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

Chapter 1: Introduction to Computer Programs

Programming is the art and science of writing instructions that a computer can follow to accomplish a task. This task can be playing a game, performing a calculation, or browsing the web, for example. However, before we can learn how to write programs, we should understand what a program is and how a computer can understand and execute the instructions we give it. In this chapter, we will study this in more detail, along with the basics of what a computer is, how it works, and its history.

Even a basic level of understanding of these topics will help us later on when we discuss the different aspects of writing programs, as we can then relate to how the computer will treat the code we write.

In this chapter, we will cover the following topics:

  • A perspective on the history and origins of the computer
  • Background knowledge of the original ideas behind programming
  • Understanding what a computer program is
  • Learning how...