Re:Ask HN: How do you manage self-study?
by waste_monk on Monday May 04, 2020 @12:50AM
(#23064665)
If you like TIS-100 and similar games, check out MHRD (available on Steam and itch.io). It teaches you a simplified version of hardware description language that you'd use to synthesize stuff on an FPGA or ASIC.
You start out using NAND gates to build foundational logic gates (AND, OR, etc.), and gradually work your way up to building stuff like I/O multiplexers, memory, an ALU, and finally a working CPU using the building blocks you've created along the way.
Is it essentially nand2tetris in game format? I tried making my way through that a couple times but maybe some gamification is just what I needed.
Re:Ask HN: How do you manage self-study?
by waste_monk on Monday May 04, 2020 @09:06AM
(#23067522)
I haven't done nand2tetris (despite buying the companion book which has been gathering dust for some time on my bookshelf...), but I understand it's roughly equivalent to the first few chapters.
Re:Ask HN: How do you manage self-study?
by codeknight11 on Monday May 04, 2020 @01:25AM
(#23064838)
any recommendations for games related to Computer Science, Data Structures, Algorithms, etc.?
I have already tried human resource machine and 7 billion humans, but got bored after a while?
Re:Ask HN: How do you manage self-study?
by waste_monk on Monday May 04, 2020 @05:15AM
(#23065938)
Almost everything from Zachtronics studio (various concepts), Gladiabots (haven't played much but seems reasonable, build AI decision trees), Prime Mover (circuits), Silicon Zeroes (similar to MHRD but more user friendly), Cypher (haven't played much, Cryptography).
Re:Ask HN: How do you manage self-study?
by sfgweilr4f on Sunday May 03, 2020 @08:49PM
(#23063291)
Factorio literally lets you build a system then have bugs attack it. By itself that is the basis for a lot of systems thinking right there.
Especially when you're production drops and you run out of ammo. And the bugs are coming. And power is running low. And you're low on iron-plate and you need that for ammo. Which you're now low on.
I learned orbital mechanics from Kerbal Space Program.
Assembly programming from TIS-100 and Microcorruption.
And … whatever the heck I learned from Factorio. Logistics? Abstraction?
If there isn't a game, you might try and make it a game. See how fast you can solve the example problems in the textbook. Get the high score on your flashcards. (This doesn't work for me, I get more interested in designing and building the game than playing it.)