anyone wishing to learn FreePascal. It's just that I personally really could have used an introductory book  ̶  I remember how it helped me learn OOP for Turbo Pascal 5.5  ̶̶  and perhaps others would appreciate having such a book handy, too.

Well, I guess one way for me to show off my Lazarus/FPC skills is to write the book... ;)
« Last Edit: September 30, 2009, 11:47:47 pm by Troodon »
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el-mono

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Re: Would you buy a book titled "Introduction to Lazarus/FPC" from lulu.com?
« Reply #8 on: September 30, 2009, 09:23:12 pm »
Great news man.

I think that is lazarus/freepascal need to more people approach it.
I'd buy your book if they went on sale.

Greetings from Argentina. %)

BPak

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Re: Would you buy a book titled "Introduction to Lazarus/FPC" from lulu.com?
« Reply #9 on: October 01, 2009, 02:04:03 am »
Hi

I am new to Lazarus. Well I have tried using it some years ago but could not get the Help together well enough because of my own lack of knowledge.

I am looking back at Lazarus and FPC again and still find it hard to develop a Plan to follow.  This puts me off using the product.

So I am now working with Delphi to learn it. (being a C++Builder user for some 10 years). Hopefully it will give me the groundwork to be able to use the Laxarus IDE with FPC.

Good, informative, clearly written books are invaluable!

Maybe a Beginners Book and an Advanced Users Book, just a thought.

BPak

leocda

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Re: Would you buy a book titled "Introduction to Lazarus/FPC" from lulu.com?
« Reply #10 on: October 01, 2009, 02:42:36 am »
Since it's my business, I'm curious about what you intend to write concerning graphics.

Anyway, I can translate your book from English to (Brazilian) Portuguese.

Troodon

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Re: Would you buy a book titled "Introduction to Lazarus/FPC" from lulu.com?
« Reply #11 on: October 01, 2009, 03:58:46 am »
I'm curious about what you intend to write concerning graphics

I have yet to put my ideas in order. I will let you know, if I decide to write the book, closer to the finish date.

Clearly, there are forum users whose expertise in various areas of Object Pascal/Delphi/FreePascal programming is likely to be greater than mine. Once I get started we could discuss enhancements and what not. But I guess we need to do this one step at a time.
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JanRoza

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Re: Would you buy a book titled "Introduction to Lazarus/FPC" from lulu.com?
« Reply #12 on: October 01, 2009, 09:08:28 am »
Anything to promote FPC/Lazarus is very welcome.
This product is so well supported, maintained and developed by a very active and professional group of volunteers that it's high time to get some more promotion going to reward their efforts.
If you need a translation from English to Dutch you can count me in.

Jan
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       Lazarus 3.2 FPC 3.2.2
       CodeTyphon 8.40 FPC 3.3.1

Troodon

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Re: Would you buy a book titled "Introduction to Lazarus/FPC" from lulu.com?
« Reply #13 on: October 01, 2009, 04:46:14 pm »
Great! So far, the poll results indicate that about 50% of the voters would be interested in such a book. For translations we have, tentatively --

- Brazilian Portugese: leocda
- Dutch: JanRoza
- Hebrew: idog
- Italian: BPsoftware
- Spanish: r000
- French: SergioMaster

Will update this list as necessary.
« Last Edit: October 29, 2009, 01:58:48 pm by Troodon »
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LazaruX

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Re: Would you buy a book titled "Introduction to Lazarus/FPC" from lulu.com?
« Reply #14 on: October 01, 2009, 06:22:29 pm »
That's a straight answer and I appreciate it.
I try to always be direct, sometimes people get offended even if it's not my scope, you didn't this time, good  :D
I remember how it helped me learn OOP for Turbo Pascal 5.5  ̶̶  and perhaps others would appreciate having such a book handy, too.
You are right about this, books help, probably because they have a beginning and an end, something that a wiki doesn't have, a wiki begins where you need information and never ends.

I can do the Italian translation (obviously only if my name will be placed as translator  :D), I can only do it in the spare time.
I suggest to write the book (in english of course) and then make the e-book available for the translators, so we can translate it.

 

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