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500 MB Nyheder Direkte fra Internet 2
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500 MB nyheder direkte fra internet CD 2.iso
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program.txt
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1994-09-21
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BACKGROUND
This is the middle page of the book. The 319 pages before it
cover what's new and hot about computers. The 319 pages after it
cover the eternal truths.
10 years from now, the stuff in the first half of the book will
be considered ``obsolete''. The stuff in the second half of the
book will be considered ``still true''.
This page is your introduction to eternity.
Why program?
We begin our look at eternal truths by studying programming. Of
the 8 sections that make up this book, the section on programming
is the longest: 271 pages! It's this book's deepest and most
thorough adventure. It's the adventure that does the most to
expand your mind and turn you into a brilliant thinker. Here's
where your career's long-term growth gets its biggest boost.
Here's where you learn the secret of computer life! You learn
how to take a computer ___ which is just a hunk of metal and
plastic ___ and teach it new skills, by feeding it programs. Your
teaching and programs turn the computer into a thinking organism.
If you teach the computer well, you can make it become as smart
as you and even imitate your personality. You become the
computer's God, capable of making the computer do anything you
wish. Ah, the power!
Folks who read just the first half of this book are at the
mercy of Microsoft and other money-grubbing companies: whenever
those unfortunate folks want to make the computer do something,
they must buy a program that teaches the computer how. If
computer stores don't carry a program for that particular task
___ or if the program's price is unaffordable ___ those folks are
out of luck.
But once you learn how to program, you're lucky! You can make
the computer do anything you want! All you need is the patience
and perseverence to finish writing your program. And if you ever
get stuck, phone me anytime at 617-666-2666 for free help.
When you finish writing your program, you can sell it to the
idiots who've read just the first half of the book ___ and you're
on your way to turning yourself into the next Microsoft.
It's easy
Programming the computer can be easy. You'll write your own
programs just a few minutes from now, when you reach page 328! As
you read farther, you'll learn how to write programs that are
more sophisticated.
Computer languages
To program a computer,
you put your fingers on the computer's keyboard and type
commands. You type the commands in English.
The computer understands
just part of English; it understands just a few words and
phrases. The words and phrases the computer understands are
called the computer's language.
Most computers
understand a language called BASIC. It consists of words such as
PRINT, GO, TO, INPUT, IF, and THEN.
To begin, I'll explain
how to program the computer by using those BASIC words.
Afterwards, I'll explain how to use different computer languages
instead.
For example, I'll
explain how to program the computer by using a language called C.
In C, you must say ``printf'' instead of ``PRINT'', and you must
say ``scanf'' instead of ``INPUT''.
Notice that C appeals to
dirty minds who like to say ``f'' words! Another reason why
programmers use C is that programs written in C run faster and
consume less RAM than if written in BASIC.
But let's start with
BASIC, which is pleasantly human, easy, and tasteful.
Why learn so many languages?
Programmers love to argue about which language is best. BASIC
is easy to learn. C runs quickly and consumes less RAM. DBASE
includes extra words that help manipulate databases. PASCAL lets
you organize your thinking better. LOGO fascinates kids by
showing turtles move across the computer's screen. FORTRAN
handles complex numbers used by engineers. COBOL handles the
giant accounting tasks faced by big banks, insurance companies,
and the IRS. Thousands of other languages have been invented,
too!
Each language continually improves by stealing words from other
languages ___ just as we English speakers stole the word
``restaurant'' from the French, and the French stole the word
``weekend'' from us.
Because of the mutual stealing, computer languages are becoming
more alike. But each language still retains its own ``inspired
lunacy'', its own weird words that other languages haven't copied
yet.
This book turns you into a complete expert by teaching you how
to program in many languages, so you become multilingual!
Learning a new language affects your way of thinking. For
example, most American think cockroaches are disgusting; but when
a German housewife sees a cockroach, she just giggles, because
she thinks of the German word for ``cockroach'', which is
``küchenschabe'', which means ``kitchen scraper'', ``a cute
little thing that sweeps the kitchen''. Yes, even the ugliest
problems look cute when you know how to express your thoughts
multilingually!
Each language adds new words to your vocabulary so you gain new
ways to express your problems, solutions, and thoughts about
them. When you face a tough programming problem and try to reduce
it to words the computer understands, you'll think more clearly
if you're multilingual and mastered enough vocabulary to turn the
vague problem into precise words quickly.
An expert programmer can boil complex hassles down to a series
of simple concepts. To do that, you need on the tip of your
tongue the words defining those simple concepts. The more
computer languages you study, the more words you'll learn, so you
can quickly verbalize the crux of each computer problem and solve
it.