A Beginner's Introduction to Computer Programming. You Can Do It!
by Francis Glassborow
and me!
Paperback 320 pages Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd; ISBN: 0470863986
Publisher's WebsiteBook Website
I am a guinea pig and that's official! I read it on the back of a book so it must be true.
Perhaps it wouldn't seem quite so bad being a 'guinea pig' if I wasn't being contrasted with Francis who is described as a 'Guru'. But never mind we all have to learn humility at some stage in our lives. I guess it's my turn now.
In all seriousness, however, I can honestly say that I Can Do It! I, who regularly profess to be a technophobe, have written what I consider to be some rather impressive computer programs in C++.
I can't say I found the book easy in fact most of my comments in the book relate to the problems I had along the way. But after the first few chapters when I felt more at home with the terminology I actually began to enjoy the challenges presented in the exercises.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that programming is far more creative than I ever thought possible and my total lack of mathematical knowledge was no barrier. Once I got into it I wanted to play and I had lots of ideas for programs but we had a deadline to meet and I had to curb my enthusiasm and work through the rest of the book.
The book gives a fascinating insight into what goes on behind the scenes in a computer and software and helps you to really appreciate how much work must go into large applications and games. But at the same time the book teaches enough to be able to create really quite professional programs. If I had such a book at my disposal when I worked at the factory I'm sure I would have written some programs to help in the business. As it is I enjoyed writing programs for my grandchildren and they enjoyed playing with them especially when they included personal details and pictures.I think anybody could learn to program using this book, whether for a hobby or at the beginning of a new career. It took me several months to work through all of it and I think I would have preferred longer. It will certainly keep anyone who is interested in learning to program occupied for a very long time and is therefore very good value.
More information about the book is available at the Support Website for the Book.
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