Computer Programming: An Irreplaceable Part of Our Lives
From smartphones, to cars, to space stations, computer programming has roots everywhere. In such a technology-rich world such as ours, it fuels almost everything. It's like the digital blood of our world's technological system, instructing otherwise unresponsive machines into doing work unthinkable in olden eras. However did you ever sit and wonder reader, how exactly does my computer work? Or how does my phone work? How can it recognize my button touches and run different apps? Most people don't know these answers, which is perfectly fine, but in my opinion knowing these answers makes people appreciate the technology they are using so much more. It is not magic controlling our devices, it is pure human logic, computer programming. Okay, I've been using the term "computer programming" a lot already, but...what exactly does it mean?
Some context on Computer Programming
Computer programming is the process of writing code to facilitate specific actions in computer, application or a software program and instructs them on how to perform the task (Cote, 2022). Technically the code programmers write isn't directly read by the machine. It is first converted into "machine code" which is then directly readable by the machine. Since machine code consists of binary or hexadecimal numbers, they are really hard to understand for us humans. So, to make stuff actually understandable, programmers use things called "compilers" which use normal English instructions. Basically we write instructions in English, the compiler converts that to machine code, the machine reads that and does something. Pretty simple right?
The first computer program is dated somewhere around 1843 and...actually you know what forget it, I don't want to give a history lesson so just click here if you are interested in the history of computer programming. Moving on.
Why should we bother learning Computer Programming?
Sure learning programming might teach you how to code some cool apps and impress your friends and what not, but that's not the main point of programming.
Since programmers needs to deal with a lot of complex problems, breaking down the problems into simpler portions makes it easier, enhancing our problem-solving skills.
One problem can be coded in a multiple of ways, similar to how math problems can be solved in a multiple of ways. This allows programmers to build creativity since they can customize the code to their needs.
Finally, in our fast paced technological world, programming is becoming even more important in the advent of robotics and automated technologies such as Tesla. There are more benefits that I could keep talking about, but you probably get the gist of it.
Baby-steps of Computer Programming
Basically anyone can start learning how to code from the hundreds of tutorial websites online. There are also tons of programming languages. So which language should you use? Well that depends on you really. If you're interested in getting a coding-related job then learning C++ and Java are basically mandatory. Other languages such Kotlin or Swift are less versatile, so trying to learn them right of the bat is probably not the best idea. I'll give a quick rundown on the common coding languages:
C++ and C : C++ is basically an upgraded version of C. Both of are widely used as a general purpose programming language and C++ is one of the most popular programming languages in software engineering.
Java : Another general purpose language. Java is useful for making mobile apps and GUI (Graphical User Interface).
Pyhton : Relatively easier to learn than other languages, Python is useful for developing websites, data analysis and visualization. Since it's simple to learn, many people pick up the basics as a secondary skill to help in their daily lives.
HTML and CSS : HTML is used to make the barebone structure of webpages while CSS gives them a better presentation. Since they are both frequently used in tandem with each other, I included them together.
If you're interested in more programming languages, then click this link to see more. Most of the languages are not as important, so don't feel intimidated by the list.
The End...?
Well I've been going on and on for a while now and I'm getting tired. I'm gonna go get some sleep, but before leaving I've got one last question for you: Now that you've read through this entire blog and have some idea of coding...are you interested in computer programming?
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