The easy way to learn programming fundamentals and essentials
So you want to be a programmer? Or maybe you just want to be able 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 beefy, book. In this practical guide, you'll find out about compiling, algorithms, best practices, 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. Seven minibooks cover:
Getting started Programming basics Data structures Algorithms Web programming Programming language syntax Applications 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 "machine language" that the computer understands, use programming best practices, explore the "how" and "why" of data structuring, and more. You'll even get a look into various applications like database management, bioinformatics, computer security, and artificial intelligence. Soon you'll realize that -- wow! You're a programmer!
Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.
Author(s): Wallace Wang
Publisher: For Dummies
Year: 2008
Language: English
Pages: 696
Beginning Programming All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies
About the Author
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Contents at a Glance
Table of Contents
Introduction
Who Should Buy This Book
How This Book Is Organized
How to Use This Book
Icons Used in This Book
Getting Started
Book I: Getting Started
Chapter 1: Getting Started Programming a Computer
How Computer Programming Works
The History of Computer Programming
Figuring Out Programming
Getting Started with Programming
Knowing Programming versus KnowingProgramming Language
Chapter 2: Different Methods for Writing Programs
Spaghetti Programming without a Plan
Planning Ahead with Structured Programming
Making User Interfaces withEvent-Driven Programming
Organizing a Program with Object-OrientedProgramming
Designing Programs with Today’s Methodology
Chapter 3: Types of Programming Languages
Choosing Your First Language
Teaching Languages
“Curly Bracket” Languages
Artificial Intelligence Languages
Scripting Languages
Database Programming Languages
Comparing Programming Languages
Chapter 4: Programming Tools
Choosing a Compiler
Finding an Interpreter
Compiling to a Virtual Machine
Writing a Program with an Editor
Fixing a Program with a Debugger
Saving Time with Third-Party Components
Optimizing a Program with a Profiler
Creating a Help File
Installing a Program
Dissecting Programs with a Disassembler
Chapter 5: Managing Large Projects with Software Engineering
Software Engineering Methods
Automating Software Engineering with CASE
The Pros and Cons of Software Engineering
Book II: Programming Basics
Chapter 1: How Programs Work
Using Keywords as Building Blocks
Organizing a Program
Dividing a Program into Subprograms
Dividing a Program into Objects
Creating a User Interface
Chapter 2: Variables, Data Types, and Constants
Declaring Variables
Using Different Data Types
Storing Data in a Variable
Retrieving Data from a Variable
Using Constant Values
Defining the Scope of a Variable
Chapter 3: Manipulating Data
Storing Data with the Assignment Operator
Using Math to Manipulate Numbers
Manipulating Strings
Finding Strings with Regular Expressions
Using Comparison Operators
Using Boolean Operators
Converting Data Types
Chapter 4: Making Decisions by Branching
Picking One Choice with the IF-THEN Statement
Picking Two Choices with theIF-THEN-ELSE Statement
Picking Three or More Choices withthe IF-THEN-ELSEIF Statement
Playing with Multiple Boolean Operators
Making Multiple Choices withthe SELECT CASE statement
Chapter 5: Repeating Commands by Looping
Looping a Fixed Number of Timeswith the FOR-NEXT Loop
Looping Zero or More Times with the WHILE Loop
Looping at Least Once with the DO Loop
Playing with Nested Loops
Prematurely Exiting from a Loop
Checking Your Loops
Chapter 6: Breaking a Large Program into Subprograms
Creating and Using Subprograms
Passing Parameters
Repeating a Subprogram with Recursion
Chapter 7: Breaking a Large Program into Objects
How Object-Oriented Programming Works
Encapsulation Isolates Data and Subprograms
Sharing Code with Inheritance
Polymorphism: Modifying Codewithout Changing Its Name
Design Patterns
Object-Oriented Languages
Real-Life Programming Examples
