Customer Reviews

Programming for the Absolute Beginner (No Experience Required (Course Technology))

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Some will be quick to tell you that it's worthless to learn JustBASIC because you can't do much with it and you should instead learn Visual Basic. I started learning BASIC when I was about 5 or 6 (my dad is a programmer and taught me a lot!), but then never used it for a long time. 20 years later, I find myself with the desire to learn Visual Basic. I had told my dad that I wanted to learn Visual Basic to create some software for a non-profit organization that I run. I had said that I felt the best way to learn to program is to go through what I call "bootcamp" which is basically having to code EVERYTHING at first. You'll get a better grip on what's going on behind the scenes and the ability to better appreciate Visual Basic's IDE. He told me that when we went from Quick Basic (or qbasic) to Visual Basic, it was a relatively quick and easy, painless experience because so much of the code he'd been using still applied.

One of the things I wish that this book would do is give quizzes at the end. I can't even tell you how helpful those can be in making sure you understand the information. How else are you to know just how much you learned? Some of the games are a little (lot) goofy in this book, but they do what they're supposed to do: demonstrate the use of the code covered in that chapter as well as previous chapters. You also end up with a few programs that with a little modification could be quite fun to play! I'm working on a slot machine program that will pull up all of the pictures in the folder that the program is found in and display them as you win rather than basing it solely on how much money you have. That way I could cycle through family vacations, weddings, etc. in a more interactive way. While it might not be something I will use often, it's definitely one more Problem for me to try to figure out. Isn't that, after all, what programming is all about? Problem-Solving?

In the end, I'd have to say that this book is very good. Pick it up, learn it, master it and move on. You'll be a stronger programmer in five years if you keep to the simple basics of breaking down programs, using subroutines/functions to streamline your programs and using liberal use of comments all throughout the code. Definitely worth the money!

I bought the book for my 6th grade grandson, who was trying to learn scripting using a book he had purchased that employed a language other than BASIC. He was having trouble with the book and the software from the start. He couldn't get anything to work and found the book confusing. I've been doing programming for years, first using FoxPro then Visual Basic, so I thought I could help. Well I too found the book confusing starting with Chapter One and couldn't get the software to run.

I suggested that if he's interested in learning scripting that he try another book and perhaps consider starting with BASIC. He agreed, so I did some research of available books on Amazon.com, reading comments and passages that were available, and that led me to select this book. From all indications it was a good selections. My grandson told me that the book is very clear in it's explanations and that so far all the software and scripting programs he has tried work. He is happy with the book and believes it to be a very good learning tool.

I've happily been a member of the Just Basic community for nearly three years. I've been programming in several versions of BASIC for thirty years. Just Basic allows you to create Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs) with the look and feel of commercial programs written for Windows... but it's much easier.

All the programming techniques like IF/THEN/ELSE..., SELECT CASE, string and numerical arrays, DATA, FILE INPUT/OUTPUT, and Graphics are there, in very familiar syntax.

The best feature is (aside from the fact Just Basic is FREE!) the online support community of more than 2,000 members at all levels of experience. Share your programs or seek help developing them.

The title says it all. I've tried to learn programming for a long time, and this book has helped me a LOT. It gives you the basic foundation to start learning programming. Don't feel discouraged because it uses Just Basic to teach you. You'll find that after learning Just Basic, you can learn Visual Basic or any other basic dialect much faster. Also Just Basic is FREE, which I think is very important if you are a beginner and don't want to spend a lot of money from the start. More importantly, the programming techniques that you will learn here, can be applied to any programming language like Java, C++, etc. If you are an absolute beginner look no further, this is the book for you. And when you finish the book, you can visit the Just BASIC website and forums to learn even more.

