Orem Library

Discusses how computers work, the development of calculators into electronic devices, the use of these devices as code breakers, and its metamorphosis into the modern computer and its applications.

"All kids who've wondered what's inside their computer or smartphone will love this book about the hardware and operating systems that help make our tech tools amazing!"--

Multivac, the gigantic computer that controls the entire world and can even predict the probabilities of potential crimes before they happen, suddenly announces that someone is plotting to destroy Multivac.

"Machines That Think! explores machines from ancient history to today that perform a multitude of tasks, from making mind-numbing calculations to working on assembly lines to guiding spaceships to the moon. Included are fascinating looks at the world's earliest calculators, the birth of computer programming, and the arrival of smartphones. Contributors discussed include Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī, Ada Lovelace, and Bill Gates. From the abacus...

Any time a computer takes different paths depending on your response, there is usually a conditional statement involved. Delve into these widely used tools, looking at branching points, comparisons, if/then statements, nesting conditionals, and Boolean (true/false) expressions.

"Hello, World!"Following tradition, write a program that produces this greeting as your first exercise in coding a computer program. Learn why Python is the ideal computer language for beginners and many others. After this lesson, follow the onscreen instructions for installing Python and the programming editor PyCharm.

Programming is an eminently learnable skill that gives you unrivalled problem-solving power you can apply in all areas of life. It’s also a fun, creative activity that provides insight into how we control the devices that influence virtually every aspect of our lives. The 24 engaging and information-rich lessons of How to Program teach you one of the world’s most accessible and powerful computer languages, Python.

Take what you have learned about lists, loops, files, and other techniques and design a program that lets you analyze weather data. Sound daunting? Discover the trick of top-down design, which breaks a complex task into manageable parts and is applicable not just to coding but to any major project.

Examine a famous graph algorithm called breadth-first search, which shows the shortest path connecting nodes in a tree. Use this technique to write a program creating an entertaining game, in which a word is transformed one letter at a time, with each new iteration required to be a valid word.