Programming is one of the top leading jobs in the current market, and it's growing every day. It's becoming more and more crucial to have a programmer in your company. And if you take into account that all the biggest companies in the world (Facebook, Twitter, Amazon etc.) are tied to programming, you'll understand the importance of it. That's why we'll try to teach you everything you need to know about programming.
Basically, programming is defined as a process of developing and implementing various sets of instructions to the computer so it performs a specific task. Easy, right?
And just like English has its own set of grammar rules, programming languages do too. Here are the most basic elements for any programming language:
- Programming environment
- Keywords
- Loops
- If/else conditions
- Functions
- Input/Output operations
- Logical and Arithmetical Operators
- Variables
- Data types
Here's everything you need to know about programming:
- What programming language should I learn
- What a function is
- The variable in programming
- What is a class in programming
- How an array works
- What a method is in programming
- What does CRUD stand for in programming
- How programming languages are created
Let's start with our “Everything you need to know about programming” list, shall we?
What programming language should I learn?
This all depends on what field you're trying to specialize in. There's are a lot of fields, such as:
- Mobile programming
- Web programming
- Data analysis
- Cloud computing
- Database management
And so many more
If you're into mobile programming, there are more than just a couple of options for you. The most recent trend to follow is React Native. It's a JavaScript framework that deploys and works on both iOS and Android simultaneously. It's also very easy to learn, and it's really recommended for beginners. But, if you're more into native development than SWIFT for iOS and Kotlin for Android are your choice to go.
Web programming is also very popular among developers. The most common languages used for web development are HTML, CSS, Java, JavaScript, Python, SQL, and PHP. Basically, the “skeleton” of the website is the HTML, which builds the structure of the website. Next comes the CSS, which makes the website “pretty” by using the style to give it the feeling the designer originally wanted. And last, comes the JavaScript to make it more interactive. All the button clicks, the sliders, and other amazing things are done via JavaScript. Next comes the back-end which is done via back-end technologies like PHP, Ruby or similar.
20 Things to know before you start programming
What is a function in programming?
In programming, a function is a named section of a program that performs a very specific task. This means that it usually a function is a type of procedure or routine. Some languages, as you'll see, make a distinction between a function that returns a value, and a procedure that performs some operations – but never returns a value.
Roughly speaking, a function is a block of statements that performs a task that we assign to. Here's an example of a function in JavaScript:
function ShowMessage() {
alert("Hello World")
}And if we should call this function, it should appear like this
What is a variable in programming
Variables in programming are used to save information to be referenced and manipulated later on. They also provide a way of labeling data with a very descriptive name. This way, our programs can be understood more clearly by the reader – and ourselves.
It's helpful to think of a variable as a container where all the information we want to save rests. So basically, a variable's true purpose is to store data in memory and label them for later usage.
Variables are usually assigned by adding the “=” after the label, like this:
var Variable = "John"
If we were to call console.log(Variable) and open the console, we would see the name John logged in.
This is how variables, in theory, work.
What is a class in programming
In OOP (Object Oriented Programming) a class is an extensible program-code-template that allows you to:
- Create objects
- Provide initial values for state
- Implementation of behavior
Basically, a class is a blueprint for everything mentioned above. The user-defined objects are created using the class keyword.
The said class is written by the developer in a defined structure to create an object. For example, a class could be a car, which could have a color field, four-tire field, and a drive method.
What is an array in programming
An array in programming is a data structure used to store a fixed-size collection of elements of the same data type.
The array is used to store a collection of data, but it's often more useful if you think of it as a collection of variables of the same type. For example, an int array holds only elements of int types while a float array only holds only elements of float types.
Each value is called an element of the array. They're the same type, but each element has to have its own unique index number. Should two elements have the same ID it will result in a warning on production – or even an error.
An array is defined via these brackets “[ ]” and the elements are stored inside. An array is a fundamental element in the “Everything you need to know about programming” list.
Here's an example of an array:
let Array = [ "1", "2", "3"]
You can also call an element by their position in the array. If you were to write console.log(Array[1]) and open the console, the number 2 would be logged.
What is a method in programming
In OOP, a method is a procedure usually associated with a message and an object. This allows the send objects to invoke behaviors and delegate the implementation of those behaviors to the receiving object. In Java, however, a method sets the behavior of a class object.
To have a better view, let's compare it to a recipe.
In cooking, you've got a recipe – and that recipe has different instructions. That instruction tells you specifically what to do at a particular time. And in some recipes, they come back to a particular instruction more than once. Practically, it's the same thing in programming.
A method tells the computer what to do at a specific time.
What does CRUD stand for programming
Short story: CRUD is an acronym for CREATE – READ – UPDATE – DELETE.
Long story: in programming, the create – read – update – delete are the four basic functions of persistent storage. There are alternate words you can use when defining these like retrieve instead of read, modify instead of update, and destroy instead of delete.
But the main point is that CRUD stands for the four basic functions of persistent storage.It's widely used, and it's no wonder it was placed in our “Everything you need to know about programming” list.
How are programming languages created
Basically, you write a program that parses the text of the program into abstract syntax trees and decides what computer instructions should do with the bits of syntax.
The first human-readable programming languages (assembly) were made in a more simple way: they just looked at words that a human wrote and turned them into machine instructions. This kind of logic is simple enough that it could be coded by a human directly in machine language, with punchcards or whatever.
Once they got assembly worked out, it wasn’t hard to build more abstract languages, and those abstract languages (like C) provided enough firepower to parse arbitrarily complex formal languages. Almost all major programming languages today are originally written in C or C++ and some (but nowhere near all) eventually migrate to a self-hosting compiler, where the language is used to parse itself. You still usually have some bits of C to bootstrap enough of the language onto new platforms that it can start building itself.
Languages that provide a lot of abstraction are now being used to parse human languages. It’s all about building up layers of abstraction on top of the machine so you don’t have to think about all the complexity at every level all at once.
Even if you’re not writing a programming language, a huge part of programming is breaking down problems into smaller parts, and then providing a clean interface that brings them all together so you can use them at a high level without thinking about how each part works. In that sense, writing a programming language is just like any other programming task you might attempt.
We tried to fill the “Everything you need to know about programming” as much as we could. If you have something to add, please contact us and let us know!
Alicia leads content strategy for LearnWorthy managing a team of content producers, strategists, and copywriters. She creatively oversees content programs, awareness campaigns, research reports, and other integrated marketing projects.
