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Sams Teach Yourself Series
Sams Teach Yourself Beginning Programming in 24 Hours
If you want to learn computer programming but don’t know which language to start with, this is the book for you! In just 24 lessons of one hour or less, any beginner can get a solid introduction to the basics of computer programming and learn to write simple programs for any platform—Windows, Mac, and mobile.
Using a straightforward, step-by-step approach, each lesson in this carefully crafted tutorial builds upon the previous one, allowing you to learn all the essentials of programming from the ground up.
Once you’ve mastered these fundamentals, the book introduces you to several of the most popular computer programming languages today and helps you decide which language to learn first. Learn how to…
Using a straightforward, step-by-step approach, each lesson in this carefully crafted tutorial builds upon the previous one, allowing you to learn all the essentials of programming from the ground up.
Once you’ve mastered these fundamentals, the book introduces you to several of the most popular computer programming languages today and helps you decide which language to learn first. Learn how to…
479 pages, Paperback
First published December 2, 2013
12 people are currently reading
72 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 17, 2008
Okay book about programming. Starts out with really easy stuff then starts telling you about how to program in Java instead of continuing with generic information.
September 9, 2023
*Review for the 4th edition, published in 2020*
Well, that was terribly written.
The most basic principles and concepts are explained well enough--in fact, they're explained ad nauseam, to the point where one chunk of paragraphs is copied verbatim from an earlier chapter and thrown into another section over a hundred pages later as if it's brand new information. But the more difficult concepts (starting around "Hour 9" with "Programming Algorithms"), are explained horribly.
The whole idea of the book is that the lessons are split into "Hours". So, each section should take you an hour to read, right? And I can allow for some leeway. Hell, some early chapters took 30 minutes to complete, others, maybe 90 minutes to grasp. But when some hours (like "Hour 23") are literally just 5 pages of paragraphs without code, while others cover extremely in-depth, foreign concepts over 30+ pages and takes 6 hours to wrap your head around because the writing is so unclear, it sure makes for an agonizing, frustrating experience. And I can't think of a more effective way to discourage people from programming than that.
Of course, I haven't even addressed the flat-out errors yet (like putting the wrong number after a decimal, which totally throws off the sample code that's supposedly so easy to grasp...).
If any of the other Sams Teach Yourself books are of this quality, avoid at all costs.
Well, that was terribly written.
The most basic principles and concepts are explained well enough--in fact, they're explained ad nauseam, to the point where one chunk of paragraphs is copied verbatim from an earlier chapter and thrown into another section over a hundred pages later as if it's brand new information. But the more difficult concepts (starting around "Hour 9" with "Programming Algorithms"), are explained horribly.
The whole idea of the book is that the lessons are split into "Hours". So, each section should take you an hour to read, right? And I can allow for some leeway. Hell, some early chapters took 30 minutes to complete, others, maybe 90 minutes to grasp. But when some hours (like "Hour 23") are literally just 5 pages of paragraphs without code, while others cover extremely in-depth, foreign concepts over 30+ pages and takes 6 hours to wrap your head around because the writing is so unclear, it sure makes for an agonizing, frustrating experience. And I can't think of a more effective way to discourage people from programming than that.
Of course, I haven't even addressed the flat-out errors yet (like putting the wrong number after a decimal, which totally throws off the sample code that's supposedly so easy to grasp...).
If any of the other Sams Teach Yourself books are of this quality, avoid at all costs.
September 5, 2012
I don't consider myself a programmer, just a good sysop. I think this book was to basic for me need something a little deeper. There are however some very good points especially in the earlier chapters, around design and considerations therein.
Currently reading
August 27, 2008Reading it for a class - I'll post a review when It's finished.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews