Understand the basics of Code

What is Code?

Nowadays computers are becoming a major part of our lives, but you know, computers are nothing without code. Code tells computers what action it has to perform and in which manner.

But what is Code?

“Code is the set of rules and instructions written in a specific programming language”.

Programming languages are the interface between humans and computers, they speak with computers. There are hundreds of programming languages present. Each has its work associated with them.

Coders are the people who understand these programming languages and work with these languages. Coders create a program that runs on most digital devices. They are the creators of the digital world. They hold the capacity to change our dreams into reality with their coding skills.

To build these programs, coders need to write small subsequent sets of code that they want the machine to perform; they are called Algorithms.

For example, all smartphones have a program for running the phone. An algorithm may be the program executed after pressing a power-on/off button.

Some terms related to computer programs

1. Coding: Translating one language to another
2. Scripting: It is coding in scripting languages
3. Scripts: A program or sequence of instructions that is interpreted or carried out by another program.
4. Programming: Coding in programming languages
5. Programming languages: Special languages that coders use to write instructions for computers to execute.

Introduction to Programming languages

We communicate with computers through programming languages. In the field of programming, there are hundreds of programming languages that exist, with new ones emerging all the time.

But why do we need so many languages to communicate with the machine? Can any single language not be sufficient for that?

The reason is that it’s much quicker to communicate in languages that are built for a specific task, rather than to use a single language for all. This is similar to the technical languages we use in different industries.

For example, doctors need to use specific terms to talk with nurses and patients to understand them clearly and precisely. Different programming languages come up with different applications associated with them.

Let's dive deep into the basic fundamentals of coding.

The most basic language understandable to computers is binary language. Binary code is a collection of ones and zeros in them. Computers can easily understand this binary language, but it is very difficult for humans to understand binary. Even the best coders will not be able to write programs in binary using only ones and zeros.

So here programming languages came into the picture, coders write their code in their preferred programming languages and this gets converted into binary code that computers can understand.

What is the Level of Abstraction?

We categorize different programming languages based on their complexity of understanding. This is called a level of abstraction. The lower the level of abstraction, the closer a language is to zeros and ones, which means it is difficult to understand for humans. And at the higher level of abstraction, language is far away from zeros and ones. It is easier for humans to use and work with.

1. Low-level abstraction: ‘C’ and ‘Assembly’ are examples of low-level languages. They are quite difficult to understand for humans, but these languages translate code quickly into binary using less computational power in less time. Hence, these languages are fast. They are used in small devices like cars, digital appliances, etc.
2. High-level abstraction: Languages like ‘C++’ and ‘Swift’ are at a high level of abstraction. Easy to understand for humans, but a little resource-intensive for machines to read. These languages are versatile and used in various applications like mobile apps, etc.

Managing Data

Managing data is another important application of coding. Nowadays, the amount of data is increasing day by day. Coders use higher-level languages like “SQL” to store, analyze and manage data in different ways.

So finally we got that, there are many programming languages out there. Each is used for a different set of functions. A mix of low, mid, and high-level languages enables coders to write for a range of purposes, whether it’s C and Assembly to program smaller computers and devices, or SQL and JavaScript to manage databases, and JavaScript for bringing interactivity to websites.

Regardless of languages, the goal of programming is always the same, is to instruct the computer to complete a particular task.

How code powers our daily lives

In recent days, computers have advanced in terms of size, computational power, and cost. Almost all industries use computers for their day-to-day business. They use advanced accounting software for smart management.

Coders can use a set of functions and procedures called APIs (Application Programming Interfaces). API’s help two computer applications talk to each other.

Consider an example to understand APIs: “log-in using Facebook/Twitter/Google/Github” functionality you see on so many websites. It’s very convenient, but have you ever wondered how it works?

Instead of actually logging in to users’ social media accounts (which would pose a serious security concern), applications with this functionality leverage these platforms’ APIs to authenticate the user with each login. For example, here’s the Facebook Login API.

Using APIs computers can communicate with each other, which results in helping us to complete tasks faster and more efficiently.

Let’s briefly look at two important trends in technology that are shaping how people code:

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.

These two technologies contribute to the development of machines being able to make smarter decisions.

1. Artificial Intelligence: Artificial Intelligence is the science of making machines intelligent. In short, teaching machines how to learn, act & think as a human would. It is a set of mathematical algorithms that enable us to program machines. AI learns by creating machine learning models based on provided input and desired output. Ex: Smart thermostats like Nest that automatically adjust room temperatures based on your habits and schedule.
2. Machine Learning: A subset of AI that uses computer algorithms to analyse data and make intelligent decisions based on what it has learned, without being explicitly programmed. Machine learning models need to first be trained with a large set of data. They learn from examples and make accurate predictions. Ex: Predicting traffic patterns, recognising faces in photo libraries, advertisement preferences, and translating foreign languages.

These exciting new technologies are providing us with new ways of looking at old problems, and are helping to transform the way coders can shape the digital and physical worlds.

Conclusion

So, this is about the introduction and basics of code. Hope you got a wider view of how computers work and how coders contribute to the same.

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