Beginning Programming All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies [Paperback]

Wallace Wang (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0470108541 | ISBN-13: 978-0470108543 | Publication Date: June 3, 2008 | Edition: 1

So you want to be a programmer? Or maybe you just want to be able to make your computer do what YOU want for a change? Maybe you enjoy the challenge of identifying a problem and solving it. If programming intrigues you for whatever reason, Beginning Programming All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies is like having a starter programming library all in one handy, if beefy, book.

In this practical guide, you’ll find out about compiling, algorithms, best practices, debugging your programs, and much more. The concepts are illustrated in several different programming languages, so you’ll get a feel for the variety of languages and the needs they fill. Seven minibooks cover:

• Getting started
• Programming basics
• Data structures
• Algorithms
• Web programming
• Programming language syntax
• Applications

Beginning Programming All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies shows you how to decide what you want your program to do, turn your instructions into “machine language” that the computer understands, use programming best practices, explore the “how” and “why” of data structuring, and more. You’ll even get a look into various applications like database management, bioinformatics, computer security, and artificial intelligence. Soon you’ll realize that — wow! You’re a programmer!

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

7 books in 1 — your key to programming success!

Your one-stop guide to programming concepts in a variety of languages

If you've been curious about what it takes to program a computer and make it do your bidding, here's the place to start! Each of these handy minibooks covers an important element of programming. You'll find out about compiling, algorithms, best practices, debugging your programs, and more, illustrated in several programming languages.

Discover how to:

• Decide what you want your program to do

• Program in different languages

• Turn your instructions into machine language

• Use programming best practices

• Understand data structures, algorithms, and syntax

About the Author

Wallace Wang is a bestselling author with more than 2.3 million For Dummies books in print. He wrote Beginning Programming For Dummies and moonlights as a stand-up comic.

Product Details

• Paperback: 720 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (June 3, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470108541
• ISBN-13: 978-0470108543
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #53,277 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I may be the only computer book author who hates computers. I love what computers can do but I hate the fact that they're so complicated, hard to use, unreliable, and downright troublesome. Besides writing computer books, I also enjoy performing stand-up comedy just to do something creative that involves human beings as opposed to machines.

I've been involved in computers, stand-up comedy, teaching, writing, and game designing for most of my life. In the computer industry, I've written over 50 computer books. Initially I focused primarily on Microsoft products such as Visual Basic and Microsoft Office. Later I switched focus to the Macintosh, iPhone, and iPad as I've watched the trend of computing shift from the PC/Microsoft dominated world to the mobile/Apple-influenced world. I've also shifted my programming focus from Delphi/Pascal and Visual Basic to Objective-C and LiveCode (a HyperCard clone) to create Macintosh and iPhone/iPad programs.

In the stand-up comedy world, I've been performing stand-up comedy for over 20 years, having appeared on A&E's "Evening at the Improv" and SiTV's "Latino Laugh Festival" along with appearing at the Riviera Comedy Club in Las Vegas. Currently I'm focusing my comedic writing skills towards occasional comedy performances but mostly towards screenwriting. You can read my screenwriting blog at The 15 Minute Movie Method (www.15minutemoviemethod.com). I've collected the best ideas from my screenwriting blog and condensed them into an e-book also called "The 15-Minute Movie Method," which is available as an e-book.

In 1992, I got my first cat and after reading a basic cat care book, I found that none of the advice offered had any basis in reality for dealing with the quirks and whims of a real cat. Based on that experience, I wrote a parody of a cat care book called "How to Live with a Cat (When You Really Don't Want To)." This book is now available as an e-book.

In the teaching world, I've taught at community colleges around San Diego as well as teaching at the University of Zimbabwe in Africa. Currently I teach an online Microsoft Word course through a company called Ed2Go.

In the writing world, I've written for several magazines including Computer Power User (CPU), Boardwatch Magazine, and Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities. I also write a weekly Macintosh column in an online computer magazine called ComputorEdge (www.computoredge.com). In addition, I've ghost written several books for real estate experts, stock day trading specialists, and network marketing millionaires. In 2008, I also helped San Diego State University's film department win their first student Emmy when they filmed my sitcom pilot, "Three of a Kind."

In the game designing world, I've created and published a game in 1983 called "Orbit War," which was published by Steve Jackson Games (the game is now out of print). The game simulated low orbital combat between satellites. I'm currently designing educational games for teaching various college level topics such as organic chemistry, calculus, and geometry.

I'm interested in always learning something new and combining my various skills and experience to stay ahead of changing technology and I enjoy writing about complex topics and making them easy to understand.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for the Beginner, December 25, 2010

By 

Jeffrey T. Maxfield "Avid Reader" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Beginning Programming All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies (Paperback)

I wrote some programs for my boss over 25 years ago in Basic for a hand held Radio Shack Device. The program produced a Productivity Number that was completely proprietary to the company. The formula was so complex and esothat my boss had to compute half of it and then refer to a table of 1000 items to find a approximation of the result to compute the second half of the formula. Later I did some simple programs in Visual Basic for DOS that my office used. I consider myself a novice, but the little programming I did left me with a desire to learn more. My job was as an Operations Manager and had nothing todo with IT except as a user. I have read several books on programming and found them hard going because of my lack a formal educational background in computer science. I am retired now and still interested. I found this book in a Internet search. I have never read a book that explained programming as well (to me). This book is ideal for a novice like myself. The author does an amazing job of explaining complex terms and procedures that I find so accessible and easy to understand. I won't get into the debate about the inaccuracies that the gentleman in one review discusses. I do not have the expertise to discuss them. That said I want to thank the author. I plan on exploring any other book he writes. He has the traits of a great teacher, someone that can make the complex easy to understand and keep you interested.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just what I needed, August 3, 2009

By 

WhoAmI (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Beginning Programming All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies (Paperback)

I've been programming in a high level language for years without having a CS background and have been looking for a "principle of programming & languages" type of book to round up the self-education. There are expensive textbooks around but this inexpensive and gentle alternative fills the bill nicely!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For beginners, August 9, 2009

By 

pilotbillp - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Beginning Programming All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies (Paperback)

This book explains simple programming very clearly for someone who last worked with BASIC in the 1980's. After borrowing a library copy, we wanted a copy to keep.