Although this book is primarily designed to be used by the very young, almost anyone could benefit from reading it. The language is not too simple or condescending to bar adults from having a go at their first Amstrad program. Readers are led through the book by a series of friendly characters the Program Snake, for example and Dino the Dinosaur, who lacks a formal education but who still learned how to program. The author states in the preface that readers should be writing their first Basic program within one hour; although this may seem a tall order, readers will soon discover otherwise. The text is clearly laid out, with good use being made of a variety of type-styles to emphasise various types of instruction. There is a continuous stream of little program listings for the reader to try out. These are immediately followed in the text by orange boxes demonstrating what the reader should then see on the screen in front of him. Scattered throughout the text are large, often humorous drawings which depict an important fact the reader should remember. For example, when inputting data, the reader is instructed to keep it simple and not climb aboard a tottering pile of furniture, as Dino is doing, just to swat a fly. At the end of every chapter, Dino summarises what the reader should have learned and then comes the test a set of exercises to prove that all that information did go in. There is a list of selected answers at the back of the book for those who may need a little help! The exercises are not intended to fluster the reader; the book is fun and easy-going. It will only provide a grounding in essential Basic programming techniques, but that should be enough to start readers on their way to bigger things. ACU #8911 |
