Programming Fundamentals/Preface

A Note to Readers
Welcome to Programming Fundamentals – A Modular Structured Approach, 2nd Edition!

The original content for this book was created by Kenneth Leroy Busbee and written specifically for his course based on C++. The goal for this second edition is to make it programming-language neutral, so that it may serve as an introductory programming textbook for students using any of a variety of programming languages, including C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Python, and Swift. Other languages will be considered upon request.

Programming concepts are introduced generically, with logic demonstrated in pseudocode and flowchart form, followed by examples for different programming languages. Emphasis is placed on a modular, structured approach that supports reuse, maintenance, and self-documenting code.

As you begin to review this edition, please keep the audience in mind. If something is missing, think about whether that concept applies to programming in general or only to certain programming languages, and whether it is a fundamental, first-semester programming concept or something better addressed in a more advanced textbook.

You are encouraged to make use of the Comments page at the end of the book whenever you have suggestions or concerns regarding content or approach. All suggestions will be reviewed and considered.

Dave Braunschweig

About this Book
Programming Fundamentals – A Modular Structured Approach, 2nd Edition is an adaptation of “Programming Fundamentals – A Modular Structured Approach using C++“, written by Kenneth Leroy Busbee, a faculty member at Houston Community College in Houston, Texas. The materials used in the first edition were originally developed by Busbee and others as independent modules for publication within the Connexions environment. The original source is available at https://cnx.org/contents/MDgA8wfz@22.2:YzfkjC2r@17/.

This second edition, adapted by Dave Braunschweig, expands on the original vision by supporting multiple programming languages with pseudocode and flowcharts, and includes example code in C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Python, and Swift.

Programming fundamentals are often divided into three college courses: Modular/Structured, Object Oriented and Data Structures. This textbook/collection covers the first of those three courses.

Learning Modules
The learning modules of this textbook were written as standalone modules. Students using a collection of modules as a textbook will usually view its contents by reading the modules sequentially as presented by the author of the collection.

However, many readers of these modules may find them as a result of an Internet search. The textbook design allows the author of a module to create web links to other modules and Internet locations and designate any necessary prerequisites.

Conceptual Approach
The learning modules of this textbook were, for the most part, written without consideration of a specific programming language. Concepts are presented generically, with program logic demonstrated first in pseudocode and flowchart format. Language-specific examples follow the general overview.

Re-use and Customization
The Creative Commons (CC) Attribution-ShareAlike license applies to all modules in this textbook. Under this license, any module may be used or modified for any purpose as long as proper attribution to the original author(s) is maintained and you distribute your contributions under the same license.

PDF Conversion Problems
There are several known PDF printing problems. A description of the known problems are:


 * 1) When it converts an “Example” the PDF displays the first line of an example properly but indents the remaining lines of the example. This problem occurs for the printing of a book (because it prints a PDF) and downloading either a module or a textbook/collection as a PDF.
 * 2) Within C++ there are three operators that do not convert properly into PDF format.