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40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Words from a "wannabee programmer", December 28, 2004
As many other people in this world want to do, I want to program video games in the future. The only problem was that I had no idea how to start or where to turn to for advice. I had tried to learn over the summer of this year on how to create video games, but the books that I had borrowed from my local library said that I needed to have an understanding of C/C++. And when I borrowed a C/C++ book, I didn't really read it. So I decided to give programming up... for a while at least.
About a month ago, that itch to create video games came back to me when I was grounded. So I went back to my library and looked for a programming book that fit my needs. During my search, I stumbled upon "Sams Teach Yourself Beginning Porgramming in 24 Hours". And so I decided to read the introduction if I met the books requirements. When I learned that I did, I borrowed the book and began to read the book.
The book mainly covers a language called Liberty BASIC (which is probably is as easy a programming language as it gets). Right out of the gate, the book lets you program your first BASIC program, a rocket launch countdown. I was suprised how easy it was to program in Liberty Basic. To me, it felt like dumbed down English. When you are finished with the Liberty BASIC training (11 hours worth), you should have a good understanding of Liberty BASIC.
The book also gives you a detailed introduction to Java, but the first two chapters are only text and no examples. Those two chapters do help with the basics of Java and C/C++ (C is Java's "mother" language). When you do get to the programming part of the Java in the book (four chapters of Java in the book), you use Forte for Java (it already gives you the main code for your project). Unfortunately, I found Forte a bit intimidating at first, but when I played around with Forte a bit and got an understanding, I went through the chapters with ease.
The book also gives you a taste of other languages out there (Visual Basic, C/C++, HTML, Pascal, Javascript, and .NET) I say taste because it goes over the fundamentals of each of the languages entered there. You will find C/C++ easier to understand because of your work in Java.
There were some problems with the book that I found. First, there were some coding errors that I found. I found the most errors in Chapter 10, "Having Fun with Liberty BASIC". Most of the code I found put down on BASIC and ran could not run. How can you have fun with the program if you cannot run the code? More like "Getting Frustrated with Liberty BASIC". Also in Chapter 11, there is a sample code that seems to be bugged but isn't. When you get to the code that seems bugged (I forget which sample it was in the chapter) just expand the width of the window to get the result you want.
There were also many dry spells in the sample code for you to write down and practice. The ones that have little or no examples in them are Chapters 2-4, 12 & 13, and 16-24.
In my opinion, I would reccommend this book to anyone who is considering to explore the world of programming (either regular programming or video game programming) or anyone who wants to program but doesn't know where to begin. This book will not mold you into a good programmer, but it will lay down the necessary building blocks to becoming a regular or video game programmer.
I reccomend this book for video game programmers because it will give you a basic understanding of C/C++, the typical language of game programming (this information will be useful for other books that you have your sights on and if you get another C/C++ book, you will understand some of the subjects being talked about (arrays, literals, operators, basic C/C++ procedures, etc.)
Now I just need some help on what to do next...
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60 of 64 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
BRAVO!!!, September 7, 2001
I decided that I wanted to program...and I wanted to program in C++ no less!I wanted a specific program designed and produced and was going to write it myself. Colleagues of mine had done the same using visual Basic, why not I?
My wife is an MCSE and a programmer in C++ among other languages.. She suggested this book after looking through it at a bookshop. She said that there was more to programming than just writing a program...it was necessary to understand certain basic concepts first..concepts like program design, coding, maintenance etc. I was enthused with all the Programming in " 24hrs, 21 days..etc" books that I had bought. They just jumped right in and I followed,did as I was told and there it was ...My first program in C++..it didn't do much but "Hello World" did look good on the Win 2000 screen. My wife smiled...do you understand what you did, how you got there she asked? Can you write a proper program?
[Proper? It works]I thought but I admitted that I didn't and couldn't. I had copied code, run it on a compiler and the program appeared. Hmm...maybe there was more to it than this..
I decided to give this book a go even though I wanted to write programs NOW! SO I reluctantly took it up...WHAT no CD? Didn't look good...
I stated reading.I couldn't stop..there WAS more to programming than copying and pasting code in from a book or CD..
The author discussed code design, coding, logic , program design, maintenace, distribution, managemnet, company functions different languages, BASIC, QBASIC< VISUAL BASIC< FORTRAN<C<C++<JAVA hmm....three days later I was esctatic! YES!! I understood what I needed to do and why I was doing it. The need for clarity of thought and design. Logic errors and syntax errors...
I approched my C++ books differently now. What I know is that this book is a MUST for every beginner Programmer. Temper your enthusiasm and learn good practices and a basic foundation here first THEN go learn what ever language that you want.
An excellent book, easy to read, logically set out. I went to the computer once to try out the qbasic compiler . It worked as expected. Rest assured you need to understand basic general concepts first..then your programming will be logical, clean, well documented and without 'spaghetti code'.
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a 5 star Introductory book, September 8, 2000
Do you want to know the basics of programming? Do you want to get a broad general overview of some of the languages available and how they work? To use this book you DO NOT need to have ANY prior programming knowledge at all. The editor QBasic is used for your working environment and can be found on your 95 or 98 CD in the folder called tools/oldmsdos - explained on pg.146Perry does a great job of giving enough background information to explain why the programming languages look and act the way they do, and explains the concept of object-oriented programming well. He tells you how to program (a structured approach) as well as some of the fundamentals and differences of other programming languages such as: C, C++, Visual Basic, Java, RPG, FORTRAN and others not so popular today. All the commands and concepts are followed by examples that you can type in your editor and run (and they do run). In comparison to the many errors found in so many of today's IT instructional books, this book has very few. As a side note: There is one drawback for those who like to just copy the programming code from a disk into their editors and then run it to see how it works. It is not provided free. You have to purchase the code from the author or just type it in by hand. But, he also sends you a set of Tutorial Example Programs with the books code. I did not purchase them so I can't comment on them. But why would you want to do that when you are just starting out in programming and need the Hands - On experience? All in all, I received a good understanding of the many concepts taught in a very clearly explained manner. I have reviewed many books and recommend that you Buy this book!! Enjoy it. I know you will. Then move on to your Language of choice. Wishing you the best in your future of programming.
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