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

Summary

In this chapter, we looked at some of the most popular programming paradigms.

The first two that we looked at, structured and object-oriented programming, are the two paradigms that have dominated programming over the last 35-40 years.

In structured programming, the program state is modified using statements, and the flow of the program is controlled using loops and selections, such as if statements.

Object-oriented programming builds upon the ideas of structured programming, but the code is organized using concepts known to us humans, such as classifying things that have similar data and behavior. This is described in classes that act as blueprints for objects that represent real-world things, such as people or bank accounts.

Functional programming is the oldest of the paradigms we covered in this book but has gained popularity in the last decade. In functional programming, we don't want to modify the state of the program and are using the concept of pure...