This is a text book—it is intended to teach you about computer programming. Learning is like a journey and, with any journey, it is helpful to know something about the terrain before setting out, for you can make proper preparations and know what will be expected of you. This chapter provides you with a road map of your journey. The coming pages will present a great deal of detailed matter and it is all too easy to get mired down in this detail and lose sight of how it fits in with the whole. Here is a very general view that will allow you to gain a picture of where the details are leading.