Learn Java from the ground up: Explore basic principles and functions of programming via a simple virtual computer model

Ground-Up Java focuses on basic concepts, key techniques, and working examples to transform the true beginner to programming into someone who really "gets" Java. This sample chapter explains, in lively, accessible terms that someone with no prior programming experience can grasp, what computers really are, what they can do, and how we use programming languages to control them. Begin your exploration of Java by exploding the common myth that computers deal only with 0s and 1s. Then, once you understand what computers really process, investigate the kind of processing they perform. Using a simple, virtual computer model, explore basic principles and functions of programming, including high-level languages, loops, referencing, two's complement, and virtual machines. Understanding that these elements exist and what they do on your behalf can be very illuminating to programmers of high-level languages like Java that tend to isolate programmers from the details of the computers they program.

Title: Ground-Up Java
ISBN: 0782141900
Published: December 2003
Authors: Philip Heller
Chapter: Chapter 1: An Introduction to Computers that Will Actually Help You in Life
Published by Sybex