For hands-on practice, try this: http://projecteuler.net/
An HN-er recommended this in an article last night.
Also, as ugly and difficult as it will seem at first, invest the time to learn how to use an efficient text editor. I prefer vim.
Also, as ugly and difficult as it will seem at first, invest the time to learn how to use an efficient text editor. I prefer vim.
Last Monday I got the chance to ask (even though I'd read it before) James Gosling (the Father of Java, wrote first Emacs-y editor for Unix) if he still uses emacs, at least sometimes. The answer was: No. He uses NetBeans. Seems he writes no more lisp, having worked through his lifetime's quota of parentheses while working on his Ph.D [sic].