SICP is the one text I wish I'd known about when studying computer science at uni. When I finally discovered and read it, it was a truly eye-opening experience and revolutionised the way I thought about tackling problems and designing software. It may have been around for a while, but the ideas presented still hold water today.
As others have mentioned, the linked version has some definite improvements over the web version provided by MIT Press [0], which doesn't have particularly clear diagrams.
In fact, MIT Press does have an alternative version with larger diagrams [1], but the footnote links don't work.
Do also check out the 1986 Abelson and Sussman lectures [2] that accompany the text. Those two present the course in such an interesting and (dare I say it) fun way.
And for those who have already watched that and are curious, I've recently uploaded a 2004 version of the lectures to YouTube [3]. They're sourced from the SICP iCampus site [4], which is another fantastic resource, though I find the way that site presents the lectures to be a bit annoying. Completing the problem sets is a good way to check your understanding, though!
For example, I previously tended to use a bottom-up approach to development. However, SICP showed me the benefits of what it calls "wishful thinking" with a more top-down approach.
It also helped me finally 'get' functional programming. Even in situations where other programming paradigms make more sense, I'll still opt for a functional style a lot of the time and avoid state.
I'm also a lot more confident with higher-order functions and closures after SICP help me understand them better. Seeing how cons pairs can be implemented as functions was simply mind-blowing. I think being able to use some of these techniques have improved the way I code.
There are a lot of other topics, such as the meta-circular evaluator, that I haven't had the opportunity to put into practice, but are nonetheless absolutely fascinating.
As others have mentioned, the linked version has some definite improvements over the web version provided by MIT Press [0], which doesn't have particularly clear diagrams.
In fact, MIT Press does have an alternative version with larger diagrams [1], but the footnote links don't work.
Do also check out the 1986 Abelson and Sussman lectures [2] that accompany the text. Those two present the course in such an interesting and (dare I say it) fun way.
And for those who have already watched that and are curious, I've recently uploaded a 2004 version of the lectures to YouTube [3]. They're sourced from the SICP iCampus site [4], which is another fantastic resource, though I find the way that site presents the lectures to be a bit annoying. Completing the problem sets is a good way to check your understanding, though!
[0] http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/full-text/book/book.html
[1] https://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/full-text/sicp/book/
[2] http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLE18841CABEA24090
[3] http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL7BcsI5ueSNFPCEisbaoQ0...
[4] http://icampustutor.csail.mit.edu/6.001-public/