What is Programming?

 We all have heard about Computer Programming which gained a lot of popularity in the last 3 decades. So many students these days want to major in Computer Science to land a job at their dream tech companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple and others.

But the first step to start all of that is that you have to understand what programming is.

What is Programming?

In terms of cloud programming is a way to "instruct the computer to perform various tasks". Confusing? Let's understand that definition in depth.

“Instruct the computer” : this basically means that you give the computer a set of instructions written in a language the computer can understand. Instructions can be of various types. As an example:

* Adding 2 numbers,

* Rounding numbers, etc.

Just like us, humans can understand several languages (Indonesian, English, Spanish, Mandarin, French, etc.), so can computers. Computers understand instructions written in a certain syntactic form called a programming language.

“Perform multiple tasks” : tasks can be simple as we discussed above (adding 2 numbers, rounding numbers) or complex tasks which may involve a sequence of multiple instructions. As an example:

* Calculates simple interest, given principal, rate and time.

* Calculates the average stock return over the last 5 years.

The 2 tasks above require complex calculations. They usually can't be expressed in simple instructions like adding 2 numbers, etc.

Therefore, in summary, Programming is a way of telling a computer to do a certain task.

Why should humans bother writing programs?

You must be wondering, why does one need a computer to add or round numbers? Or even for simple interest calculations? After all, even a child could easily do such things even in large numbers. What is programming used for? What benefits do computers offer?

Well, computers offer a lot of benefits including:

1. The computer is fast

Computers are very fast. If you know how to properly harness the power of computer programming, you can work wonders with it. For today's ordinary computers, adding 2 numbers that can add up to a billion each takes barely a nanosecond. That is, in 1 second, the computer can do about a billion additions. Can humans do that? Forget about a billion additions a second, an ordinary human couldn't even do 10 additions per second. So, computers offer high speed.

2. Computers are cheap

If you are a stock market analyst and you have to monitor data on say 1000 stocks so you can quickly trade them. Imagine the complexity that will arise if you do it manually! That's impractical. When you do calculations on stock performance, prices can change.

Another alternative is to hire people so you can monitor more stocks in parallel. That means your costs go up significantly. Not to mention the difficulties you will face if some of your employees make a miscalculation in the process.

You may lose money! Compare that to the case where you guys are using a computer. Computers can process large amounts of information quickly and reliably. 1000 shares is nothing for computers in the 21st century.

3. The computer can work 24×7

Computers can work 24×7 without fatigue. So, if you have a big enough task, you can worry-free allocate it to your computer by programming it and sleep well.

What is a Programming Language?

As we know English is the most popular and famous human language today. English has its own set of grammar rules, which must be followed in order to write in English correctly.

Likewise, other Human Languages (Indonesian, Arabic, German, Spanish, Russian, etc.) are made up of several elements such as nouns, adjectives, adverbs, propositions, and conjunctions, etc. So, like English, Indonesian or other human languages, programming languages are also made up of different elements.

Just like human languages, programming languages also follow a grammar called syntax. Programming languages provide a way for a programmer to express a task so that it can be understood and executed by a computer.

There are some basic program code elements that are common to all programming languages. The most important basic elements for a programming language are:

* Programming Environment

* Data Types

* Variables

* Keywords

* Logical and Arithmetical Operators

* If else conditions

* Loops

* Numbers, Characters and Arrays

* Functions

* Input/Output operation

Examples of Programming Languages and Their Uses

Python Web and Internet Development, Scientific and Numerical Applications, Desktop GUI, Business Applications. It is widely used in the AI and Machine Learning space.

Java is Mostly used for developing Android apps, web apps and Big data.

R Data Science projects, Statistical computing, Machine learning

Javascript Uses of JavaScript include the development of web/mobile applications, games and desktop applications.

PHP Web Development, Content Management Systems, eCommerce Applications

C++ C++ is widely used in Game Development, Advance Computations and Graphics Compilers

C# is widely used in the Development of Enterprise Cross-Applications and Web Applications

Swift Swift is a specially designed language that works with Apple's Cocoa and Cocoa Touch frameworks to create all kinds of iOS apps.

SQL Used in Databases

Go Console utilities, GUI applications, and web applications

Why Should You Learn Programming?

Now, after knowing a lot about programming or programming, the big question that must be answered is why should you learn computer programming? Let's understand why:

* Programming is fun: With programming, you can create your own games, blogs/personal profile pages, social networking sites like Facebook, search engines like Google, or e-commerce platforms like Amazon! Isn't that fun? Imagine making your own game and putting it on the Play Store and getting thousands of downloads!

* The backbone of Technology Companies: The backbone of today's technology companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and many others, are giant computer programs written by the collaboration of thousands of skilled programmers. If you have the right business acumen, knowing programming can help you create the next big tech company.

* Pretty good salary: Computer Programmers are paid very well almost all over the world. Even the top programmers in Silicon Valley which is an area that has many companies working in the computer field make millions of dollars every year. Some companies offer starting salaries as high as $100,000 per year.

Conclusion

So, that's an explanation of what programming is. Hope you enjoy reading it. Computer programming is a very large field and there is much to be explored further. Keep learning and keep exploring.

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So many articles What is Programming (Programming). Look forward to other interesting articles and don't forget to share this article with your friends. Thank you…

Resa Risyan

Just an ordinary person who wants to share a little knowledge, hopefully the knowledge I provide can be useful for all of us. Keep in mind! Useful knowledge is an investment in the afterlife.