Pascal Made Simple

Pascal has become well established as a language for students. It is one of the easiest to learn, lends itself naturally to a structured approach to programming and produces clear and readable code. Though it is little used for the production of commercial software, it provides an excellent base for learning other languages. C and C++, for example, are the languages of choice for applications, operating systems, games and other programs where speed is needed. Both are difficult to learn as a first language, but do not prove half so impenetrable if you have cut your programming teeth on Pascal. Borland's Delphi, which is currently finding favour with developers of databases and other commercial applications, is another language that would be easier to learn if you already have a grasp of Pascal.

This Made Simple book does not attempt to give a complete coverage of the language. The aim is to provide clear and concise explanations - with plenty of simple examples - of the words that create the program structures, and of the key procedures and functions.

For most of the book, the focus is on that central core of Pascal that is common to all versions of the language. The techniques and programs given in the first seven chapters should work on any computer, from PC to multi-user system, that has a Pascal compiler. Chapter 8 gives an introduction to Turbo Pascal, in its Windows version, and Turbo appears again in the summary of the language in Chapter 10.

You can only learn programming by doing it. With this in mind, there are exercises at the end of each of the first seven chapters, with answers in Chapter 9.