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Computer Programming
What is Computer Programming?
According to a staff writer at Southern New Hampshire University Joe Cote (2022) computer programming is "the process of writing code to facilitate specific actions in a computer, application or software program, and instructs them on how to perform." Phoebe Voong-Fadel from FreeCodeCamp (2020) defines computer programming as "the process of designing and building an executable computer program to accomplish a specific computing result."
As I heard over and over again from one of my teachers, computers are not as smart as we think. To perform the action computers need a human to give them the set of procedures so they know what to do. Simply saying programming is the process of putting those plans of action into code. To do this, we use programming languages.
Many people may not realize that everything they do that involves technology has to do with programming. Many aspects of our everyday lives are affected by computer programming. There is no doubt that programming plays an increasingly important role in the day-to-day operations of modern society. Some of them are:
- The use of apps. Every single app is developed by a programmer.
- E-commerce. To function every online shop require programming.
- Smart homes. More and more people use modern technology that operates in their homes. It can be controlled by voice using Alexa or Google Assistant, home security using smart camera devices, or smart thermostats.
- Programming already plays an important role in transportation controlling traffic flows and scheduling public transport. It will play an even bigger role in the coming era of self-driving cars and the increasing use of drones.
These are just some examples of how programming is used in our daily lives. Without a doubt, we are living in times where programming is an integrated part of humanity.
How does computer programming work?
As computers do not understand the human language we need to communicate by writing codes. These are called programming languages and the most commonly known are:
- Python is easy to use and object-orientated language. It is very flexible and used in industries such as engineering, machine learning, finance, and data science and analysis. It is used in to create Netflix or Facebook.
- C is a universal language used by developers to create operating systems, apps, databases, and programs. It is wildly used in software engineering for example Microsoft and Oracle.
- C++ is a challenging language used in web browsers, game development, operating systems, as well as science and machine learning tools.
- HTML is the most popular language thanks to its simplicity.
It is just a few programming languages commonly used. Every field of computing requires programmers to create whatever they desire. No program would work without programming it first. It is an integrated part of today's technology.
References:
Cote, J. (2022) What is computer programming? how to become a computer programmer?, Southern New Hampshire University. Available at: https://www.snhu.edu/about-us/newsroom/stem/what-is-computer-programming (Accessed: April 21, 2023).
Monitor binary system - free image on Pixabay (no date). Available at: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/monitor-binary-binary-system-1307227/ (Accessed: April 19, 2023).
Voong-Fadel, P. (2020) What is computer programming? defining software development., freeCodeCamp.org. freeCodeCamp.org. Available at: https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/what-is-computer-programming-defining-software-development/ (Accessed: April 21, 2023).
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