I began programming as a teenager, learning from fun books containing comic strips with wizards and turtles. I read magazines that showed me how to make my own simple games or cause silly effects to appear on the screen. I had fun.
But when I went to university, my books began discussing bank accounts, balances, sales departments, employees, and employers. I wondered if my life as a programmer would mean putting on a gray suit and writing code handling payroll systems. Oh, the horror!
At least half of my class hated programming with a passion. I could not blame them. Why did programming books have to be so boring, functional, and sensible?
Where was the sense of adventure and fun? Fun is underrated. Who cares if a book is silly and has stupid jokes if it makes you learn and enjoy learning?
That is one of the reasons I wrote this book. I wanted the reader to enjoy learning programming—not through cracking jokes but by working through programming examples that are interesting and fun to do.