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

What is a program?

A computer is dumb in the sense that, without programs, it can't do anything. A computer program is a set of instructions that the computer can execute, and it is our job, as programmers, to write these programs using one or more programming languages.

Most applications that we run, such as a web browser, word processor, or mail client, can't communicate with the computer hardware directly. They require a layer in between that takes care of this. This layer is called the operating system. Windows and Linux are two examples of well-known operating systems. The main purpose of an operating system is to take care of the direct communication between the applications that we use and the hardware, such as the processor, memory, hard drives, keyboards, and printers. To be able to perform this communication, the operating system requires special programs that are designed to communicate with a particular device. These programs are called device drivers. A somewhat...