NOTE:
Finding the downloads for the book is a little tricky if you use the address provided by the author, as the navigation of the website is not very well designed (not the author fault, is the book's Publisher website). I tried to publish the correct link here, but apparently is not permitted. Hint: search for the author's name in the website, then click on the book's name, and then on "Companion Contents: Bonus Section". You'll be directed to the download page where you can find the JBWebContentJF.zip file with all the material you'll need.


ANOTHER NOTE: Another very good book for beginners (though more theoretical) is "Sams Teach Yourself Beginning Programming in 24 Hours (2nd Edition)". I recommend it as a complement to this one.

Programming for the absolute beginner is exactly that! Anyone can pick up this book and easily learn C programming or programming fundamentals. It was used in one of my college courses to introduce fundamental programming techniques and I was easily able to grasp the basic concepts of programming. I also noticed a great improvement in those students who were having a difficult time with grasping the concept of pseudocode. This book is very helpful when using it as one of the first steps in learning programming. After completing and understanding this book, I recommend learning either advanced C or another language derived from C (C++, Java, etc.).

I received this book as a gift. I was excited when I saw the title, as
I did not know where to begin to learn programing.
I have some limited experience a while ago and wanted to learn basic
because I, have a robot that is programmed in a form of basic. I wanted
to be proficient in using basic so I thought that I had received my answer.
Not at all.
This book does not show you how to write programs, it shows you how programs
are written.
The author tries to use a story telling tactic which is poorly executed. He tells you about
a neat program you will learn about to capture your attention in the current chapter and then proceeds to give you information overload.
The author gives a ton of information but nothing to build on almost asking you to run
before learning to crawl.
The book gives you arguments after argument. But with out have learned to use any of them the author expects you to remember it all.
Most books on learning give you small bits to learn, and examples and practice problems to learn and build on before giving you more to learn. And in that way you build your skills and knowledge. This book does none of that.
this book is only good to those who have a fundamental knowledge of basic it would be a good intermediate book but not a beginners book.
If you want to learn how to write script, yes do start with basic, just don't use this book.
For absolute beginners it is not.

The author explains programming concepts very well, despite the material making use of the relatively obscure Just BASIC language (a.c.w. BASIC, VB, and other well-known "exemplary" languages). The book also does some explaining of other programming languages (such as Perl and C++) to show differences between programming languages. Its style of training is one of many, so it will not please everyone, and it is not intended to train the reader specifically in Just Basic (which is just a stepping stone to other languages of choice). Novice programmers will have had more experience and knowledge than absolute beginner programmers, so the book's title is apt and therefore gets a high rating for its intended target audience.

I found this book a very good introduction to computer programming. I knew nothing about programming before, but have been able to work through the book and write programs that work- and work well.

As a teacher, I'm used to assessing the usefulness of textbooks, and my opinion is that overall this book is an excellent starting point for someone like me. You do need to allow yourself time to assimilate sections of the text- although designed for the absolute beginner, the book doesn't spare the reader, and some of the later programs covered involve a fair level of complexity. I particularly like the extension exercises at the end of each chapter, in which the reader is asked to modify programs.

At the time of writing this review (August 2011), the JustBASIC program is freely available on the Internet, but, as Luis Casanova pointed out, the support website for the book has changed, and only offers downloads of each chapter's program. (Handy if you want to save time!)

It's also evident that this book, written in 2007, contains some out-of-date content. As an example, several of the programs use bitmap images, not now readily available, and I had to navigate the web to find them. Some of the pictures of examples of windows programmed are a little on the small side and are not always easy to read.

But overall, it's an excellent start for anyone who is an 'absolute beginner', and working through the book has given me a starting point for learning more complex languages such as C++.

LOVE IT! Great beginners programming book! I love just BASIC as well! VERY FUN TO MAKE THE GAMES IN THE BOOK! STRONGLY RECOMMENDED!!!!! Also recommended is the "Programming for the absolute beginner JAVA"

For kids that want to learn how to play around this book is fine. For anyone looking to build a foundation upon which to build, this book leaves much wanting.