Wally Wang | Wallace Wang
1 Great for program structure -Very Helpful
I have to agree with the prior reviewers exhaustion at the pedestrian political commentary included in the text. But unlike that prior reviewer, I will extol the value to be had here in this book. I approached as a tool to understand the basics of how the various parts of a program are constructed. The book focuses on Qbasic with passing references to C++ (my ultimate goal is to use C++) and Java. Since I plan to progress rapidly to this other language I did not run afoul of the errors reported by the other reviewers because I did not input them.
I feel that I have more than adequately met my goal of learning about the "nuts and bolts" of a computer program. There is adequate depth about functions, subroutines, variables and arrays to start you on your way. There are also many tips and danger areas highlighted for the budding programmer.
I don't feel that this book is lacking with regard to the structure of programming, and I will not rate this lower because of the coding errors others have reported, but I can not give this a higher ranking because of the inane attempts at humor. Mr. Wang, a comedian you are not, keep to your day job.
2 Lame Political slant, syntax errors but decent otherwise
I quickly tired of the authors extreme left political statements. Programming and technology should be free from politics but WANG uses almost every opportunity in his code examples to make some comment against politicans, conservatives, lawyers, wealthy people etc. Perhaps this is why there are so many syntax errors in the sample code. Keep your feelings and agenda to yourself.
Another thing that kind of got on my nerves is everytime a new concept is introduced, we scrap the previous code example and start over. I like books where we keep building on the same program, adding new buttons / menus and stuff. This way we dont start over every other page and we learn how different code and objects work together.
When I tried to use Libery Basic under XP and it didnt work, I downloaded the latest version from Liberty's website. While poking around in LB v4 I saw that they have some 6+ extensive tutorials included with the demo version. I almost feel like i could have gone through these LB tutorials and learned just as much and save the $25 I spent on this book.
This book is decent and I dont regret buying it but I can only give it 2 stars.
3 Excellent for Beginner
This is the book that I first learned computer programming off of. I always wanted to know how people made games so I asked my mom, who works with computers. She said people wrote software. I said I wanted to learn how to write software and she took me to the book store and "Beginning Programming For Dummies" is what we bought. This book laid down an excellent foundation for the skills I developed in the future. Some people didn't like it, some did. Every book is going to have some errors in it somewhere; humans aren't perfect. The things I like about this book is that it stresses clean structure of code, something VERY important when it comes to programming. It also stresses more on concepts rather than technical details with the programming language, which is more important. Even though this book uses Liberty Basic, all of the concepts taught are useful with all other programming languages, even C, C++, and assembly. You can't go wrong with this book.
4 disappointing, beware
I have purchased maybe half a dozen "Dummies" books and have been very happy with them. This one I am not happy with. Beware, the book says that the included CD is compatible with the XP operating system, but it is not. I contacted the company about it and they suggested I download Liberty Basic from their website, for an extra $30. No thanks. That's one of the reasons I bought the book - for a working CD. They ought to either adjust the disk so it is compatible, or not claim that it is.
5 Excellent book, but beware of errors
I am a 53-year-old male with no previous experience of programming, and I found the book (the second edition based on the Liberty Basic language) to be worth every cent. It is a fantastic, clear, user-friendly, no-nonsense and humorous introduction to the subject and has really opened my eyes to the world of programming. The Liberty Basic language to which Wang introduces you is tops and really makes sense, compared to some other languages. Beware of a lot of errors, though. I suspect that the book was written or published with undue haste, and as a result some of the examples have not been tested and contain errors. But this can be forgiven, having regard to the overall quality. Since then I have gone on to studying Liberty Basic in more detail. I can heartily recommend both book and language.
6 Not impressed
The book has a couple of strong points. First, it is truely designed with the beginner in mind. It's easy to read. Far from technical. QBASIC software is built into Windows, so it's accesible to anybody with a PC. And it gives the reader a look at other programming languages which he/she would hopefully want to move on to after completion of this book.
Lots of weak points: The mistakes in the authors programming examples were abundant. He spent much of the book teaching QBASIC (a language few people will ever productively use except for recreational purposes). My opinion,beginners wanting to learn programming for recreation would be better off learning HTML (which is covered moderately in the book) which has some productive value. Finally, the author is trying too hard to be funny. Granted his bio states he wants to be a stand-up comedian, but it didn't work for me while reading an intro-technical computer book.
7 Marginal at best
The book does a very good job of explaining the basics in the beginning. I was able to get past his syntax errors by seeing enough code prior. However, The entire book appears to be put together half heartedly, so overall it seems to come up short.
