ABSTRACT
Programming is about computers making decisions. The features of programming languages that support this are called control structures and the theoretical framework is that of logic. This chapter develops these ideas: first the simple aspects of logic and Boolean algebra that underlie all computer programming and then their application in Maple control structures. Control structures can be “nested”, which means that one is contained within another, and sophisticated programs can be expected to contain quite deeply nested control structures that are reminiscent of the leaves of an onion or a set of “Russian dolls”. I will illustrate nested control structures briefly at the end of this chapter, and then we will see them in action in subsequent chapters.
