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  • Book Overview & Buying Computer Programming for Absolute Beginners
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Computer Programming for Absolute Beginners

Computer Programming for Absolute Beginners

By : Joakim Wassberg
4.3 (8)
Buy this Book
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Computer Programming for Absolute Beginners

Computer Programming for Absolute Beginners

4.3 (8)
By: Joakim Wassberg
Buy this Book

Overview of this book

Learning how to code has many advantages, and gaining the right programming skills can have a massive impact on what you can do with your current skill set and the way you advance in your career. This book will be your guide to learning computer programming easily, helping you overcome the difficulties in understanding the major constructs in any mainstream programming language. Computer Programming for Absolute Beginners starts by taking you through the building blocks of any programming language with thorough explanations and relevant examples in pseudocode. You'll understand the relationship between computer programs and programming languages and how code is executed on the computer. The book then focuses on the different types of applications that you can create with your programming knowledge. You'll delve into programming constructs, learning all about statements, operators, variables, and data types. As you advance, you'll see how to control the flow of your programs using control structures and reuse your code using functions. Finally, you'll explore best practices that will help you write code like a pro. By the end of this book, you'll be prepared to learn any programming language and take control of your career by adding coding to your skill set.
Table of Contents (19 chapters)
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Preface
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Preface
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Who this book is for?
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What this book covers?
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To get the most out of this book
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Download the example code files
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Download the color images
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Conventions used
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Get in touch
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Reviews
1
Section 1: Introduction to Computer Programs and Computer Programming
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Section 1: Introduction to Computer Programs and Computer Programming
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2
Chapter 1: Introduction to Computer Programs
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Chapter 1: Introduction to Computer Programs
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A brief history of computing
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A brief history of programming
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What is a program?
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Understanding the binary system
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Summary
3
Chapter 2: Introduction to Programming Languages
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Chapter 2: Introduction to Programming Languages
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Why do we have programming languages?
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How programming languages have evolved?
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The family tree of programming languages
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Translating code into something that the computer understands
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Syntax and the building blocks of a programming language
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Summary
4
Chapter 3: Types of Applications
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Chapter 3: Types of Applications
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Standalone applications
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Client-server applications
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Web applications
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Mobile applications
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Distributed applications
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Cloud-based applications
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Other types of applications
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Summary
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Chapter 4: Software Projects and How We Organize Our Code
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Chapter 4: Software Projects and How We Organize Our Code
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Code modules
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Working with software projects
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Working with packages to share code
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Avoiding conflicts using namespaces
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Summary
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Section 2: Constructs of a Programming Language
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Section 2: Constructs of a Programming Language
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Chapter 5: Sequence – The Basic Building Block of a Computer Program
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Chapter 5: Sequence – The Basic Building Block of a Computer Program
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The importance of sequences
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Summary
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Chapter 6: Working with Data – Variables
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Chapter 6: Working with Data – Variables
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Declaring and initializing variables
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Primitive data types
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Composite type
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Summary
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Chapter 7: Program Control Structures
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Chapter 7: Program Control Structures
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Controlling the execution path
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Selection with the if statement
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Selection with the switch statement
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Iteration with the for loop
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Iteration with the while loop
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Iteration with the do while loop
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Iterating over sequences using for each
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Summary
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Chapter 8: Understanding Functions
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Chapter 8: Understanding Functions
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Deciding what goes into a function
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Writing a function
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Returning values from a function
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Function arguments
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Functions in action
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Local and global variables
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Summary
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Chapter 9: When Things Go Wrong – Bugs and Exceptions
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Chapter 9: When Things Go Wrong – Bugs and Exceptions
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Understanding software bugs
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Understanding types of software bugs
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Finding bugs using a debugger
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Handling exceptions
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Summary
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Chapter 10: Programming Paradigms
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Chapter 10: Programming Paradigms
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Understanding structured programming
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Understanding object-orientated programming
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Understanding functional programming
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Understanding logic programming
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Other paradigms
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Multi-paradigm languages
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Summary
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Chapter 11: Programming Tools and Methodologies
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Chapter 11: Programming Tools and Methodologies
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Understanding version control systems
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Unit testing
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Integration testing
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Other types of tests
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Software releases
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Understanding software deployment
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Software development process methodologies
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Summary
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Section 3: Best Practices for Writing High-Quality Code
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Section 3: Best Practices for Writing High-Quality Code
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Chapter 12: Code Quality
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Chapter 12: Code Quality
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Defining code quality
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Writing code with readability in mind
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Writing code with efficiency in mind
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Is smart code smart?
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Code quality – best practices
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Summary
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Other Books You May Enjoy
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Other Books You May Enjoy
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Leave a review - let other readers know what you think
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Appendix A: How to Translate the Pseudocode into Real Code
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Appendix A: How to Translate the Pseudocode into Real Code
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The pseudocode examples
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C++
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C#
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Java
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JavaScript
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PHP
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Python
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Appendix B: Dictionary
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A
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B
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C
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D
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E
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F
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G
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H
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I
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J
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K
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L
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M
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N
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O
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P
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R
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S
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T
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V
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W

Returning values from a function

The idea behind a function is that it not only can be used to package code so we can reuse it over and over but can also do something that will produce some sort of value. In our example with the time calculator, the function has calculated a result, the number of seconds that have elapsed since midnight, and we now want that value at the location where we called the function. Functions have the ability to return data, and this is a feature we can use to get the value.

In its simplest form, returning a value from a function works like this:

function greet()
    return "Hello my friend"
end_function
result = greet()
print result

Here, we have a function called greet. All it does is return a string containing the greeting, Hello my friend. Remember that the code within a function is not executed until the function is actually called. The call happens below the function. Consider what happens when the following row...

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Computer Programming for Absolute Beginners
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