For Dummies Beginning Programming with C++ 978-0-470-61797-7 用户手册

In This Chapter

▶ 

Understanding programs

▶ 

Writing your first “program”

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Looking at computer languages

I

n this chapter, you will learn what a program is and what it means to write 
a program. You’ll practice on a Human Computer. You’ll then see some 

program snippets written for a real computer. Finally, you’ll see your first 
code snippet written in C++.

Up until now all of the programs running on your computer were written by 
someone else. Very soon now, that won’t be true anymore. You will be join-
ing the ranks of the few, the proud: the programmers.

How Does My Son Differ 

from a Computer?

A computer is an amazingly fast but incredibly stupid machine. A computer 
can do anything you tell it (within reason), but it does exactly what it’s told — 
nothing more and nothing less.

In this respect, a computer is almost the exact opposite of a human: humans 
respond intuitively. When I was learning a second language, I learned that it 
wasn’t enough to understand what was being said — it’s just as important 
and considerably more difficult to understand what was left unsaid. This is 
information that the speaker shares with the listener through common expe-
rience or education — things that don’t need to be said.

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