Beginning Programming All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies

The fun, fast, and easy way to learn programming fundamentals and essentials from C to Visual Basic and all the languages in between So you want to be a programmer? Or maybe you just want to make your computer do what YOU want for a change? Maybe you enjoy the challenge of identifying a problem and solving it. If programming intrigues you (for whatever reason), Beginning Programming All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies is like having a starter programming library all in one handy, if hefty, book. In this practical guide, you'll find out about algorithms, best practices, compiling, debugging your programs, and much more. The concepts are illustrated in several different programming languages, so you'll get a feel for the variety of languages and the needs they fill. Inside you'll discover seven minibooks: Getting Started: From learning methods for writing programs to becoming familiar with types of programming languages, you'll lay the foundation for your programming adventure with this minibook. Programming Basics: Here you ll dive into how programs work, variables, data types, branching, looping, subprograms, objects, and more. Data Structures: From structures, arrays, sets, linked lists, and collections, to stacks, queues, graphs, and trees, you'll dig deeply into the data. Algorithms: This minibook shows you how to sort and search algorithms, how to use string searching, and gets into data compression and encryption. Web Programming: Learn everything you need to know about coding for the web: HyperText. Markup Language (better known simply as HTML), CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and Ruby. Programming Language Syntax: Introduces you to the syntax of various languages C, C++, Java, C#, Perl, Python, Pascal, Delphi, Visual Basic, REALbasic so you know when to use which one. Applications: This is the fun part where you put your newly developed programming skills to work in practical ways. Additionally, Beginning Programming All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies shows you how to decide what you want your program to do, turn your instructions into "e;machine language"e; that the computer understands, use programming best practices, explore the "e;how"e; and "e;why"e; of data structuring, and more. And you'll get a look into various applications like database management, bioinformatics, computer security, and artificial intelligence. After you get this book and start coding, you'll soon realize that wow! You're a programmer!

The fun, fast, and easy way to learn programming fundamentals and essentials - from C to Visual Basic and all the languages in between So you want to be a programmer? Or maybe you just want to make your computer do what YOU want for a change? Maybe you enjoy the challenge of identifying a problem and solving it. If programming intrigues you (for whatever reason),Beginning Programming All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummiesis like having a starter programming library all in one handy, if hefty, book.In this practical guide, you'll find out about algorithms, best practices, compiling, debugging your programs, and much more. The concepts are illustrated in several different programming languages, so you'll get a feel for the variety of languages and the needs they fill.Inside you'll discover seven minibooks:* Getting Started: From learning methods for writing programs to becoming familiar with types of programming languages, you'll lay the foundation for your programming adventure with this minibook.* Programming Basics: Here you'll dive into how programs work, variables, data types, branching, looping, subprograms, objects, and more.* Data Structures: From structures, arrays, sets, linked lists, and collections, to stacks, queues, graphs, and trees, you'll dig deeply into the data.* Algorithms: This minibook shows you how to sort and search algorithms, how to use string searching, and gets into data compression and encryption.* Web Programming: Learn everything you need to know about coding for the web: HyperText. Markup Language (better known simply as HTML), CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and Ruby.* Programming Language Syntax: Introduces you to the syntax of various languages - C, C++, Java, C#, Perl, Python, Pascal, Delphi, Visual Basic, REALbasic - so you know when to use which one.* Applications: This is the fun part where you put your newly developed programming skills to work in practical ways.Additionally, Beginning Programming All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummiesshows you how to decide what you want your program to do, turn your instructions into "machine language" that the computer understands, use programming best practices, explore the "how" and "why" of data structuring, and more. And you'll get a look into various applications like database management, bioinformatics, computer security, and artificial intelligence. After you get this book and start coding, you'll soon realize that -- wow! You're a programmer!

Introduction 1Book I: Getting Started 5Chapter 1: Getting Started Programming a Computer 7Chapter 2: Different Methods for Writing Programs 29Chapter 3: Types of Programming Languages 49Chapter 4: Programming Tools 83Chapter 5: Managing Large Projects with Software Engineering 107Book II: Programming Basics 125Chapter 1: How Programs Work 127Chapter 2: Variables, Data Types, and Constants 141Chapter 3: Manipulating Data 161Chapter 4: Making Decisions by Branching 181Chapter 5: Repeating Commands by Looping 199Chapter 6: Breaking a Large Program into Subprograms 213Chapter 7: Breaking a Large Program into Objects 231Chapter 8: Reading and Saving Files 259Chapter 9: Documenting Your Program 277Chapter 10: Principles of User Interface Design 289Book III: Data Structures 309Chapter 1: Structures and Arrays 311Chapter 2: Sets and Linked Lists 329Chapter 3: Collections and Dictionaries 345Chapter 4: Stacks, Queues, and Deques 361Chapter 5: Graphs and Trees 375Book IV: Algorithms 391Chapter 1: Sorting Algorithms 393Chapter 2: Searching Algorithms 409Chapter 3: String Searching 423Chapter 4: Data Compression Algorithms 435Chapter 5: Encryption Algorithms 445Book V: Web Programming 461Chapter 1: HyperText Markup Language 463Chapter 2: CSS 477Chapter 3: JavaScript 485Chapter 4: PHP 497Chapter 5: Ruby 509Book VI: Programming Language Syntax 521Chapter 1: C and C++ 523Chapter 2: Java and C# 541Chapter 3: Perl and Python 559Chapter 4: Pascal and Delphi 575Chapter 5: Visual Basic and REALbasic 589Book VII: Applications 607Chapter 1: Database Management 609Chapter 2: Bioinformatics 625Chapter 3: Computer Security 633Chapter 4: Artificial Intelligence 643Chapter 5: The Future of Computer Programming 657Index 671