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 2: Introduction to Programming Languages

To be able to write a computer program, we need a programming language. However, we don't have just one or two to pick from; there are thousands of different languages available at our disposal. In this chapter, we will talk about what a programming language is, why there are so many languages available, how all of these languages are related, and how a computer can understand the code that we write. Toward the end, we will talk about the grammar of a programming language, also known as its syntax.

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to do the following:

  • Understand why we have programming languages
  • Understand how programming languages evolved from one language to another
  • Understand how programming languages are related
  • Understand the difference between interpreted and compiled languages
  • Understand the concepts of syntax, keywords, and reserved words in a programming language