Self teaching basic computer science

[captain]

I wanted to teach myself computer science, but I don't know any great beginning books that give a solid introduction. I am a complete novice. Could someone provide some names? I am trying to learn C. And is windows good for doing C or is another operating system more preferrable?

Appreciate the help thanks in advance.


On a sidenote: I wasn't sure where to put this whether it should be in the science book review since I am asking about a book or i the computer science section.

 

[mgb_phys]

C is very good for learning how computers work. If you want to simply learn to program to do stuff I would pick something a little more high level like python or javascript.

Computer science is completely different from programming and deals with things like algorithms and data at a much more abstract level.

It doesn't really count as computer science but one of the best intro computer books is 'code' by windows programming guru Charles Petzold.

 

[Werg22]

You should try the free online textbook http://www.htdp.org" . The printed version sells for about $60 US I think. It teaches to program with Scheme, which is basically a dialect of lisp. It doesn't have much (if any) commercial value, but the language allows you to understand the fundamentals of computer science, whereas a language like C 'hides' certain core ideas because of the way it's implemented. And the person above me pointed, CS isn't about programming, it's about the logical structure that all programming languages possess.

 

[mgb_phys]

If you are prepared to learn scheme then the classic course is Structure and Intepretaion of Computer programs, the book and video lectures are freely available on line http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/

 

[mal4mac]

Squeak: Learn Programming with Robots by Stéphane Ducasse

Smalltalk will get you programming with objects from the get go, and then you can take your good habits to C++, Java, or even C (if you must). This guys a smalltalk guru and has even pestered publishers to give away free out of print books on his website (great move):

http://stephane.ducasse.free.fr/FreeBooks.htm

"Squeak by Example" is a great place to start. Followed by:

Smalltalk by Example: the Developer's Guide Alex Sharp

Then, if you want to get *real* serious:

Object-Oriented Implementation of Numerical Methods: An Introduction with Java & Smalltalk by Didier H. Besset [not free]