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

Summary

Sequence, selection, and iteration are the three pillars that programming rests upon, and, in this chapter, we have covered the latter two.

Selection is when we test values in variables using a condition that can be either true or false. If our test turns out to be true, we can let the program execute a block of code. If it turns out to be false, we can have another block that only runs if in the case. This is done with the help of if statements.

Sometimes, we have multiple options to choose from, and we need to pick one. We could then use a switch statement. Using it instead of an if statement can make your code less verbose and easier to read.

The common task of repetition can be done in at least four ways, with the most common being the for loop. This loop will let us iterate a fixed number of times.

When we don't know how many times we want to iterate, we can use either a while loop or a do while loop. They will both iterate as long as a condition is true...