What is programming?
Programming is the process of writing computer programs.
Programming is the process of taking an algorithm and encoding it into a
notation, a programming language, so that it can be executed by a
computer. Although many programming languages and many different
types of computers exist, the important first step is the need to have the
solution. Without an algorithm there can be no program.
Computer science is not the study of programming. Programming,
however, is an important part of what a computer scientist does. Programming is
often the way that we create a representation for our solutions. Therefore, this
language representation and the process of creating it becomes a fundamental
part of the discipline.
Algorithms describe the solution to a problem in terms of the data needed to
represent the problem instance and the set of steps necessary to produce the
intended result. Programming languages must provide a notational way to
represent both the process and the data. To this end, languages provide control
constructs and data types.
Control constructs allow algorithmic steps to be represented in a convenient yet
unambiguous way. At a minimum, algorithms require constructs that perform
sequential processing, selection for decision-making, and iteration for
repetitive control. As long as the language provides these basic statements, it
can be used for algorithm representation.
All data items in the computer are represented as strings of binary digits. In
order to give these strings meaning, we need to have data types. Data
types provide an interpretation for this binary data so that we can think about
the data in terms that make sense with respect to the problem being solved.
These low-level, built-in data types (sometimes called the primitive data types)
provide the building blocks for algorithm development.
For example, most programming languages provide a data type for
integers. Strings of binary digits in the computer’s memory can be
interpreted as integers and given the typical meanings that we commonly
associate with integers (e.g. 23, 654, and -19). In addition, a data type also
provides a description of the operations that the data items can participate in.
With integers, operations such as addition, subtraction, and multiplication are
common. We have come to expect that numeric types of data can participate in
these arithmetic operations.
The difficulty that often arises for us is the fact that problems and their
solutions are very complex. These simple, language-provided constructs and data
types, although certainly sufficient to represent complex solutions, are
typically at a disadvantage as we work through the problem-solving process. We
need ways to control this complexity and assist with the creation of
solutions.
Why should you learn Computer Programming?
Now, after knowing so many things about programming, the big question to be
answered is – Why should you learn Computer Programming? Let us understand
why:
- Programming is fun: Using Programming, you can create your own games, your personal blog/profile page, a social networking site like Facebook, a search engine like Google or an e-commerce platform like Amazon! Won’t that be fun? Imagine creating your own game and putting it on Play Store and getting thousands and thousands of downloads!
- The backbone of a Technology Company: The backbones of today’s technology companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and many others, are giant computer programs written by a 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 extremely well almost all across the world. Top programmers in the Silicon Valley make millions of dollars every year. Quite a few companies offer starting salaries as high as $100,000 per year.