This was the first programming book I read, back in the eighties. Lately I got a copy for nostalgia's sake, and it's all still spot on good practice today - problem definition, algorithm design, avoiding global state etc - although the language (both the Pascal syntax and the Conan-Doyle-style prose) probably wouldn't suit today's "Dummy's Guide" market.
http://www.amazon.com/Elementary-Learning-Program-Computer-S...
This was the first programming book I read, back in the eighties. Lately I got a copy for nostalgia's sake, and it's all still spot on good practice today - problem definition, algorithm design, avoiding global state etc - although the language (both the Pascal syntax and the Conan-Doyle-style prose) probably wouldn't suit today's "Dummy's Guide" market.