Rating: 
Summary: This is a gem for those who want to learn programming
Review: Like the previous review, I finally can see the big picture after reading this book. Instead of cracking my head over functions and subroutines and not making head of tail of the whole thing, I see the light now.For those of you who are struggling with your desire to program but do not have the Computer Science background, this book will be a great help as a roadmap. Couple this with a WROX's Beginning book, you will program real soon.
Rating: 
Summary: A dangerous book with good intentions
Review: With "Introduction to Computing and Algorithms", thousands of students have, at Georgia Tech and elsewhere, been tricked into believing that they can program. The ability to think algorithmically, Dr. Shackleford would have one believe, is an adequate programming foundation. Theoretically, perhaps. In truth, however, the book's clear disregard for efficiency, as well as a refusal to get into the "nuts and bolts" of programming, leaves one feeling like a confident programmer -- but it is a feeling which is all-too-often deceitful. As an upper-level teaching assistant at Georgia Tech, where the book is used for the Introduction to Computing class, I have seen many students learn from the book, only to see their "skills" fail to pass on to real languages. Programming can only be learned via experience, and Dr. Shackleford's use of an uncompilable psuedocode is perhaps the most damning aspect of the book. I give it an additional star due to its possible use in a classroom setting *with* experienced teachers, but it is by no means a practical guide for anyone interested in being introduced to, for the first time, computer science.
Rating:
Summary: A dangerous book with good intentions
Review: With "Introduction to Computing and Algorithms", thousands of students have, at Georgia Tech and elsewhere, been tricked into believing that they can program. The ability to think algorithmically, Dr. Shackleford would have one believe, is an adequate programming foundation. Theoretically, perhaps. In truth, however, the book's clear disregard for efficiency, as well as a refusal to get into the "nuts and bolts" of programming, leaves one feeling like a confident programmer -- but it is a feeling which is all-too-often deceitful. As an upper-level teaching assistant at Georgia Tech, where the book is used for the Introduction to Computing class, I have seen many students learn from the book, only to see their "skills" fail to pass on to real languages. Programming can only be learned via experience, and Dr. Shackleford's use of an uncompilable psuedocode is perhaps the most damning aspect of the book. I give it an additional star due to its possible use in a classroom setting *with* experienced teachers, but it is by no means a practical guide for anyone interested in being introduced to, for the first time, computer science.
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