Programming from First Principles (Prentice-Hall International series in computer science)

From Preface:This book is not the usual sort of introduction to programming. It is unusual in at least three ways: it is very long, it takes a formal approach to the subject based on reasoning about programs, and it is not based on a particular mechanical code or 'programming language'.From my experience of teaching programming to novices, and from watching other people do it, I have become convinced that it takes quite a while to learn to program. The principles of programming can be very concisely stated, but there is plenty to learn. Programming is sufficiently different from what is taught in other subjects and requires such mental discipline that it takes time to absorb and command the subject. This book is designed to take the novice slowly through the first stages of learning, through those subjects which seem so easy to the skilled practioner but are real obstacles to so many novices. It takes pains to explain the simple things at sufficient length that they can be understood and to make a firm foundation for the development of later ideas. The book is long because there is more to the teaching and the learning of those simple things than might at first appear. [...]