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

Composite type

A composite type is a data type that is made up of more than one value. There are situations when keeping several related values together makes sense. In our everyday life, we do this often. A shopping list is an example. Instead of having several papers, each one having one item we need to buy, we store all the items on one piece of paper and call this a list.

This is how a composite type works in programming as well. We have several types that all have some specific characteristics. The first one can be used when we want to represent a sequence or list of things. This is often called an array.

An array—also called a vector, list, or sequence—is a data type that stores several elements. This number can be fixed or flexible.

Fixed array

When we have a fixed size array, we say how many slots we want it to have when we create it. This size will not change. If we create an array that can store 10 integers, it will reserve space for 10 integers...