8 A lot harder than it should be...
I'd like to start off by saying I'm only about 1/2 way through the book. I keep having trouble with the examples he puts in the book. It's taking me a lot more time and effort trying to correct his mistakes than actually learning the concepts. I feel as if these examples should have been more thoroughly checked. It would have saved me a lot of trouble, anyway. Other than this, though, the book is very good at explaining the concepts and very funny, as well.
9 Great Book!
The only reason why I gave this 4/5 instead of full marks is because I'm a teacher, so the book would have been perfect if chapters had review exercises, quizzes, perhaps a project here and there, etc. The big problem with commercial books such as the Dummies series is they don't provide assessment material for the student/reader.
That being said, if Wang ever decides to publish a book such as this for the classroom, he'd corner the market. He writes in a way that connects with students of all ages. I'd give my right arm for something like this in VisualBasic.Net and a bazillion teachers would follow suit.
10 Excellent for beginners
I'm going to be entering the video game industry pretty soon, and this book is what started it all. This books teaches basic concepts dealing with programming, which helped me understand C++. Thanks Wang
11 riddled with syntax errors
Thank God for the libertybasic group in groups.yahoo.com otherwise I would have given up before I even started! This book is full of editing/syntax errors. Just to name the first several... Pg 84, 106, 121-123, 133-135...Trying to learn programming with this book is difficult because you are typing in these error-ridden examples and wondering why they aren't working. Fortunately, ITS NOT YOU POOR READER.
12 Very helpful and fun
I have to deal with computers for my work at the hospital, which like many such institutions has become more and more computerized with every passing year. I would find the fact far less irritating if those who have charge of the process would stop tinkering with it long enough for me to use it with the "efficiency" that was originally intended, but such is never the case. To help me get a feeling for what the IMS people are doing so that I can better understand the entire process, I decided to take a mini-course on beginning programming. Wallace Wang's Beginning Programming for Dummies was the suggested course text, and although I started out convinced that I could never understand even a fraction of the information, I was pleasantly surprised. As advertised the fundamentals of programming presented in the text were understandable and doable. I was completely surprised to discover that my home computer already had a QBASIC program available on it and that I could use it to make simple programs. By following the book step by step, I was able to accomplish the tasks as designed and was amazed at the types of things the programs I wrote could do. I'm not sure that I have anything earth shaking to design for computers or that I'll be so taken with programming that I will give up surgical ICU to take it up, but I feel far more aware of computers and their inner workings now than I ever was and maybe a little more patient with them. Maybe.
13 Good start but weak toward the end
Mr. Wang's book is a good primer to learn PC programming. The book does a great job explaining the differences between programming languages. However, toward the middle, the book does a dissapointing job in explaining the capabilities of Liberty Basic. The first edition did a better job with Q Basic. I would have prefered more in depth coverage of Liberty Basic functions.
For example, the chapter on arrays was too brief.
14 A Great Book for Learning Programming from Scratch
First of all, every sample program in this book ran perfectly for me except for one (at the bottom of p. 264), and the JavaScript programs at the very end (for some reason, JavaScript did not work on the system I was using). Everything else - hundreds of examples - worked great, and required no reference to any outside source. The quality of the 'Dummies' books is variable, but this one is a winner. It is very well organized, and answered a lot of questions I have had about general programming for years, clearly and concisely. Wang is not only a talented programmer. He is a talented programmer who can communicate effectively to a general (but serious) audience, in English. The sample code is very clear and illustrates the topics under discussion beautifully. This is a great book for learning about programming in general, from scratch.
15 written by a dummy
there are so many mistakes in the syntax and order of the examples that it makes it practically impossible for the beginner to try the examples and successfully execute. Aweful book, numerous errors, that prohibit the examples from being useful.
16 OK, but...
Beginning Programming for DUMMIES by W. Wang is not all it's cracked up to be. It starts off very good, giving concise examples on how to program using Liberty BASIC. However, from the middle and towards the end the sample programs fall apart. On several examples I had to find the correct answers on the internet (by joining the Liberty Basic Yahoo group). However, if a person has never programmed anything before, this is a good book to start. But be warned that it does require some outside reference.
17 You will be programmer!
If you know NOTHING about programming and you want to understand the basics of programming baiscs! this bok is for you. After reading this book, you will be able to program by QBASIC which is the 1st step to be good programmer. you will learn also about internet programming which is very interesting. English is my second language but i found this book very easy to read and understand, so i recommend this book for those who want easy language and easy and enjoyable contents.
