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

Controlling the execution path

In Chapter 5, Sequence – The Basic Building Block of a Computer Program, we learned that the code within a program is executed in sequence.

A sequence is one of the three basic logical structures we have in programming. So, in this chapter, we will cover the other two, selection and iteration.

Selection statements

There are situations when we only want to execute some code if a condition is met. For example, if you recall our application from Chapter 5, Sequence - The Basic Building Block of a Computer Program which turned on the outdoor light, we had a condition that said if our phone detected that we were within a given range from our house, it should send a signal to the home computer. To refresh your memory, let's take a look at some images you have seen before. Figure 7.1 was used to illustrate the action of us entering the range:

Figure 7.1: The phone detects that it is within a given range from our house

Figure 7.1: The phone detects that it is within a given range from our...