Chapter 8: Reading and Saving Files
Storing Data in Text Files
Storing Fixed Size Data in Random-Access Files
Storing Varying Size Data in Untyped Files
Using Database Files
Chapter 9: Documenting Your Program
Adding Comments to Source Code
Writing Software Documentation
Chapter 10: Principles of User Interface Design
The Evolution of User Interfaces
Elements of a User Interface
Designing a User Interface
Book III: Data Structures
Chapter 1: Structures and Arrays
Using Structures
Using an Array
Working with Resizable Arrays
Working with Multi-Dimensional Arrays
Using Structures with Arrays
Drawbacks of Arrays
Chapter 2: Sets and Linked Lists
Using Sets
Using Linked Lists
Drawbacks of Sets and Linked Lists
Chapter 3: Collections and Dictionaries
Using a Collection
Using Dictionaries
Understanding Hash Tables
Chapter 4: Stacks, Queues, and Deques
Using a Stack
Using Queues
Using Deques
Chapter 5: Graphs and Trees
Understanding Graphs
Creating Trees
Taking Action on Trees
Book IV: Algorithms
Chapter 1: Sorting Algorithms
Using Bubble Sort
Using Selection Sort
Using Insertion Sort
Using Shell Sort
Using Heap Sort
Using Merge Sort
Using Quick Sort
Comparing Sorting Algorithms
Chapter 2: Searching Algorithms
Sequential Search
Using Indexes
Adversarial Search
Chapter 3: String Searching
Sequential Text Search
Searching with Regular Expressions
Searching Phonetically
Chapter 4: Data Compression Algorithms
Lossless Data Compression Algorithms
Lossy Data Compression
Chapter 5: Encryption Algorithms
The Basics of Encryption
Symmetric/Asymmetric Encryption Algorithms
Cracking Encryption
Book V: Web Programming
Chapter 1: HyperText Markup Language
The Structure of an HTML Document
Adding Graphics
Defining the Background
Creating Hyperlinks
Making Tables
Chapter 2: CSS
The Structure of a Stylesheet
Creating Style Classes
Separating Styles in Files
Cascading Stylesheets
Chapter 3: JavaScript
The Structure of a JavaScript Program
Creating Comments
Declaring Variables
Using Operators
Branching Statements
Looping Statements
Creating Functions
Using Arrays
Designing User Interfaces
Chapter 4: PHP
The Structure of a PHP Program
Creating Comments
Declaring Variables
Using Operators
Branching Statements
Looping Statements
Creating Functions
Using Arrays
Creating Objects
Chapter 5: Ruby
The Structure of a Ruby Program
Creating Comments
Declaring Variables
Using Operators
Branching Statements
Looping Statements
Creating Functions
Using Data Structures
Creating Objects
Book VI: Programming Language Syntax
Chapter 1: C and C++
The Structure of a C/C++ Program
Creating Comments
Declaring Variables
Using Operators
Branching Statements
Looping Statements
Creating Functions
Data Structures
Using Objects
Chapter 2: Java and C#
The Structure of a Java/C# Program
Creating Comments
Declaring Variables
Using Operators
Branching Statements
Looping Statements
Creating Functions
Data Structures
Using Objects
Chapter 3: Perl and Python
The Structure of a Perl/Python Program
Creating Comments
Defining Variables
Using Operators
Branching Statements
Looping Statements
Creating Functions
Perl Data Structures
Python Data Structures
Using Objects
Chapter 4: Pascal and Delphi
The Structure of a Pascal Program
Creating Comments
Declaring Variables
Declaring Constants
Using Operators
Branching Statements
Looping Statements
Creating Subprograms and Functions
Data Structures
Creating Objects
Chapter 5: Visual Basic and REALbasic
The Structure of a BASIC Program
Creating Comments
Declaring Variables
Declaring Constants
Using Operators
Branching Statements
Looping Statements
Creating Subprograms and Functions
Data Structures
Creating Objects
Book VII: Applications
Chapter 1: Database Management
The Basics of Databases
Manipulating Data
Database Programming
Chapter 2: Bioinformatics
The Basics of Bioinformatics
Searching Databases
Bioinformatics Programming
Chapter 3: Computer Security
Stopping Malware
Stopping Hackers
Secure Computing
Chapter 4: Artificial Intelligence
Problem Solving
Machine Learning
Applications in Artificial Intelligence
Chapter 5: The Future of Computer Programming
Picking a Programming Language
Picking an Operating System
Cross-Platform Programming
The Programming Language of the Future
Index
