Think Like a Programmer : An Introduction to Creative Problem Solving

Instead of learning by trial and error, you can learn problem solving in a systematic way. That’s what this book is all about. You can learn techniques to organize your thoughts, procedures to discover solutions, and strategies to apply to certain classes of problems. By studying these approaches, you can unlock your creativity. Make no mistake: Programming, and especially problem solving, is a creative activity. Creativity is mysterious, and no one can say exactly how the creative mind functions. Yet, if we can learn music composition, take advice on creative writing, or be shown how to paint, then we can learn to creatively solve programming problems, too. This book isn’t going to tell you precisely what to do it’s going to help you develop your latent problem-solving abilities so that you will know what you should do. This book is about helping you become the programmer you are meant to be. Rewire your brain Examples in this book are written in C++, but will improve your ability to think like a programmer in any language. The real challenge of programming isn't learning a language's syntaxit's learning to creatively solve problems so you can build something great. In this one-of-a-kind text, author V. Anton Spraul breaks down the ways that programmers solve problems and teaches you what other introductory books often ignore: how to Think Like a Programmer . Each chapter tackles a single programming concept, like classes, pointers, and recursion, and open-ended exercises throughout challenge you to apply your knowledge. You'll also learn how to: Split problems into discrete components to make them easier to solve Make the most of code reuse with functions, classes, and libraries Pick the perfect data structure for a particular job Master more advanced programming tools like recursion and dynamic memory Organize your thoughts and develop strategies to tackle particular types of problems Although the book's examples are written in C++, the creative problem-solving concepts they illustrate go beyond any particular language; in fact, they often reach outside the realm of computer science. As the most skillful programmers know, writing great code is a creative artand the first step in creating your masterpiece is learning to Think Like a Programmer .

The real challenge of programming isn't learning a language's syntax—it's learning to creatively solve problems so you can build something great. In this one-of-a-kind text, author V. Anton Spraul breaks down the ways that programmers solve problems and teaches you what other introductory books often ignore: how to Think Like a Programmer. Each chapter tackles a single programming concept, like classes, pointers, and recursion, and open-ended exercises throughout challenge you to apply your knowledge. You'll also learn how to:

• Split problems into discrete components to make them easier to solve
• Make the most of code reuse with functions, classes, and libraries
• Pick the perfect data structure for a particular job
• Master more advanced programming tools like recursion and dynamic memory
• Organize your thoughts and develop strategies to tackle particular types of problems

Although the book's examples are written in C++, the creative problem-solving concepts they illustrate go beyond any particular language; in fact, they often reach outside the realm of computer science. As the most skillful programmers know, writing great code is a creative art—and the first step in creating your masterpiece is learning to Think Like a Programmer.

"The real challenge of programming isn't learning a language's syntax--it's learning to creatively solve problems so you can build something great. In this one-of-a-kind text, author V. Anton Spraul breaks down the ways that programmers solve problems and teaches you what other introductory books often ignore: how to Think Like a Programmer. Each chapter tackles a single programming concept, like classes, pointers, and recursion, and open-ended exercises throughout challenge you to apply your knowledge. You'll also learn how to: Split problems into discrete components to make them easier to solve: Make the most of code reuse with functions, classes, and libraries pick the perfect data structure for a particular job: Master more advanced programming tools like recursion and dynamic memory: Organize your thoughts and develop strategies to tackle particular types of problems. Although the book's examples are written in C++, the creative problem-solving concepts they illustrate go beyond any particular language; in fact, they often reach outside the realm of computer science. As the most skillful programmers know, writing great code is a creative art--and the first step in creating your masterpiece is learning to Think Like a Programmer"-- Provided by publisher Do you struggle to write programs, even though you think you understand programming languages?