I'm fairly certain that the book "Practical things to do with a Microcomputer" I had when I was a small child was partly responsible for my career in Software Engineering, even though as a teenager I hated computers and just wanted to become a mechanic.
Usborne 1980s computer programming books for kids become free downloads
21–30 of 38 posts
Re: Usborne 1980s computer programming books for kids become free downloads
#22Wow. "Introduction to Computer Programming" was quite literally my first intruduction to programming. I didn't have access to a computer until several years later, so I just wrote programs on a piece of paper.
Computer Battlegames was my first introduction to programming after finding a dog-eared copy in the local library in the late 80s.
I spent many happy minutes carefully retyping all the code into quickbasic and then spending endless hours trying to frig the c64/zx81 syntax to work.
Good times. After lunch i'm going to go back and finally get the missile game to work!
Re: Usborne 1980s computer programming books for kids become free downloads
#23What would a modern programming book for kids look like? Would it use javascript?
Re: Usborne 1980s computer programming books for kids become free downloads
#24In the early 80s, when I was 5 or 6, I got Basic for Beginners and Programming Tricks and Skills (along with a couple of other Usborne books which were about video games) from my local K-Mart in rural Australia.
These books kicked off my love affair with programming, and like many of you I was writing out code without even owning a computer! I remember trying to make a computer out of cardboard and graph paper, and was disappointed that it didn't work. The fact that I could comprehend a for loop before the laws of electricity is kind of trippy.
Anyway, these books were my introduction to a lifelong love affair with programming, and I owe my entire career to them.
At the risk of sounding like a greybeard, things were very different then. If you grew up in the Internet age, it may be difficult to grok that there was a time when information was scarce, and that just carrying around books like these gave you immense understanding and potential.
Re: Usborne 1980s computer programming books for kids become free downloads
#25Oh wow! I remember borrowing these from the library when I was a kid! Awesome!
I had the same thought; I remember the covers and titles of several on that page. I never owned any, but I borrowed several from the local Library and fought with my 48k Spectrum to get them to run as a child.
Re: Usborne 1980s computer programming books for kids become free downloads
#26Brilliant books, and like many of the commenters here, they were my real introduction to programming. The way they visualized the abstract concepts was fantastic.
The biggest downer back in those heady 8-bit home computer days, was the plethora of platforms and the differences in the BASIC dialects. Made getting those code listings working a bit of a pain.
Re: Usborne 1980s computer programming books for kids become free downloads
#27Oh wow! I remember borrowing these from the library when I was a kid! Awesome!
Some comments here are like I wrote them. I got an old ZX Spectrum clone from my aunt when I was a kid. Badly obsolete at the time so I did not tell my classmates who already were playing Diablo and NFS on their 486s. I remember scavenging library for these colorful books all the time. They really fascinated me. I think they got one thing right; kick-start the imagination and make kids learn by playing around.
Re: Usborne 1980s computer programming books for kids become free downloads
#28They feel like the Head First series...only more fun.
Re: Usborne 1980s computer programming books for kids become free downloads
#29What would a modern programming book for kids look like? Would it use javascript?
If it did, I like to think it'd feature 100 pages of setting up and debugging your module loader, preprocessors, dependency resolution, mvc framework, polyfills, unit tests and build scripts. ;)
Re: Usborne 1980s computer programming books for kids become free downloads
#30What would a modern programming book for kids look like? Would it use javascript?
If it did, I like to think it'd feature 100 pages of setting up and debugging your module loader, preprocessors, dependency resolution, mvc framework, polyfills, unit tests and build scripts. ;)
Full disclosure: I basically write JavaScript for a living. I quite like it, and the above comment was supposed to be humerous rather than an attack on thin-skinned js aficionados as the downvotes would suggest.