Chapter 1: An Introduction to Computers That Will Actually Help You in Life


Overview

Java is a programming language that tells computers what to do. This chapter will look at what computes really are, what they can do, and how we use programming languages to control them.

We will begin by exploding the common myth that computers deal only with 0s and 1s. Once we establish what computers really process, we will look at the kind of processing they perform.

This is emphatically not an intellectual exercise. Spending a bit of effort here will make your life much easier in the chapters that follow. Many concepts that appear later in this book, such as data typing, referencing, and virtual machines, will make very little sense unless you understand the underlying structure of computers. Without this understanding, learning to program can be confusing and overwhelming. With the right fundamentals, though, it can be enjoyable and stimulating.




Ground-Up Java
Ground-Up Java
ISBN: 0782141900
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2005
Pages: 157
Authors: Philip Heller

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