Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs

3 min read Original article ↗

MIT Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

JavaScript Edition

With Julie Sussman

Paperback

$75.00

Paperback

ISBN: 9780262543231

Pub date: April 12, 2022

Publisher: The MIT Press

640 pp., 7 x 10 in, 87 b&w illus.

eBook

eBook

ISBN: 9780262367622

Pub date: April 12, 2022

Publisher: The MIT Press

640 pp., 7 x 10 in, 87 b&w illus.

A new version of the classic and widely used text adapted for the JavaScript programming language.

Since the publication of its first edition in 1984 and its second edition in 1996, Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs (SICP) has influenced computer science curricula around the world. Widely adopted as a textbook, the book has its origins in a popular entry-level computer science course taught by Harold Abelson and Gerald Jay Sussman at MIT. SICP introduces the reader to central ideas of computation by establishing a series of mental models for computation. Earlier editions used the programming language Scheme in their program examples. This edition has been adapted to JavaScript.

The first three chapters of SICP cover programming concepts that are common to all modern high-level programming languages. Chapters four and five, which used Scheme to formulate language processors for Scheme, required significant revision. Chapter four offers new material, in particular an introduction to the notion of program parsing. The evaluator and compiler in chapter five introduce a subtle stack discipline to support return statements (a prominent feature of statement-oriented languages) without sacrificing tail recursion.

The JavaScript programs included in the book run in any implementation of the language that complies with the ECMAScript 2020 specification, using the JavaScript package SICP provided on the MIT Press website.

Harold Abelson is Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT.

Gerald Jay Sussman is Panasonic Professor of Electrical Engineering at MIT.

Martin Henz is Associate Professor of Computer Science at the National University of Singapore.

Tobias Wrigstad is Professor of Computer Science at Uppsala University.

“A classic, meticulously revisited and modernized with talent, pedagogy, and substance.” ~Olivier Danvy, Yale-NUS College
“When I am asked ‘How can I become a better programmer?,’ I recommend this book.” ~Douglas Crockford, author of How JavaScript Works
“How much is a programming book influenced by its programming language? SICP in JavaScript is remarkably fluid, an excellent choice for today’s programmers.” ~Peter Van Roy, Université catholique de Louvain
For Instructors

Password-protected supplements for educators include: Lecture slides, homework, assessments, midterm materials, and more.

Request Access