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I'm reading a book right now (Real-World Cryptography - Manning Publisher[^]).
In chapter 3 it provided a code example of how to generate a MAC (Message Authentication Code) using Rust.
It didn't give the crates (import libraries) that were required.  (I'm slow, I need everything.)
Also, the example was two functions for generating and then reading the MAC but there was no example of the input (I'm slow, I need everything).
Which brings me to my point.
Do you notice that books get you so far into a subject (about 1 - 3 chapters) and then they get so far out there that you cannot move on further? You're just stuck. The author has left me behind. (I'm slow, I need everything.)
So I have a lot of books that I read first 3 chapters & then fall into oblivion. (I'm slow, I need everything.)
Well, that is my experience. Does that happen to you?
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Do they distribute the source code that accompanies the book somewhere? You may be able to use that to fill in the gaps, at least in this case.
To err is human. Fortune favors the monsters.
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honey the codewitch wrote: Do they distribute the source code that accompanies the book somewhere? You may be able to use that to fill in the gaps, at least in this case.
Sheesh, it's like you expect me to do everything. 
It's a good point. I will look and see if code is on github. Probably is (but I'm slow, I need everything -- handed to me on a sliver plate). 
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I replied but it got crosslinked -- see it here[^]
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I got into the third sentence and then got lost. (I'm slow, I need everything.)
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony
"Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt
AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
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OriginalGriff wrote: I got into the third sentence and then got lost. (I'm slow, I need everything.)
I knew there were more of me out there.
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I went to the official book site: Real-World Cryptography[^] and found a Code download.
I downloaded it and it had only 4 files (with file extension .adoc) ???
I opened up the one that seemed to be the one for the MAC source (mac.adoc) but it was a bunch of notes to the author (from editors).
No source code.
I feel a bit vindicated. Let the ignorance via laziness continue!!!
EDIT - CROSSLINKED - this was a reply to codewitch.
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For me, this happens for one of two reasons.
First, I didn't pay enough attention to the early material, so that when the author uses it later I get lost. I go back, read the early stuff again, and the newer material starts to make sense.
Second, the author forgot the most important rule in writing: consider your audience. They take small, easy steps in the beginning. Once that part's done, they think they can change over to much bigger steps, having forgotten that their reader might still be learning the material and needs smaller steps.
Software Zen: delete this;
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I am often guilty of your first point, but your 2nd point is definitely the one I’m talking about running into very often. 
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That's the primary reason why I no longer buy tech books very often. The writing is really poor.
Software Zen: delete this;
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There are a couple of publishers (O’Reilly, Manning, No Starch) who still (actually) edit most of their materials but problems still leak through.
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I do like the O'Reilly quick references. They're brief and give you the basic information without fluff and a lot of worthless screen captures.
Software Zen: delete this;
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I'd expect a 'Hello MAC World' program at least within three chapters which gives all instructions from scratch. Otherwise beginners will get switched off.
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Yep that’s exactly what I was thinking. The sample almost got me there but not quite.
I will def take time & get it working just wanted to see it running real fast to feel some success.
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I am with you on the crates/imports.
Maybe “add them at the bottom of the examples as comments” would be a good publishing guideline for all code samples. ?
They are kind of noisy at the top
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Upvoted. Anything that I don't know is rumor and noise.
I need everything.
Bastard Programmer from Hell 
"If you just follow the bacon Eddy, wherever it leads you, then you won't have to think about politics." -- Some Bell.
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I have been using linkedin learning (formerly lynda) It has a combination of videos/text etc... Usually they consider everything but not always.
Like you I need everything. I find I learn best if I have all of the following
Examples!!! Good real world examples
Listing of requirements to get them working (the thing it seems you are missing)
Someone talking me thru steps 1.2.3.4.5. opps 4 again (I am slow I need everything)
Someone having written out those steps 1.2.3.45 opps did 5 too fast again. What was 4?
Again Examples to review. again because mine still isn't working (I am slow I need everything)
If any of the above is missing. I am not sure I am going to learn that. <grin>
ymmv
To err is human to really elephant it up you need a computer
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Thanks for sharing that. I feel like I'm the only one who gets stuck sometimes.
At work, any time I mention any problem everyone be like, "Oh no, we've never seen that. It must just be you."
Yes, it's just me. Then I search & there is StackOverflow answer with 1 million upvotes
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I feel your pain. There are far too many books like the one you are reading.
"In testa che avete, Signor di Ceprano?"
-- Rigoletto
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Related: how, when you try to follow an online tutorial and the first steps go well, and then some weird error suddenly pops up and blocks all progress.
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In a sense, maybe relish it. Be persistent and figure it out. You'll learn things the example wasn't ever going to otherwise teach you.
Many folks learned to do this before StackOverflow (or even Google) existed.
Different people have the different modes of doing their best learning.
I think that it is inherent to the craft that learning to dig is maybe, in essence, learning to do.
That said, hiding all the shovels is understandable but disconcerting. OTOH, rooms full of shovels are almost as bad and maybe worse.
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Perhaps the answer is that when you find too few or too many shovels, find another resource for learning. Use the shovel count as a gauge of the adequacy of the resource - and this number will vary by individual, some want all the shovels up front to study, some will want only the needed few for that point in the process. Personally, I like having all the shovels up front. I want to look at all the examples and all the dependencies all in one heap, and I may skip the explanations and directions in favor of spending more time with the actual code. For that reason, I avoid books on coding and though I enjoy a good tutorial vid - a code-along - I don't learn nearly as well as when I can just see code samples aplenty.
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Yep, that's exactly what I'm talking about.
You invest this initial time then you're just stuck.
really frustrating & annoying.
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Many languages seem to have raced to having the simplest/shortest example of Hello World by tucking away or automating a bunch of the plumbing that makes the sausage.
You find tons of example code out there lacking usings, imports, and other bits similar to your example.
Some of those only put the man behind a curtain because if you were to reveal him it would suddenly become an overwhelming amount of worm cans and rabbit holes.
Still, I can't help but shake my head at it sometimes. I wouldn't want to be a rookie right now. Too many curtains hiding central figures and too many 'black boxes'. Many of them, you would not even know they exist which is sort of the first step to ever even being able to want to go looking for them in order to understand more.
Mostly, those curtains/boxes, they are not totally bad things. Productivity is great and those things that tend to be "ok as default" or "*most* always handle themselves"... it's nice not to worry about or even see them. The problem comes when you really want to know every detail, but you can't even be sure you do. Unknowable unknowns.
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That is a great post & exactly the type of thing I'm talking about -- all those things the authors leave out which are actually critical to understanding.
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