Learning Computer Programming (With CD-ROM; CyberRookies Series) [Paperback]

Mary E. Farrell (Author)

Book Description

Series: Cyberrookies | Publication Date: April 2002

As part of the CyberRookies' series this book is written for aspiring programmers, and teaches basic programming skills that can be easily applied to any language including the key concepts of Loops, Strings, Array, Pointers, and more. Written by a high school programming teacher, Learning Computer Programming emphasizes the most relevant topics for beginners and pinpoints the essentials of programming success. There are so many programming languages in use today that it's difficult to decide which one to learn, especially for beginning programmers. With this in mind, Learning Computer Programming: It's Not About Languages focuses on "programming" skills instead of specific languages. Languages will always change so to become an effective programmer, it's important to understand the fundamentals before tackling a specific language. The book is language independent and uses examples from a variety of languages including the most popular C++, JAVA, and HTML, which each have a chapter devoted to them. Using helpful hints, activities, and watchouts, the book gently guides the student through the maze of programming techniques, concepts, and pitfalls.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mary Farrell teaches computer science, mathematics, and Japanese at Boston College High School, where she has been teaching for the past 17 years. She is an avid learner of spoken languages as well as computer languages and travels frequently to practice. She lives south of Boston, Massachusetts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 374 pages
• Publisher: Charles River Media; 1st edition (April 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584500611
• ISBN-13: 978-1584500612
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,708,806 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good overview for beginners, July 29, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Learning Computer Programming (With CD-ROM; CyberRookies Series) (Paperback)

I bought this book as a refresher, since I had taken a programming class several years ago and wanted to re-learn the basic concepts. This book is good for doing just that. It will help a beginner get familiar with the concepts, and it goes easy on the more complex stuff. Anyone who is interested in programing but gets scared off by books that are hard to read should read this book first. It will lay a good foundation and make other books easier to read.

PROS: easy to read, use simple language.
CONS: author sometimes tries too hard to simplify explanations, some typos (a couple that will stop the code from compiling)

Overall, a good book. The cons, even the typos, are not that bad, you just need to be paying attention when you read.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this one first!, April 10, 2004

By 

dean_from_sa (Plano,TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learning Computer Programming (With CD-ROM; CyberRookies Series) (Paperback)

After reading programming for dummies and learning an arcane language I was left wishing for a better book to expose me to the basics of programming. The subtitle of this book is "Its not about languages" and that is the approach of this book. Farrell focuses on the logic of programming and mentions the actual syntax in passing. This makes this book valuable and a helpful tool for all programmers no matter what their language destination is. I wish that I had read this book first!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good resource but quite dry going down..., March 27, 2007

By 

Jennifer L. Berger "malleron" (Fort Lauderdale, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Learning Computer Programming (With CD-ROM; CyberRookies Series) (Paperback)

I'm about halfway through this book and I have to agree with the other reviewers -- it's a very good primer on programming concepts. The only fault I can find with it is that it reads like a college textbook...and not in a good way. Granted, I doubt many people read computer books for fun, but even so, the palpable academic flavor of this book does not do the subject of programming any favors.

I won't say the book is boring to read -- the author is clearly knowledgeable and taking great pains as it is to present these concepts as clearly and simply as possible. But you know, there's something to be said for authors who can engage readers, especially with regard to technical matters. It makes the learning process all the more enjoyable and readers are far more likely to retain the info they read. Once I've finished this book, I will probably feel grateful that I've finished in the same way one feels grateful for having survived an interminable (though informative) Powerpoint presentation.