Chapter 1
How Programs Work
IN THIS CHAPTER
Using keywords
Arranging a program
Dividing programs into subprograms and objects
Building a user interface
Programming is nothing more than problem-solving. Every program is designed to solve a specific problem, such as taking the trouble out of editing text (a word processor), calculating rows and columns of numbers (spreadsheets), or searching and sorting information (a database). Even a video game solves the problem of keeping players entertained for hours at a time.
Before you write any program, you must first know what problem you want the computer to solve. Computers are best at solving repetitive tasks, such as calculating rows and columns of numbers in a spreadsheet. Anyone can do similar calculations by hand, but computers make the task much faster and more accurate.
After you know what problem to solve, the next step is figuring out how to solve that problem. Many problems may have multiple solutions. For example, how can someone get from the airport to your house? One way may be to take the highway, which may be the simplest ...
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