Chapter 1. 1 thinking computationally: Getting Started
Knowing how to think computationally puts you in control. It’s no secret the world around you is becoming more connected, more configurable, more programmable, and more, well, computational. You can remain a passive participant, or you can learn to code. When you can code, you’re the director, the creator—you’re telling all those computers what they should be doing for you. When you can code, you control your own destiny (or at least you’ll be able to program your internet-connected lawn sprinker system). But how do you learn to code? First, learn to think computationally. Next, you grab a programming language so you can speak the same lingo as your computer, mobile device, or anything with a CPU. What’s in it for you? More time, more power, and more creative possibilities to do the things you really want to do. Come on, let’s get started...
Breaking it down
The first thing that stands between you and writing your first real piece of code is learning the skill of breaking problems down into achievable little actions that a computer can do for you. Of course, you and the computer will also need to be speaking a common language, but we’ll get to that topic in just a bit.
Now breaking problems down into a number of steps ...
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