This is a nice introductory programming text--eight chapters, with appendixes--that uses the basics of the C programming language as a vehicle for teaching computer programming to complete beginners. Kalicharan has done a very nice job of identifying the bare essentials of the C language needed to write basic algorithms, including, toward the end, computations involving factorials; lowest common multiple and highest common factor; average and deviations from the average; letter frequency and other, simpler counts; a palindrome program; and, finally, searches (linear and binary) and sorts (insertion and selection).

This is a no-frills text. Included in the language features covered are functions (chapter 7), arrays (chapter 8), and material on strings and using external files. The page layouts, including the boxing (framing) of programs, program fragments, and program output, and the presentation of syntax descriptions are pleasing to the eye. The choice of fonts lends to the readability and overall attractiveness of the book.

All in all, the book should be easy for even novice students to read. If your goal is to teach the rudiments of programming in the small (simple algorithm development) to students with no programming background, this book merits serious consideration. Its approach is somewhat reminiscent of the earliest Fortran books.

Beware that functions are not introduced until chapter 7 (of 8 chapters). The earlier chapters follow a fairly typical order, covering data types (chapter 2), programming with sequence logic, programming with decisions, and writing loops. Chapter 6 covers the use of characters and the basic character functions. Although chapter 1 gives some attention to teaching programming in the abstract, the remainder of the text provides no significant material as to how to think about programming--identifying required variables and their use; the design of simple loops; or the interplay between function arguments and loop parameters, for example. For students with good problem-solving skills, this may not matter. For some weaker students, it will.