Programming for the Absolute
Beginner (No Experience Required
(Course Technology)) by Jerry Lee
Ford Jr.
Ain't Nothin' Small About Smalltalk And Just Basic
Want to learn computer programming but arent sure where to start?
Programming for the Absolute Beginner provides a gentle learning curve in
programming for anyone who wants to develop fundamental programming
skills and create computer programs. The primary focus is on teaching the
reader how to program using a free implementation of BASIC called Just
BASIC. As such, the book focuses on developing programs that run on
Microsoft® Windows®, but also presents programming principles that
apply to different environments, including other operating systems and the
Internet. Additionally, the book provides a solid foundation for advancing to
different programming languages as you gain confidence in your newly
acquired programming abilities. As part of the for the absolute beginner

series, Programming for the Absolute Beginner teaches all the concepts
through the creation of simple computer games, making the learning
process much more fun and enjoyable.
Personal Review: Programming for the Absolute Beginner (No
Experience Required (Course Technology)) by Jerry Lee Ford Jr.
Some will be quick to tell you that it's worthless to learn JustBASIC
because you can't do much with it and you should instead learn Visual
Basic. I started learning BASIC when I was about 5 or 6 (my dad is a
programmer and taught me a lot!), but then never used it for a long time.
20 years later, I find myself with the desire to learn Visual Basic. I had told
my dad that I wanted to learn Visual Basic to create some software for a
non-profit organization that I run. I had said that I felt the best way to learn
to program is to go through what I call "bootcamp" which is basically
having to code EVERYTHING at first. You'll get a better grip on what's
going on behind the scenes and the ability to better appreciate Visual
Basic's IDE. He told me that when we went from Quick Basic (or qbasic)
to Visual Basic, it was a relatively quick and easy, painless experience
because so much of the code he'd been using still applied.
One of the things I wish that this book would do is give quizzes at the end.
I can't even tell you how helpful those can be in making sure you
understand the information. How else are you to know just how much you
learned? Some of the games are a little (lot) goofy in this book, but they
do what they're supposed to do: demonstrate the use of the code covered
in that chapter as well as previous chapters. You also end up with a few
programs that with a little modification could be quite fun to play! I'm
working on a slot machine program that will pull up all of the pictures in the
folder that the program is found in and display them as you win rather than
basing it solely on how much money you have. That way I could cycle
through family vacations, weddings, etc. in a more interactive way. While it
might not be something I will use often, it's definitely one more Problem for
me to try to figure out. Isn't that, after all, what programming is all about?
Problem-Solving?
In the end, I'd have to say that this book is very good. Pick it up, learn it,
master it and move on. You'll be a stronger programmer in five years if
you keep to the simple basics of breaking down programs, using
subroutines/functions to streamline your programs and using liberal use of
comments all throughout the code. Definitely worth the money!
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