Software & Technology review
What is Coding? A Beginner's Guide review
A $17.99 ebook explaining what programming is, credited to a doctor with an invented degree.
Pass
This is the hardest sell in the catalogue, because what is coding is the single best-answered question on the internet: free introductions with interactive exercises are the standard entry point to the whole field, from university courses to the tutorials the language communities maintain themselves. Paying $17.99 for a text explanation with no exercises means paying for less than the free versions give. The credential adds insult: a PhD in Programming Languages Classification, shared by three of the five coding titles here with three different doctors, is not a degree anyone holds.
- Price
- $17.99
- Billing
- One-time payment
- Best for
- Nobody: free interactive introductions are better and cost nothing
- Not for
- Anyone who would learn faster by writing code than reading about it
What is Coding? A Beginner's Guide at a glance
The book explains what coding is and how it works, the role of programming in apps, websites and everyday technology, the most common languages and their uses, how coding trains logical thinking, and first steps to take. It is an instant download with no page count, sold only through the order form at $17.99 beside a printed regular price of $47, with a 60-day refund window.
- Format
- Ebook, instant download after purchase
- Length
- Not stated: the order form gives no page count
- Contents
- A simple explanation of what coding is and how it works; The role of programming in apps, websites, and everyday technology; The most common programming languages and their uses; How coding helps you think logically and solve problems; Easy steps to begin your own coding journey right away
- Price
- $17.99 one time, listed beside a regular price of $47
- Refund window
- 60 days on the order form
- Credited author
- Hina Sarwar
- Credited co-author
- Dr. Helen Brown, described as holding a PhD in Programming Languages Classification with 32 years of experience
- Readership claim
- Claims 363000+ readers
- Sales page
- None: the Digistore24 order form is the only description
- Seller
- GhulamBooks, listed as the merchant on the Digistore24 order form; no website, address or phone number is given anywhere. Digistore24 Inc. is the reseller of record.
- Digistore24 ID
- 633829
An explanation, not an exercise
What code is, where it runs, which languages exist and how to start.
None of it involves writing a line of code, which is how beginners actually learn.
The field gives this away
Interactive beginner courses with in-browser exercises are free and maintained by large communities.
They also keep up with language versions, which a static file cannot.
The co-author's degree does not exist
The listing credits Dr. Helen Brown with a PhD in Programming Languages Classification and 32 years of experience. No university awards a doctorate in that, and it is the pattern across all 84 titles from this seller: each book gets its own doctor with a PhD in exactly that book's subject.
Three of those names appear twice with different doctorates and different decades of experience, so the credentials are generated rather than held.
The rest of the numbers are decoration
Claims 363000+ readers, although the seller has no website, no catalogue page and no way to check. The $47 regular price sits next to $17.99 on every title in the catalogue and is never charged.
The reviews carry first names and US or European cities, which cannot be verified either.
Pros and cons
What works
- Plain-language explanation
- Covers the landscape of languages
- 60-day refund window on the order form
- Instant download, no add-ons in the cart
What does not
- Free interactive courses are strictly better
- No exercises or code to run
- Co-author credited with a degree that does not exist
- Permanent $47 anchor price
- No sales page, author bio or sample
What is Coding? A Beginner's Guide FAQ
Do I write any code?
No, the ebook explains rather than teaches by doing.
Which language does it recommend?
It surveys the common ones rather than choosing.
How much does it cost?
$17.99 as a one-time payment, with no sales tax added for a US address.
Can I get a refund?
Yes, the order form shows a 60-day money-back window.
Who wrote it?
The listing credits Hina Sarwar, with Dr. Helen Brown as co-author. Neither has a verifiable profile, and the doctorate given is not a real academic field.
The bottom line
This is the hardest sell in the catalogue, because what is coding is the single best-answered question on the internet: free introductions with interactive exercises are the standard entry point to the whole field, from university courses to the tutorials the language communities maintain themselves. Paying $17.99 for a text explanation with no exercises means paying for less than the free versions give. The credential adds insult: a PhD in Programming Languages Classification, shared by three of the five coding titles here with three different doctors, is not a degree anyone holds.
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