Essential Programming Skills--Made Easy!

Learn programming fundamentals quickly with help from this hands-on tutorial. No previous experience required! Programming: A Beginner's Guide gets you started right away writing a simple but useful program in Visual Basic Express Edition, and then moves on to more advanced projects, including a quiz program and a protected personal diary. You'll develop real-world programming skills, like designing user interfaces and working with variables, arrays, loops, and procedures. By the end of this clear and entertaining book, you'll be able to create, debug, and customize your own practical Windows-based programs with ease.

Designed for Easy Learning

• Key Skills & Concepts--Chapter-opening lists of specific skills covered in the chapter
• Ask the Expert--Q & A sections filled with bonus information and helpful tips
• Try This--Hands-on exercises that show you how to apply your skills
• Notes--Extra information related to the topic being covered
• Tips--Helpful reminders or alternate ways of doing things
• Annotated programming--Example code with commentary that describes the programming techniques being illustrated

Richard Mansfield is an authority on Visual Basic. He is the author of several books, including How to Do Everything: Second Life. Richard's books have sold more than 600,000 copies worldwide and have been translated into 12 languages.

Part I: Introduction to Programming

1. Introduction to Programming

2. Writing Your First Program

3. Exploring the Editor

4. Creating A User Interface

Part II: The Elements of Programming

5. Mastering Variables

6. Using Arrays

7. Looping for Repetitive Tasks

8. Making Decisions

PART III: Building Practical Programs

9. Organizing a Large Program

10. Adding Procedures to Programs

11. Tracking Down Errors

12. Getting Help

13. Where to Go from Here

Part IV: Appendixes

A: The 17 Primary Visual Basic Express Commands

B: Variable and Control Naming Conventions

C: Keyboard Shortcuts

D: The ASCII Character Codes

Glossary

Index