2012 | OriginalPaper | Chapter
1. The World of Programming
Abstract
Chapter 1 briefly introduces what should be known before starting to learn programming. The chapter first mentions the building blocks of a computer that are relevant to a programmer—i.e., the CPU, the memory and the Von Neumann architecture. The chapter continues by introducing how big the “zoo” of programming languages is, thereby presenting the different paradigms that the “zoo” of programming languages falls into. A discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of each paradigm follows where hints are provided to the programmer about how he may choose a programming language based on the nature of the problem. The chapter also talks about the way programs are written and put into action by a computer, after which Python is introduced with a brief historical background and a small interaction.