#2-What is Programming?

Programming

Before we learn programming, we need to know what is it and why it is required? Programming in simple terms is communication with machine. For e.g. when we speak to each other we use the medium language and we provide information or some instructions to other person. Now instead of other person if we switch that to machine this remains the same. We provide information to the machine or provide some instructions. The process of providing that information and instructions to a machine is called as programming. So programming is something we do every day with each other but never realized. 

Why do we need to communicate with machines? 

Machines are a wide range of products, anything that works on mechanical energy can be called as machine. Computers are intelligent machines, machines with whom we can communicate and provide information and instructions. Tasks which are 1) Repetitive 2) Automated 3) Error Free 

4) Time Consuming can be achieved easily by computers.  

All we need to provide is set of instructions to the computers i.e. program the computer. 

What is needed to communicate to computers?

Like we speak to each other we need a language similarly to communicate with computers we need a language too. We need to know English to communicate with a English guy/girl, we need to know Spanish to communicate with Spanish guy/girl same way we need to know the language which computers understands. There are many computer languages till date and every computer languages can be understood by different types of Computers on the basis of which is their Operating System a.k.a OS. Software is a program or set of instructions which are already written. The Operating System runs these instructions. For e.g. To play a Movie DVD you need a DVD player. Here DVD is the software, DVD Player is the Operating system. 

The Operating System is the base for all the softwares in the computer. There are various variants of Operating System 1) Windows 2) Macintosh 3) Unix 4) Linux etc. 

So to communicate with computers having such programs you need to know which language they can understand. Like for e.g. Windows can understand programs made in C#, VB.Net languages. It can also understand JAVA or C++ if it has a program which can understand this language. For e.g. Your DVD player can play movie DVD of any language but for you to understand that language you need subtitles or an interpreter. Here this interpreter is a software which helps computer understand this language.

Similarly, Java can be understood by UNIX also. Now this is not as easy as it looks but for now let’s understand we need a specific language to communicate with a specific computer. 

So let's revise what we learned 

1) We need to learn language to communicate with computers

2) Computers take in instructions and information and perform tasks

3) Software is a set of instructions already written for the computer

4) Operating System is the main software which runs all other softwares

5) Various Operating Systems like Windows/Unix/Macintosh etc.

6) Various languages C#, VB.Net, Java, C++, C, Objective C etc.