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Hello World! Computer Programming for Kids and Other Beginners
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| Lowest New Price | 30 stores | $20.15 | See all New offers |
| Lowest Used Price | 8 stores | $19.65 | See all Used offers |
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Product Description "Computer programming is a powerful tool for children to 'learn learning,' that is, to learn the skills of thinking and problem-solving...Children who engage in programming transfer that kind of learning to other things."--Nicholas Negroponte, the man behind the One Laptop Per Child project that hopes to put a computer in the hands of every child on earth, January 2008 Your computer won't respond when you yell at it. Why not learn to talk to your computer in its own language? Whether you want to write games, start a business, or you're just curious, learning to program is a great place to start. Plus, programming is fun! Hello World! provides a gentle but thorough introduction to the world of computer programming. It's written in language a 12-year-old can follow, but anyone who wants to learn how to program a computer can use it. Even adults. Written by Warren Sande and his son, Carter, and reviewed by professional educators, this book is kid-tested and parent-approved. You don't need to know anything about programming to use the book. But you should know the basics of using a computer--e-mail, surfing the web, listening to music, and so forth. If you can start a program and save a file, you should have no trouble using this book. |
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Average Customer Ranking Is 4.5
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The programming principals in the book are sound and valid. However, the book was written based on Python 2.5 instead of Python 3.0 which is a sticking point; I say this because the original release date in late 2008 would have allowed for for at least Python 2.6, but I digress. Each project in the book builds upon the previous module that was covered which is good, however the opportunity to teach core programming principals at one time in the beginning is missed. The text is easy to read and the syntax is explained well with relevant explanations. By the end of the book, the reader should be able to make a text-based programs, a windowed program, and different forms of arcade games. I was very pleased to see the layout for a card game which no one else has done to date. However, the author presents a lot of various graphic user interface mechanisms and doesn't really focus enough on them before moving on. Several editors for python are covered as well; some are challenging to install and configure which could be discouraging. I would like to point out that the author's use of EasyGUI is great because it is easier to use than Tkinter that comes standard with Python and allows the user to make text based programs more user friendly. However, he moves from EasyGUI to Pygame (which could be a book unto itself) and then to Python Card (which needs another module wxpython). My point is that it would have been better if he had stuck with EasyGUI and focused more on one of the graphic modules instead of dabbling with all of them. I was fortunate that the book was offered at my local library. If you dont get this book, then I would recommend "Invent Your Own Computer Games with Python, 2nd Edition" by Al Sweigart which is written in Python 3 (and available as a free PDF) or "Game Programming: The L Line, The Express Line to Learning" (The L Line: The Express Line To Learning) by Andy Harris even though it's written with Python 2. |
Computer science is a very important subject in our continuously evolving world. This book is great for beginners and I think would be a welcomed challenge for any child eager to learn programming. This book does not teach python but it uses it to teach general programming skills. I am just about to start computer science at the university level and had no previous programming experience. I am half way through this book and already am amazed at how much I half learned. I will add more to this review when I begin school in August to see if this book did give me a jump start or not. This book also came with a PDF version which is very nice to use when having to type up the examples the book gives you. (So you can keep your eyes on the monitor and not look away towards the printed book) |
This book looks great for kids, but it is out of date for the current version of Python (3.1.2). My 11-yr-old couldn't even run the first program (hello world) without tech support from his professional-computer-programing uncle. Who told us how to change the code so it would work. The simplest program needs to be changed! I can't imagine how frustrating this is going to get. The website recommended in the book is less than helpful. I would not recommend buying this book unless you have a family/friend who can offer tech support. |
My 10 year old found this book to be fun and challenging. It is a great starter book for teaching the basics of computer programming. It has many example programs and step by step instructions for each new concept. It also includes solutions in the book and on the website that can be referred to when you just can't figure out the error in your program. Highly recommend this book. |
I bought this book for my 13 yr old son who has been wanting to learn how to do programming. So far the book has kept his attention and he has tried and is learning some of the things in the book. I think its the best money I have spent. |
Good Principals - Bad Timing - Poor Focus
Out-dated
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