Bøger af Chris Payne

Java is the most important single computer language in use today. The proprietor of Java, Oracle, proudly claims that the language is used on over three billion devices world-wide. Java is used to write the complete range of applications from large commercial and industrial systems to low-level programs for embedded firmware. Java Quick and Easy is for students starting a first course in object-oriented programming using Java. The approach is practical and 'hands-on' - the student starts writing working programs from day one, starting with the traditional 'Hello World'. Chris Payne quickly guides the student through the basics of Java - packages, classes, methods, data types and objects. Soon the student becomes confident at programming using files, arrays, the Abstract Windows Toolkit(AWT) for graphical and Windows programming, animation, event handling, applets, the Swing classes, multithreading and using Java for network programming.. The theoretical ideas of object-orientation are discussed as they arise and are summarized in a separate appendix. By the end of the course, the student will be able to write safe, well-constructed Java programs.

Ken and Sonia are lecturers in a further education college whose principal, Morton Scregg, is a lecherous tyrant. One day, after a a drunken lunch, Principal Scregg falls down the college stairs to his death. As the last to speak to him, Ken is accused of his murder. The death of Scregg and the injustice of being blamed for it, is a turning point in Ken's life. He and Sonia come to realise that there is a market for an assassination business dedicated to erasing all the evil Scregg's of this world as a public service. At first the business goes well, and they get a steady supply of clients who are victims of everyday bullies, cheats and psychopaths . But Ken and Sonia soon find out that the 'conflict deletion' profession is far more crowded than they had expected as they get drawn into a parallel universe of assassins and hitmen. In a tense climax to this comedy thriller, Ken and Sonia are forced to commit the execution of the century, which they must complete satisfactorily and escape, or be 'erased' themselves.

Chris Payne writes a hilarious surreal account of life as a university professor at a dysfunctional university in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. On the beautiful island of Cyprus nothing works as you expect it to, from the primitive plumbing to the maniacal university bus service. The American Institute of Cyprus is a seat of higher learning like no other. The place is chaotically organised for students who attend class only if they feel like it. They cheat on their exams, photocopy their textbooks illegally and deliberately fail their courses to avoid military service. The management of AIC spends its time devising all sorts of money-making scams and schemes to cheat students and teachers alike. The business strategy of the Institute's owner is to sell as many university degrees at the highest price he can get, alongside his cake shops and his on-campus motorcycle franchise. But, as everybody says - 'this is Cyprus' - an edenic Mediterranean paradise where everyone is on the make and the main guiding principle is 'money is money'.

What they don't tell you in college is an essential book for every new college graduate entering the world of work. After high school and college, most entrants to the grown-up world of work are not prepared for the competitive, and sometimes hostile, new environment. Their professors will have given them the academic credentials but the student will have been told too little about essential personal work-place skills. The book includes vital information about: Getting the first job Networking for advantage Passing the interview Surviving the office politics Managing the boss Handling meetings Moving up and moving on Dressing for success Making the best of your money

'Balikwas' is a Tagalog word which is untranslatable into English. It signifies a startling change - a move to 'the other side'. Chris Payne writes about moving his life to the other side of the world when he and wife Loydz left England to emigrate to The Philippines. Balikwas - How to Emigrate to The Philippines is an account of how they did it. He describes how they packed up in the UK and built a house in their new country. The book recounts how they adapted to a different way of life in the tropics. Their story is an encouraging and life-affirming story of how, even late in life, one can still change one's life and enjoy new and interesting experiences in a far away country. It can also be read as a simple 'how to do it' guide for anyone contemplating emigration, either to The Philippines or elsewhere.