[xmaayy]

More of a meta-question; I'd love to know if people do self-directed learning more frequently, or if they follow through full (or partial) textbooks to learn concepts they're interested in. I have a hard time going through full books, but I have no doubt this leads to gaps in knowledge that someone following a textbook would not have.

[pthreads]

I do both. In my case textbooks are to fill theoretical needs/gaps. I go through full books in some cases and in others it is not feasible based on various factors (difficulty of subject, need, content, 500+ pages etc.) I find that some of the newer textbooks give a helpful flowchart of chapters so one can choose their "adventure" based on interest or the curriculum needs (of an instructor).

On occasions I abandon reading after a chapter or two if I don't think it serves my needs or the subject matter is too difficult for me. In the latter case I may try to look for an alternative or come back to it once I have gained pre-requisite knowledge.

[cjbgkagh]

I look for code-available seminal papers so I can read the code as I understand code better than written text or mathematical expressions.

In order to understand it I'll try extend it, repurpose it, 'use it in anger', or re-write to a new framework or language.