If you're trying to decide between one of our "How to Program" series books and its corresponding "for Programmers" series book, here are some things you should know:

"How to Program" series

1. These are college textbooks.
2. They assume no prior programming experience--all concepts are taught under this assumption.
3. Each chapter ends with a Summary, Terminology list, Self-Review Exercises with answers and Exercises.
4. These books are typically more expensive than "for Programmers" books because they are supported by many supplements for instructors who teach from the texts.
5. These books could be in black and white, two color or full color, depending on the expected sales of the book. 
6. Many professionals like to use our "How to Program" texts because of the end-of-chapter materials that help them practice what they've learned.

"for Programmers" series

1. These books are meant for professionals programmers who are learning a new programming language.
2. We assume you're already a programmer, so we eliminate many of the lower-level explanations for programming constructs that you'll find in just about every programming language, such as repetition statements, selection statements, etc.
3. When there's a corresponding "How to Program" series book, the "for Programmers" book is typically a subset of the "How to Program" book's contents. We'll often remove chapters that are specifically meant for college courses.
4. There are no Summaries, Terminology lists, Self-Review Exercises or Exercises in most of our "for Programmers" books. This might change in the future if there is not a corresponding "How to Program" book--for example, we may add suggested exercises and enhancements to our books on mobile app development.
5. These books are typically cheaper than "How to Program" books.
6. These books have no supplemental materials for instructors.