For technology programs offering courses in BASIC and Visual BASIC. Assuming no prior programming experience, this author team introduces the concept of structured programming through BASIC. This highly accessible language is used to develop the solid programming habits that are required by higher-level languages such as C and C++. Throughout the text, the clearest possible examples are used to illustrate new concepts while frequent technical applications are presented to portray programming as an essential tool for the solution, analysis, and design of technical problems.