Book Image

Computer Programming for Absolute Beginners

By : Joakim Wassberg
4 (1)
Book Image

Computer Programming for Absolute Beginners

4 (1)
By: Joakim Wassberg

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)
1
Section 1: Introduction to Computer Programs and Computer Programming
6
Section 2: Constructs of a Programming Language
7
Chapter 5: Sequence – The Basic Building Block of a Computer Program
14
Section 3: Best Practices for Writing High-Quality Code
Appendix B: Dictionary
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
R
S
T
U
V
W

Understanding logic programming

This paradigm is based on formal logic. A program written in a language that implements this paradigm is constructed of a set of sentences in a logical form that will express facts and rules about a specific problem domain.

This might sound complicated and strange, but as we will see, the basic concepts of this paradigm are rather simple. Consider the following diagram:

Figure 10.20 – A family tree

In the preceding diagram, we can see a family tree. Looking at it, we can see the following:

  • Anna and Bob have a child, Lisa.
  • Lisa and Fred have a child, Karen.
  • Fred and Sue have a child, John.
  • Karen's grandparents are Anna and Bob.

In a programming language that uses logic programming, we can define this family tree using something called predicates. This will look something like this:

mother(anna,lisa).
mother(lisa,karen).
mother(sue,john).
father(bob,lisa).
father(fred,karen).
father...