Think Like a Programmer: An Introduction to Creative Problem Solving

Wish this book was my first ever purchase on Programming, I would have saved myself a lot of money 10/10

Great book. Really engaging and I have learnt a lot

very good read

Very well written, thought provoking and helpful. Good tool for students

I have read a great many programming books, but they are mostly about syntax and design. This is the first book I have read that has helped me with the most important skill in programming. There is no born ability to be a good programmer; it takes practice. This book will give you plenty of practice with well paced problems that increase in difficulty steadily. Actually solving the problems yourself is important; it's the only way to learn to problem solve and you will find your confidence increase as you work through more. The explanations and learning outcomes after each problem are also excellent. I felt I had a guide in the room with me. Probably the best computer book I have owned and I have over 50.This book should be required reading on University courses. Many University courses these days seem to just teach you syntax of a particular programming language and a lot of courses are just Java training camps. I have interviewed many graduates who have excellent knowledge of Java syntax but have little idea on how to think through problems and come up with solutions.

It's an okay book & one I certainly wish had been available to me maybe 15 years ago! Not only is it a stealth introduction to computer science it's a good primer for C/C++. The initial style is a bit whacky and slightly lowbrow but the author seems to calm down and be more readable as the book progresses. However, his persistent admonishments to 'do the practice' at the start of each and every 'Excercises' section jars against the overall friendly tone. The Chapters on recursion are the best of the book along with last chapter which examines the strengths and weaknesses of us as programmers and how we program which is very helpful for developing personal insight - an oft overlooked aspect of learning to think like a programmer. So overall? Well worth a read but with some passing comment about the new pointer RAII features of C++11/14 might help update it a bit - not that it should in any way replace the discussion about raw pointers as personally I think this is very important.

V. Anton Spraul is an experienced computer science teacher and has taught introductory programming and computer science for more than 15 years.The goal of this book is to teach you the creative Part of programming. It's target audience are clearly beginners who "struggle to write programs, even though you think you understand programming languages."You should be familiar with at least one Programming language (it doesn't have to be c++).The book starts with some general problem solving techniques (e. g. always have a plan, divide and conquer) and explains them on some general puzzles.In later chapters Problems will be solved with specific programming concepts like Arrays, pointers, dynamic memory and recursion.You might be disappointed because Spraul doesn't give any answers to the exercises but as Spraul states at the beginning of the book you should see them as opportunities to apply the concepts described in the chapters.The exercises are coded in c++ but the book is not specifically about c++. Most chapters start with a short review of the used concepts in c++.

excellent