What is programming?

[Guest]

In my English class we have to write a resource paper about a career that we want to pursue in the future and I for some reason chose programming. I don't know anything about programming. What is programming, even on the most basic level? What do programmers do? Share as much information as possible ANYTHING would be GREATLY appreciated. I'm aware of the languages, but that's all.

[AlwaysFSX]

Programmers learn languages and write code. 

To program things.

[RML Futuristics]

Hi xxMichael,

 

     To get this out in the open, im not a programmer, but in its basic level, its coding. The code behind something that functions ranging from a website to a game will have been done by a coder/programmer - there is so much to talk about but it depends how far you want me to go, because remember you have different types of programming too. This could range from HTML code to java script to even more things like C++, then you start to venture in the world of game design, im sorry to say im nothing more than a basic HTML coder, i can do simple things and most of mine consists of inserting a link to an imgur.com image to display a photoshop document i have made. 

       Im sure a professional coder could talk for hours on this, but im sorry thats something im now, Im happy to help in any way i can however so let me know any questions and ill try and answer them as best i can, or i have a few programmer friends who maybe able to help, or you can speak to one of the great people in the LTT forums

 

Yours

 

Sir TDH

[RML Futuristics]

Program what?

Well as i said in my post, to be honest with you Michael, Everything, Windows is based around programs running in unison to get the UI you are currently using, Linux and OS X are the same the creation of anything that requires some user interface requires basic coding, from the menu on your TV to something more like Titanfall for Xbox/PC, i would say if it has a digital display linked to it there is a very good chance some form of coding was involved in some way shape or another

[Ciccioo]

[erty176]

Programmers are the basis for all computer software. If you use it, it was written by a programmer.  Programming is written in code or forms of language that a computer can understand. The website you are using right now is powered by code. You just can't see it. It is what drives the software of computers to do the things they do. Say for example you start your computer. Thats all hardware. You boot into windows. Windows being read from your computer is hardware. Windows itself is software, written by programmers.

[MikeD]

A programmer is a machine that transforms coffee into code.

No, but seriously... it can be any other type of energetic beverage!

(EDIT: Damn, @Ciccioo you were faster!)

 

On a more technical level a programmer writes code to create applications.

Apps can range, as others have already said, from a basic HTML page (this would be better described as scripting) to a distributed computing platform and from command line applications to apps with graphical user interfaces or even games.

At the most basic level it's just writing lines of code with logic (conditionals, loops, ...) and statements that perform calculations (arithmetic) or that change a system's state.

[Seldszar]

Programming is like talking or writing.

 

There are multiple languages, like english, french, spanish but in programming it is C, C++, Java and more

 

All of those are languages that a programmer uses for a specific situation because some are better for some kinds of application. All of those are languages that needs computers to be readable/understandable.

 

So everything that exist in computer science can be programming because it is code to do something.

 

Its like when you go to Texas, you talk a certain code of the english language to be understood there.

 

Its the most general explanation I can think of ...

 

The science of writing words in a language that the computer can decipher and show.

[Grape Guild]

A programmer uses different languages, in the form of code, to create applications.  anything and almost everything has had some kind of developer program it to do what a consumer wants.

 

Programmers use basic problem solving methods such as modeling behavior, reverse engineering, etc. to solve different problems or perform different tasks.

 

An example of 'coding' would be something like this: (VB6)

 

Dim x As Single, answer As Single

x = Val(txtx)

answer = x + 1

lblanswer.Caption = answer

 

This is an example of a computer program at the most basic level.  I'm literally saying the the variables 'x' and 'answer' are both numbers.  Then, I am taking the value of x from what the user inputs.  I am then saying that to get 'answer', you must add 1 to the value of 'x'.  Finally,  I put the value of the answer into a label box so the user can see it.

[Seldszar]

Basic and advanced sides hmm ...

 

I would say the easiest part of programming is probably HTML but it isnt used much by itself now. Almost every website has some customizable side to it or is interactive. Those features are often added to HTML by using other languages like javascript, CSS and more.

 

Advanced side of it can go from easy like accessing databases to creating an operating system like Windows or a game like World of Warcraft. Its such a big field that its hard to have clear cut answers.

 

Maybe some people are specialists of one language and think its easy where it could be considered hard to someone else because they never use it ...

 

When you start to learn programming you have to learn how by having a plan. Sure you can jump right in and start coding line by line like in the past (sequantial) but now most people try to do that with objects. Objects are like folders. The content of that folder does 1 job and has a way to interact with the other folders. Programming with object is usually easier to cut your project in pieces and find where it gets stuck when it does.

 

In an accelerated way : usually you start by having an idea of something you want to do with you computer, try to have a crude plan of the core mechanic you want it to do. When you have those core mechanic and want to start to create it, you need to find the tools to program and the language must fit your goal.

 

By tools I mean, softwares that people created to debug and create other softwares faster and easier. (ex: Microsoft Visual Studio ...)

 

Choosing your language has to be related to the medium you want. If it is Web, you will probably start using HTML, PHP, SQL and more. If it is some software for a desktop you could use C, C++, Java or more.

 

There are ways to mix and match but its just a start.

 

Once you have that, you need to start to build. The first thing they usually teach you in school is to do "pseudo code". I don't know what that is in english somehow ... anyway its like drawing something but not filling it with colors yet.

 

For exemple :

 

If "the user" adds "combo burger" to "order" then "add 5$" to "total".

