Computer Programming for Teens (Paperback)

~ Mary E. Farrell (Author)
Key Phrases: flat surface gear, word obstreperous, cout stream, Using Functions, Spin Effectively, Function Calls (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Ready to learn computer programming but aren’t sure where to start? Look no further, Computer Programming for Teens is the book for you. Other books on programming tend to be language specific and often get bogged down in the syntax of the language. That is fine if you already have a strong background in programming, but if you’re a novice, the language-specific approach can make things unnecessarily difficult. Computer Programming for Teens stresses concepts over language, but still includes examples in the most popular languages—specifically HTML, C++, and Java. It begins by explaining the fundamental topics, like data storage, and progresses through to more complex topics, such as decisions, loops, design, and complex data structures. Written by a high school teacher, the book includes helpful tips and analogies to guide readers through the maze of programming techniques, concepts, and common pitfalls. It introduces the most relevant topics for beginners and pinpoints the essential skills needed for programming success.

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: 331 pages
• Publisher: Course Technology PTR; 1 edition (December 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598634461
• ISBN-13: 978-1598634464
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #111,058 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Foundation For Programming, December 1, 2008

By	Student_of_Life - See all my reviews

I love this book. I tried learning the basics of programming a while ago, but was unable to find any resources that gave a really good foundation of the basics of programming. So, I got frustrated due to a lot of questions being left unanswered and put learning programming onto the back burner. A week ago I decided to go back into giving web development\programming another go as a career change. And coolness, I found Computer Programming for Teens which gives the background that anyone new to programming needs...the solid foundation and understanding of basic programming topics that I had been looking for.

The author covers all the fundamental topics (such as what are variables, how variables work, the three kinds of loops and how all of their parts work, tears apart how a function works) a person needs to understand any programming or scripting language. The author gives examples by using real life situations, such as painting a friends house and compares the real life situation to how the program works. These examples help give you a feel for the programming topic.

The author gives coding examples using C++. At first she gives all of the coding and then just gives a few lines of coding for other examples. You can download Visual C++ Express from Microsoft, which is free and a great tool, to learn and practice the examples in this book.

This book is an awesome start. I also go to LyndaDotCom (for more web programming and design video tutorials), TrainingspotDotCom (for database video learning) and have some really good books on C++, JavaScript, HTML and CSS. Along with some other online resources such as MSDN forums. School is too expensive these days and I really don't want to go back, so I'm taking the learn at home approach. Anyway, get this book if you need a great understanding of the basics of any programming and scripting language.

This book is a great beginning. After reading this book read "Head First JavaScript by Michael Morrison (an O'Reilly book) for a deeper understanding of all the topics "Computer Programming for Teens" covers.

Happy Learning!

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for teen interested in programming!, February 1, 2009

By	V. Hoover-Daniell "from the lowcountry to the... (South Carolina) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

We got this book for my 16 yr old son for Christmas. It was more a leap of faith, since we had NO idea if he would find it interesting (and not really understanding the subject, it was hard to judge.) It was a hit! He opened it right away and I even saw him reading this book during his Christmas break!