Documentation
Various documentation, manual, and information items are provided here.
• A Short Course In Programming by Tom Pittman
I discovered a reformatted and slightly modified version of Tom Pittman's original work "A Short Course In Programming" done by Radek Hnilica (from the Czech Republic). I don't know if he got permission from Tom. His HTML version has been visually enhanced, and it is also offered as a PDF file (and a .PS PostScript file), which is nice. (the PDF file has been archived in case it disappears) It prints well as a front-and-back page booklet on American standard 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper. (about 38 pages)
I designed two nice cover images for it, to print on heavier paper (card stock), and I then made two comb binding versions, one with a plastic front cover and one without, and a three hole punched version in a 1/2" binder. (see image examples – they can be clicked on to see larger versions) They turned out really nice and make a nice little hardcopy booklet version. Both covers have my (slightly modfied) COSMAC Elf-ish CDP1802 Simulator (SimElf++ / COSMAC Elf2) image and some text, on an "RCA COSMAC 1802 Manual Blue" background. (pretty close – different printers will print the colors slightly differenly)
(Online Simulator: http://www.donnelly-house.net/programming/cdp1802/simelf/)
One version has a very large image, and kind of looks more like a "RetroComputing" old-style format cover. The other has a smaller image, and looks nicer, and more modern. They are offered as downloadable PDF files. (below, with the other links) Both work with any of the binding options. (and probably most others)
Radek references two of the known (better/nicer) online versions of the book, at Tom Pittman's Itty Bitty Computers website and the COSMACElf.com website, both of which are nice, but not quite as nicely formatted as Radek's. There are other versions on the web, one being at the TinyElf.com website. (all links below)
It would also be nice if it was made into an e-book (Kindle and other). That definitely would require contacting Tom to see if he would want to do that. I will probably do it for myself, but we would need permission to distribute. (or make it a paid version for Tom)
You can fairly easily make these versions at most nice copy / printing shops. Either yourself or have them do it. The price should be between about US$15 and $20, depending on the photocopying costs and what kind of comb binding you use (I used plastic; there is also metal), and what kind of a binder you use if you go 3-hole punch. (1/2" binders are fairly expensive, for some reason, so that version would probably cost the most — you can also use a thicker binder, which might be cheaper) You can usually just put the two files on a flash drive and take it down and do it or have it done. (check with your local shop as to requirements)
And you can also print them on your color inkjet or laser printer, depending on how easily it does front and back printing, or make the booklets thicker by printing on one side of the paper (about 75 pages). I wanted a nice, easy, quick, and inexpensive way to do it, that reduced the wear and tear on my printer, and ink cartridge usage, so I went with the local copy shop. (it might actually be cheaper that way, as well)
Here is the plastic cover version (you can barely tell in the photo). Note that if you go with a plastic front cover, it kind of makes it nicer, but those tend to scratch over time. And there are also two examples of the book open, lying flat.
You can find Radek's PDF on his website: (~700 KB)
http://www.penguin.cz/~radek/book/a_short_course_in_programming/
Here are the PDFs of the cover images: (~3 to 4 MBs)
Here are the links to the other online versions of the booklet:
http://www.ittybittycomputers.com/IttyBitty/ShortCor.htm
http://cosmacelf.com/publications/books/short-course-in-programming.html
http://www.tinyelf.com/tinyelfhelp/tinyelfhelp.html