Elementary PASCAL, as chronicled by John H. Watson

by Henry F. Ledgard and Andrew Ledgard, Henry; Singer

Book Overview

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394708008
• ISBN13: 9780394708003
• Release Date: January 1982
• Publisher: Vintage Books
• Length: 266 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Old but good

I found this at a used book store and picked it up for $1 just because it sounded interesting. I started reading it out of curiosity, but I continued reading it because it is a very good introduction to programming in general and to Pascal in particular. This book has rekindled an interest in Pascal (I used Pascal in highschool and early college and some Delphi at one job). The book is organized around "cases" that Sherlock Holmes solves using the "Analytical Engine" of Charles Babbage. Obviously the original Analytical Engine did not use Pascal, but the gimmick is an effective way of engaging the student's interest in problems that are simple, yet slightly more complex than the average intro to computer science book. Each chapter begins with a description of the problem by Holmes, and by his presentation of his Algorithm and his Pascal program for solving the case. Following sections explain the Pascal and programming language concepts in more detail. I especially enjoyed Chapter 7, where Holmes describes common problem solving techniques. In conclusion: buy the book if 1) you love computer languages and you're interested in picking up some basic Pascal, 2) you're interested in reading a computer book with a gimmick that actually works and doesn't insult the reader's intelligence, 3) you'd like to collect some new ideas for programming assignments for you class.