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Be a Computer Literate
As the 18th and 19th centuries were eras of tremendous industrial growth, so the 20th century is viewed as an electronic age—a time when developments in electronics are propelling computers to unforeseen applications. Here our creativity is being realized. What will computerization bring to our world in the 21st century?
Are you a computer literate? Can we count on you?
This informative, full-color book is an ideal first introduction to the world of computers. It covers kinds of computers, how they work, their applications in society, flowcharts and writing a simple program. Full-color drawings, diagrams and photos on every page coupled with large type make this book easy to read and understand.
Are you a computer literate? Can we count on you?
This informative, full-color book is an ideal first introduction to the world of computers. It covers kinds of computers, how they work, their applications in society, flowcharts and writing a simple program. Full-color drawings, diagrams and photos on every page coupled with large type make this book easy to read and understand.
62 pages, Paperback
Published March 1, 1978
1 person want to read
About the author
David H. Ahl
21 booksLibrary of Congress Authorities: David H. Ahl
Books sometimes say only "David Ahl"
Books sometimes say only "David Ahl"
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 26, 2019
This is an odd book. It is illustrated in a counter-cultural manner similar to other books from Creative Computing, but the bright glossy white paper and the too-sharp text end up looking harsh, not at all what the illustrations appear to be going for.
The content is very simple: computers are used in these industries, for these reasons: medical research, traffic and crime control, grocery store UPC codes, educational attendance records.
People who use computers wear jeans and miniskirts.
Computers are made up of input units (such as punch card readers, printer terminals, and cathode ray tubes with light pens. Memory units. Logic units. Control units. And output units, such as card punches, magnetic tape, teletypewriters, and cathode ray tubes.
We communicate with then through algorithms that can be described using flow charts. (One of the things that I’ve learned reading through these old books is that there was a minor controversy over the usefulness of flow charts.) The only programming language it describes is BASIC, which makes sense because you can construct a simple BASIC program that is almost self-describing.
Probably the weirdest line was that “Without the use of computers, our scientists could never have launched missiles, reports could not have been sent back to earth regarding the various experiments carried out on the lunar missions, and astronauts would never have been sent to the moon.”
The weird part about that is that just about every person illustrated would probably have preferred that our scientists never launch missiles! The conclusion, praising the “tremendous industrial growth” of the last two centuries, also seemed out of place.
The book is still a fascinating window into a different time, probably just before the introduction of home computers (it was copyright 1977) so that a book like this that looks today like it had to be marketed toward very low grades might instead have been useful through high school.
The content is very simple: computers are used in these industries, for these reasons: medical research, traffic and crime control, grocery store UPC codes, educational attendance records.
People who use computers wear jeans and miniskirts.
Computers are made up of input units (such as punch card readers, printer terminals, and cathode ray tubes with light pens. Memory units. Logic units. Control units. And output units, such as card punches, magnetic tape, teletypewriters, and cathode ray tubes.
We communicate with then through algorithms that can be described using flow charts. (One of the things that I’ve learned reading through these old books is that there was a minor controversy over the usefulness of flow charts.) The only programming language it describes is BASIC, which makes sense because you can construct a simple BASIC program that is almost self-describing.
Probably the weirdest line was that “Without the use of computers, our scientists could never have launched missiles, reports could not have been sent back to earth regarding the various experiments carried out on the lunar missions, and astronauts would never have been sent to the moon.”
The weird part about that is that just about every person illustrated would probably have preferred that our scientists never launch missiles! The conclusion, praising the “tremendous industrial growth” of the last two centuries, also seemed out of place.
The book is still a fascinating window into a different time, probably just before the introduction of home computers (it was copyright 1977) so that a book like this that looks today like it had to be marketed toward very low grades might instead have been useful through high school.
Displaying 1 of 1 review