Beginning Programming with C++ For Dummies®

Introduction

Welcome to Beginning Programming with C++ For Dummies. This book is intended for the reader who wants to learn to program.

Somehow over the years, programming has become associated with mathematics and logic calculus and other complicated things. I never quite understood that. Programming is a skill like writing advertising or drawing or photography. It does require the ability to think a problem through, but I've known some really good programmers who had zero math skills. Some people are naturally good at it and pick it up quickly, others not so good and not so quick. Nevertheless, anyone with enough patience and "stick-to-itiveness" can learn to program a computer. Even me.

About Beginning Programming with C++ For Dummies

Learning to program necessarily means learning a programming language. This book is based upon the C++ programming language. A Windows version of the suggested compiler is included on the CD-ROM accompanying this book. Macintosh and Linux versions are available for download at www.codeblocks.org. (Don't worry: I include step-by-step instructions for how to install the package and build your first program in the book.)

The goal of this book is to teach you the basics of programming in C++, not to inundate you with every detail of the C++ programming language. At the end of this book, you will be able to write a reasonably sophisticated program in C++. You will also be in a position to quickly grasp a number of other similar languages, such as Java and ...