Computer Programming for Absolute Beginners: Learn essential computer science concepts and coding techniques to kick-start your programming career

Cover
Copyright
About PACKT
Contributors
Table of Contents
Preface
Section 1: Introduction to Computer Programs and Computer Programming
Chapter 1: Introduction to Computer Programs
	A brief history of computing
	A brief history of programming
	What is a program?
		How does a computer program work?
	Understanding the binary system
		Understanding ASCII and Unicode
		Representing other forms of data
		Boolean algebra
		Machine code – the native language of the computer
		Example machine code
	Summary
Chapter 2: Introduction to Programming Languages
	Why do we have programming languages?
	How programming languages have evolved?
		The modern era of programming languages
		Why so many languages?
	The family tree of programming languages
	Translating code into something that the computer understands
		Interpreting
		Compiling
		Comparing interpretation and compilation
		Languages that both compile and interpret
	Syntax and the building blocks of a programming language
		Keywords
		Operators
		Code blocks
		Relations to mathematics
	Summary
Chapter 3: Types of Applications
	Standalone applications
	Client-server applications
		Example of a chat application
		Example of an email client
		Client-server, a two-part solution
	Web applications
		Example of a social network
		What makes web applications unique?
	Mobile applications
	Distributed applications
		SETI@home
		Peer-to-peer networks
	Cloud-based applications
		Advantages of adopting cloud-based applications
		Cloud service models
	Other types of applications
		Systems software
		Programming software
		Serverless applications
	Summary
Chapter 4: Software Projects and How We Organize Our Code
	Code modules
	Working with software projects
	Working with packages to share code
		Package managers
	Avoiding conflicts using namespaces
		Delving into namespaces
		Namespaces in JavaScript
		Namespaces in Python
		Namespaces in C++
		Namespaces in other languages
		Using namespaces in our calculator application
	Summary
Section 2: Constructs of a Programming Language
Chapter 5: Sequence – The Basic Building Block of a Computer Program
	The importance of sequences
		Defining the problem
		The solution to the problem
		Understanding statements
		Compound statements
		Separating statements
		Making the code readable by indenting and using empty lines
		Making the code understandable using comments
	Summary
Chapter 6: Working with Data – Variables
	Declaring and initializing variables
		Understanding variables
	Primitive data types
		Boolean type
		Numeric type
	Composite type
		Operators – things we can do with variables
		The concept of values and reference variables
		Working with numbers
		Manipulating strings
	Summary
Chapter 7: Program Control Structures
	Controlling the execution path
		Selection statements
		Iteration statements
		Conditional statements
	Selection with the if statement
	Selection with the switch statement
	Iteration with the for loop
	Iteration with the while loop
	Iteration with the do while loop
	Iterating over sequences using for each
	Summary
Chapter 8: Understanding Functions
	Deciding what goes into a function
	Writing a function
		Moving code into a function
	Returning values from a function
	Function arguments
	Functions in action
		Splitting the code further
		Putting it all together
	Local and global variables
	Summary
Chapter 9: When Things Go Wrong – Bugs and Exceptions
	Understanding software bugs
		NASA's Mars Climate Orbiter
		The Morris worm
		Defining a software bug
	Understanding types of software bugs
		Arithmetic errors
		Division by zero
		Arithmetic overflow/underflow
		Logical errors
		Syntax errors
	Finding bugs using a debugger
		Breakpoints
		Working with exceptions
		Common reasons for exceptions
		Exceptions and the call stack
	Handling exceptions
	Summary
Chapter 10: Programming Paradigms
	Understanding structured programming
		Statements
		Program state
		Comparing imperative and structured programming
	Understanding object-orientated programming
		Classes and objects
		Understanding encapsulation
		Class methods
		Inheritance
	Understanding functional programming
		Pure functions
		Mutable and immutable data
		Avoiding side effects
		Declarative programming
		First-class functions
	Understanding logic programming
	Other paradigms
		Function-level
		Array programming
		Quantum programming
	Multi-paradigm languages
	Summary
Chapter 11: Programming Tools and Methodologies
	Understanding version control systems
	Unit testing
	Integration testing
	Other types of tests
	Software releases
	Understanding software deployment
		Deployment automation
		Code maintenance
	Software development process methodologies
		Waterfall development
		Spiral model
		Agile development
	Summary
Section 3: Best Practices for Writing High-Quality Code
Chapter 12: Code Quality
	Defining code quality
		CISQ's quality model
		Understanding user quality
		Putting them together
	Writing code with readability in mind
		Using comments and documentation wisely
		Using names as documentation
		Reading other people's code
		Rewriting your code
	Writing code with efficiency in mind
		Removing redundant or unnecessary code
		Optimizing the use of memory and processors
		Using efficient algorithms
	Is smart code smart?
	Code quality – best practices
		Limiting line length
		Limiting function/method length
		Avoiding deep nesting
		Using the DRY principle
		Using code conventions
	Summary
Appendix A: How to Translate Pseudocode into Real Code
	The pseudocode examples
		Hello world in pseudocode
		Variables declaration in pseudocode
		The for loop in pseudocode
		Functions in pseudocode
		while loops, user input, if, and for loops in pseudocode
	C++
		Hello world in C++
		Variable declaration in C++
		The for loop in C++
		Functions in C++
		while loops, user input, if statements, and foreach loops in C++
	C#
		Hello world in C#
		Variable declaration in C#
		The for loop in C#
		Functions in C#
		while loops, user input, if statements, and foreach loops in C#
	Java
		Hello world in Java
		Variable declaration in Java
		The for loop in Java
		Functions in Java
		while loops, user input, if statements, and foreach loops in Java
	JavaScript
		Hello world in JavaScript
		Variable declaration in JavaScript
		The for loop in JavaScript
		Functions in JavaScript
		while loops, user input, if statements, and foreach loops in Java
	PHP
		Hello world in PHP
		Variable declaration in PHP
		The for loop in PHP
		Functions in PHP
		while loops, user input, if statements, and foreach loops in PHP
	Python
		Hello world in Python
		Declaring variables in Python
		The for loop in Python
		Functions in Python
		while loops, user input, if statements, and foreach loops in Python
Appendix B: Dictionary
	A
	B
	C
	D
	E
	F
	G
	H
	I
	J
	K
	L
	M
	N
	O
	P
	R
	S
	T
	U
	V
	W
Other Books You May Enjoy
	Index
Index