 

That in itself doesn't do anything, you have to convert that conditional "speaking/talking" language into something the computer can work with. So you translate that into the language you use. Each language as some particularities but they usually work similar enough that those "pseudo-code" help a lot if the logic is good on paper.

 

So when you are an experienced programmer all you have to do when you switch to a new language is to learn the particularities compared to what you used before. ex: Is it written the same way with the same commas, spaces, whatever or not?

 

anyway ill stop here with the 3 most important things to me: learning the basic "speech" paterns of programming then adding the particularities of the language you want to use with a clear plan ahead.

[RML Futuristics]

Thats Fair enough, Well maybe it might help if you visualise a little: http://www.w3schools.com/html/html_intro.asp ------ That is some really entry level HTML coding, this can lead all they way up something like the www.imgur.com - which looks something like this:  view-source:http://imgur.com/ ----- thats just the difference in websites and imagine the sheer difference in games, then you might find things get divided into sections for people to make otherwise if you took Titanfall for example, for one person to have written the whole code in that game would take years to do. An example of a game which is written by one person is Minecraft as you no doubt already knew.

 

As for a 1000 page essay, you can talk about the different types of code (google the exact definitions and in doing so you will also be able to see slightly how they work) talk a little about them, then you can talk about what different things actually contain code, to be honest what you said there, talk about the languages and some of their uses. You can then even finish with one of the greatest pieces of programming which is google if you want - which for a simple white page as about 18 pages of code, because it has to be ready for you to search for anything : view-source:https://www.google.co.uk/ 

 

I hope this is helping, i feel like it is but im not sure

 

 

Yours, 

 

Sir TDH

[AlwaysFSX]

Program what?

Going by what "programming" is, anything that can use a predefined instruction to complete a task.

[Ciccioo]

(EDIT: Damn, @Ciccioo you were faster!)

you didn't drink enough coffee, sir

 

just to make this post not totally useless, and to say something different, i'll add this

a programmer shouldn't be just a monkey who writes things, it's foundamental that he has a knowledge about how the machine he's going to program works, and the lower level is the language, the more necesary this is

 

also thinking about solutions is a good part of the programmer's job: you have to sit back, analyze the problem (understanding it thanks to your knlowledge of the system) and think of a method (algorithm) to solve it. then you turn it into code, but that is supposed to be the easy part once you got familiar with the language/with programming in general

 

and i actually don't drink coffee or energy drink at all, i often think i'll never become a good programmer

[BrightCandle]

How do you know you want a future career as a programmer if you don't know anything about the activity itself? Strikes me for research you should spend some time learning to program and this will bring you far more insight on a) whether its something you might want to do in the future and b) what it actually entails, what its like and the sorts of things one can do with programming.

[MikeD]

you didn't drink enough coffee, sir

 

just to make this post not totally useless, and to say something different, i'll add this

a programmer shouldn't be just a monkey who writes things, it's foundamental that he has a knowledge about how the machine he's going to program works, and the lower level is the language, the more necesary this is

 

also thinking about solutions is a good part of the programmer's job: you have to sit back, analyze the problem (understanding it thanks to your knlowledge of the system) and think of a method (algorithm) to solve it. then you turn it into code, but that is supposed to be the easy part once you got familiar with the language/with programming in general

 

and i actually don't drink coffee or energy drink at all, i often think i'll never become a good programmer

I don't like those things either! But I do drink more than my fair share of coke!

 

That was something I purposefully kept out of my previous comment because it's more high-level. The core of programming is writing code but that code has to originate from the need to do something and has to be structured.

Before sitting down and writing code endlessly throughout the night you need to develop the algorithms that you need and you need to find the right architecture for your system.

If you just start writing right away you will end with what we call 'spaghetti code' and eventually not even you will understand what you're doing.

 

As for the problem of writing 1000 words on the subject, well... If you knew half the things someone knows after 5 (or even just 3) years of Computer Engineering studies you wouldn't have a problem!

You can talk about what a program is, the different kinds of languages and paradigms and then their applications: operating systems and their purpose, software architecture, games and what you need to make one, human-computer interaction (graphical user interfaces), the Web (from small websites with just HTML and CSS to web based applications and web services such as those provided by google), distributed systems, virtual machines, artificial intelligence, ...

And you can also talk about how to develop software: using version control systems, employing a development process (waterfall vs agile (xp or scrum)), best practices, the journey from requirements elicitation to maintenance, ...

 

*all the memories*

[Ciccioo]

the cool thing about programming is that the programmer is God

 

that's something you can write about easily without any real knowledge, it's just a matter of creativity and having the power to create and manipulate the reality inside computers

[juretrn]

I would say that programming is giving the computer very specific instructions which it will then try to follow. This way, it would accomplish a task you have set out to do with your program. Those may vary in their complexity and purposes - it may only print "Hello, world!" in console or be something as complex as an OS or some professional grade software like AutoCAD and Matlab. 

[squirrl]

I wouldn't really class something like HTML as programming. It's more along the lines of scripting.

Programming is creating algorithms and functions to solve problems (and using them), and scripting is more along the lines of using functions that someone else has made for you. 

[Akolyte]

Computers are nothing without instructions.  A computer without instructions is like a person without a brain.  So there are specific languages you learn that the computer recognizes and programmers use these languages to tell the computer instructions.  Each and every language has its ups and downs and are good for different things.  Programming is like telling a computer a set of commands. 

[sezir]

a programmer at the most fundamental level is the person who programs

programming at the most fundamental level is writing code

code at the most fundamental level is a set of instructions that programs run on