What the book covers: how to write a computer program, the best programming languages to use and why, shortcuts for programming a computer as simply and quickly as possible, the evolution of computer programming languages, how to program multiple platform devices, and advice on what programming language to use for your next project.
Series features: Information presented in the straightforward but fun language that has defined the Dummies series for over ten years.
I read this book to help form a base level of knowledge for some of the work I'm doing on an IT program. It was useful in introducing programming in several different languages and the commonalities between. Particularly good to have a very introductory view of C++ with BASIC equivalent alongside. But the final couple of chapters were clearly bolted on - the sections on HTML, Javascript, Java etc were rubbish, and clearly written as an update to the older 2001 edition. How can you write about HTML without CSS? So the core bit was good, but ignore the last section
A very interesting guide to a topic many can see as boring. This book is not only full of information and tools but is also entertaining and funny! Also at the end of the day you can use this book as a context guide to different sections within basic programming. I recommend it a lot.
The writing in this book is effective because of the author's incorporation of sense of audience. This book can teach pretty much anyone how to code. The book's sense of audience is it's greatest strength, but the book lacks substance, and is basically a how-to. I would recommend this book to classmates willing to go through the process of learning programming skills. Now that I have read this book, I feel I can move on and learn coding online instead of reading more "Dummy" books.