Robert Sebesta - Prolific Author Retires from Academia
December 19, 2007 | 
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Dr. Robert Sebesta recently retired from his long and successful teaching career at UCCS, SUNY, and Penn State. During more than thirty years in academia, he excelled as an author and administrator. CSR+ recently talked to Dr. Robert Sebesta as he was packing to vacate his office.
CSR+: The last few days you have been carefully culling through the years of books, academic journals and magazines, conference proceedings, copies of your own books to decide what to keep and what to throw away. How long have you taught at UCCS?
RWS: I taught at UCCS for twenty-six years. I was the Chair of the Computer Science Department at UCCS for fifteen of those years. Before moving to UCCS, I taught at the State University of New York at Oswego, and the Pennsylvania State University.
CSR+: We know you are a prolific author of computer science textbooks. How many books have you authored so far?
RWS: I have written six books. In total, the books have gone through sixteen editions so far. These days, each edition is a new book by itself.
CSR+: What are the topics of your books?
RWS: My books have the following titles: Concepts of Programming Languages, Programming the World Wide Web, Little Book on Perl, Introduction to Programming Using Basic, Assembly Language for the VAX, and Assembly Language for the PDP-11.
CSR+: What are your most successful books?
RWS: The two most successful books are Concepts of Programming Languages and Programming the World Wide Web.
CSR+: Why do you think your books are so successful?
RWS: The ingredients for successful textbooks are the right approach, the right time, the right material and of course, luck. I have had the good fortune to combine the ingredients successfully.
CSR+: Have your books been translated to other languages?
RWS: The Concepts of Programming Languages book has been translated to Portuguese, Korean, and Chinese. The Web book has been translated to Italian, Chinese and Hungarian. The Vax Assembly book was translated to Russian.
CSR+: How many books do you have in print right now?
RWS: Three that are selling. Two sell well. The Programming Languages book and the Web Programming book are #1 in Spring 2007.
CSR+: You must be really dedicated to writing! How do you write so much especially on topics that are so technical?
RWS: I spend two to three hours every day writing although I take Friday nights off. I spend full days during summer and winter writing. When I was working full-time, this was my schedule. Now that I am retired, I have a lot more time to write. I read constantly to be able to write.
CSR+: What keeps you going with all your writing?
RWS: I learn new technologies and write about them. I am dedicated to life-long learning. In addition to that, the success that has come with the books keeps me going. The bottom line is money; the rewards have been good. In addition, the books have brought some name recognition in the computer science community, which is gratifying.
CSR+: Are you working on any books right now?
RWS: I am working on the fifth edition of the Web Programming book and the eighth edition of the Programming Languages book.
CSR+: Computer Science is a fast-moving field. Every new edition must be a lot of work!
RWS: Yes, to be able to keep up, one needs to learn new material constantly. Right now, I am learning technologies such as AJAX, Ruby, Rails, and a lot more.
CSR+: You are an expert on programming languages. Can you tell us how programming languages have evolved over the past fifty years?
RWS: Languages have become far more complex, sophisticated, and safe. Language designers have worked hard to eliminate common programming errors.
CSR+: You are also an expert on how the Web is programmed. Can you tell us a little bit about how Web technology has evolved over the past ten years?
RWS: The Web hasn’t really changed, but the user interface has changed from text-based to graphics-based. Search engines have become tools to help users find information on the Web.
CSR+: You have a passion for religious architecture and have traveled the world seeking to see beautiful buildings. Can you tell us more about this particular interest is and where have you traveled in pursuit of it?
RWS: Architecture is the most obvious record of past cultures. I believe it is the most accessible window to the past. Poetry and other forms of literature are usually a little less accessible. For a lot of cultures and civilizations, architecture is all that’s left.
I have traveled to most countries in Western and Eastern Europe, Russia, Mexico, and China in search of architectural impressions of past societies.
CSR+: Tell us about the book on early church architecture of South Dakota which you are working on right now.
RWS: I want to write an early history of South Dakota by looking at its early churches. I am not so interested in religion, but more in the buildings and the people who built them. I am interested in the different styles of the church architectures. I am interested in finding out why the churches are located where they are. I have traveled extensively through South Dakota during the past several years taking photographs of the churches and their environs. The oldest church in South Dakota was built in 1869 in Mission Hill. It was built by Swedish immigrants. It’s a plain wood building, like the ones that would have been built in Sweden at that time. I am not looking at churches built after 1930.
CSR+: Thank you for sharing this information with us. I know the IT community joins us in thanking you for your many contributions to the field. All the best in your next project!
RWS: Thanks for talking to me.
- J
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