> how "x = x + 1" works In BASIC you can say "LET X = X + 1" which really helped me grasp the assignment operator when I was starting out. We used BlueJ in my

> how "x = x + 1" works In BASIC you can say "LET X = X + 1" which really helped me grasp the assignment operator when I was starting out. We used BlueJ in my comp sci intro courses, but I had already taught myself BASIC in high school using QBASIC and making extensive use of the built-in documentation. It was helpful to have some programming experience coming into it. I had to unlearn a lot of outdated or unfashionable practices, though. If I had learned how to use subroutines instead of relying on GOTO that probably would've helped understand methods a little better.