The Librarian's Introduction to Programming Languages

Reviews / Votes

With so many programming languages in use today, it can be hard to know which does what, which is approachable for beginners yet useful long-term, and which will help accomplish library work. Edited by Thomsett-Scott, this title addresses Python, Ruby, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, SQL, C, C#, and Java in a chapter per language, with each chapter also briefly discussing the development of the language in question. The contributors-almost all of them librarians while others are developers-offer beginning steps and code that will get readers going, as well as lists for further reading, mostly in the form of handy tutorial websites but also books and articles. Readers will finish this title with a solid sense of which programming language is right for them and their library, and the tools to get started learning and implementing the language. Verdict: A worthwhile resource for librarians looking to boost their resume and those interested in or already working in systems librarianship. * Library Journal * Thomsett-Scott's book Librarian's Introduction to Programming Languages is the best thing I've seen written for librarians who want to know why computer programming is important in libraries. Libraries are about many things. Some of those things are data and information. Computers excel at creating, storing, manipulating, and disseminating data and information. The intersection of these two worlds is librarians who program. Using examples from Library Land, this book, compares, contrasts, and introduces a wide range of programming languages. Given this book, a networked computer, and a few hours of time, the reader ought to be able to write their very first program in any number of popular languages and consequently learn how programming is essential to the profession. -- Eric Lease Morgan, Digital Initiatives Librarian, University of Notre Dame Beth Thomsett-Scott has put together a guide that answers the question that every librarian asks about Programming Languages, 'Where do I begin?' From beginning to end The Librarian's Introduction to Programming Languages will help you choose which programing languages are best for any project. A much needed guide for every librarian. -- Juan Denzer, Library Systems Specialist, Binghamton University Libraries This work is a timely addition to the literature. As experienced librarians come to grips with changing workplace needs, some will need to enhance or begin their coding skills for the future. Beth Thomsett-Scott has assembled a worthy cast of authors to guide librarians in a choice of programming or scripting languages that will make the largest impact for a variety of situations. Code on colleagues! -- Matthew R. Martseller, Senior Librarian, Engineering & Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University