The contents are comprehensive and suitable for first-time programmers or students taking their first course in programming. Readers do not need to have a background in coding to successfully benefit from this book. read more
Reviewed by Hussam Ghunaim, Assistant Professor of Computer Science, Fort Hays State University on 10/25/21
Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less
The contents are comprehensive and suitable for first-time programmers or students taking their first course in programming. Readers do not need to have a background in coding to successfully benefit from this book.
Content Accuracy rating: 5
After reading the book, I did not catch any errors. Therefore, I can say the contents are accurate and error-free.
Relevance/Longevity rating: 5
The book described many modern programming languages that are expected to stay in high demand for the near future and far future as well in my opinion. The contents are up to date and relevant to the subject matter. The expected shelf-time is over the average.
Clarity rating: 3
The text is clear for an average reader. Stand-alone readers can easily understand and follow the instructions provided. However, the separation between the concepts’ introduction from the actual coding examples might be confusing for first-time programmers unless a study plan is given at the beginning of the book. The study plan might contain the recommended reading sequence of the book chapters. For example, from my classroom experience, students (first-time programmers) always need some kind of reinforcement of concepts they learn. The best way to do this in the context of programming is by providing practical (coding) examples right after introducing a specific topic. Therefore, a study plan might suggest an order of chapters to read from the first part of the book (the first fourteen chapters) and chapters that contain the actual coding examples from the second part of the book.
Additionally, providing solutions to some selected exercises can always give readers confidence in their understanding.
Consistency rating: 5
The text is consistent and uses appropriate terminology to the presented level.
Modularity rating: 5
The text is highly modular. Readers can choose to focus on a particular programming language that meets their specific needs. The order of presented topics is logical and ascending naturally in the difficulty level. I do not see any need to change the current order of chapters. The contents can easily integrate with other sources if readers wish to do so.
Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5
The book organization is appropriate and does not need any changes.
Interface rating: 5
The book is very well-typed and formatted. The code is printed in color to emphasize different aspects of the code. The formatting made reading this book easy and enjoyable.
I did not notice any grammatical errors.
Cultural Relevance rating: 5
The book has no cultural issues.
I enjoyed reading this book and I believe it will help many students and readers interested in learning computer programming. Well done!
I. The C Programming Language
II. The Java Programming Language
III. The PHP Programming Language
This textbook covers the traditional introductory Computer Science I topics but takes a unique approach. Topics are covered in a language-agnostic manner in the first part with supplemental parts that cover the same concepts in a specific language. The current version covers C, Java, and PHP. This textbook as been used in several Computer Science I sections over multiple years at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Dr. Chris Bourke, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
