I learned C++ when it was C with classes. I find myself increasingly disliking new technologies like XML and Garbage collection. On the other hand, I have discovered scripting languages like Lua and Python. And I find myself rather liking a hybrid environment of C++, with deterministic memory control, with an embedded script language, with garbage collection and all that entails.
My problem is, when attempting to learn these languages I find myself confronted with terminology that I just don’t grok: lambdas, closures, etc.
What online resources are there for an older person to get current with this stuff?
Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs a long with the attendant lectures provide a great introduction to functional programming (using Scheme) from whence many of these terms come.