18 good for beginners
This is a very good book for beginners to programming - more specifically qbasic. Qbasic is good because it is free, so if you decide you don't like programming or are no good at it you haven't wasted hundreds of pounds. The book itself explains most of the key features of Qbasic, though only the ones which you need to get started, and there are loads which it doesn't explain. However, with that book I got started on programming, and it is very good and clearly written.
19 Great for true beginners
This book is excellent for anyone who wants to start programming. Im fifteen and I read it in 2 days, and (remarkably) understood all of the book's key points! It goes over the various popular languages, and explains the pros and cons of each one (C/C++, java, basic...), and explains them in English, not assuming you know the programming world's "lingo". It also has a great QBASIC section to get you programming fast with tons of sample programs. This is truly a great book.
20 I learned it! I really did!
I highly recommend Wallace Wang's Beginning Programming for Dummies to anyone looking to learn programming for the first time. I'm a technical writer who is terrible at math and not very bright in general. Fortunately, as Mr. Wang assures me in the first chapter, you don't have to be a math genius to be a good programmer. You just have to be curious and willing to spend a lot of time practicing. One thing that sets Dummies books apart is their ability to make the boring part of a subject (its dullness or seeming difficulty is why you need the book in the first place) seem fun. Wang employs his extensive gifts as a comedian to make memorizing terms like "REM," "CLS," and "FOR...NEXT" feel deceptively fun. After finishing this book (it took about a month of daily to semi-daily study to digest), I have a good grasp of programming in general, and QBASIC in particular. I'm making my own QBASIC program to master the language (it's a psychologist who asks you questions and then belittles you). And, because QBASIC comes free with every PC, you don't have to buy anything extra to learn it. Once I master QBASIC, I'll easily be able to move on to Visual Basic, and then maybe dabble in some C, Java, and HTML/XML.
21 A beginners programming book of wonders
Excellent book for beginning programmers. I myself, have just started programming and this put a great backbone into my skills. With great explanation of QBASIC this is a very indept book. It also gives you examples of HTML, JAVA, C++; while you are learning. So you learn up to 4 programming languages at once. One of the most brilliant writings of Wang.
22 Totally Awesome book on beginning Programming
This is great book on beginning programming. Get all you need to know on starting on QBASIC, sounds, graphics, and if...then loops. It also has a very good section on JavaScript and an even better one on HTML. It tells you all you need to know about getting utilities for programming from the Internet. For example at PowerBasic.com, you can get a program that lets you use your mouse with QBasic and get other stuff(like a true compiler!) Overall, a great book ! :)
23 Beginning Programming
This is a great book for beginners. I do wish that Wang had showed how to use the mouse in QBASIC. Other things like timers would have been nice to. Great if you want to see if you'll like programming or not. :-)
24 A great resource for students.
I have been using this book for help when I have been unable to pick up the concept or "nuts & bolts" of using a Qbasic command and have never been disapointed with Mr. Wang's explaination. As an adjunct to the textbook we are using in my Qbasic programming class this book has been a great help. Examples in the book are practical and concise. When the programming problem revolves around a,b & c Wang gives examples using a,b & c not x,y & z as my other textbook does. Furthermore, the chapters at the beginning and end of the book have helped me decide what other languages will be most beneficial for me to learn as I plan my future education. Connections to professional associations,practical career advise, this book has much more than just good programming instruction. I think this book does a great job of teaching Qbasic by itself but as an additional reference it has been invaluable to me.
25 Okay but don't expect to be a real programmer
Not too bad, however there are some glaring problems. For example, one of the hardest things for a beginner to understand is recursion. This topic should rate a whole chapter near the start. Instead, the term is only mentioned ONCE in the entire book and only as a passing remark in a discussion about quick sorts. Outrageous! The best thing about the book is the choice of QBASIC for the examples.
26 Great for newbies
I would recommmed this book for all beginners, although I would suggest reading Grey Perry's "Absolute Beginner's Guide to Programming" first. Dunderhead's like me need things explained in very simple terms and this book will do the job. I will say one thing Mr Wang's has a cynical sense of humor, but he does explain things well.
27 Good value, great reading!
Yes, the humor and drawings can be corny and silly but overall this book is at least as good as Greg Perry's 'Teach yourself programming in 24 hours' (SAMS, 1998). As well as giving a solid grounding in venerable old QBASIC (hopefully then the reader can try their hand at VB, VBA, VbScript), Wallace's book presents bits of Java, Pascal, C/CC+ presented throughtout, and lots of useful websites. Definitely worth a look!
