Here are some popular terms associated with computer programming
programming
Programming is the process of giving instructions to computers on how to solve a particular computation task.
Check programming at a glance to see the various processes that make up computer programming.
program
a program is a sequence of instructions in a programming language for computers to execute in order to accomplish a specified task.
Instructions here refers to logical step by step actions that if undertaken will lead to reaching the required solution in order to solve the problem at hand.For example, consider if you were to give a person instructions on direction to take, you might use statements like
- Turn left
- Keep straight till you see the hospital then turn left.
- Drive half a kilometer
- At the corner of the road you will see a red building
This is much like how we give instructions to computers only that the instructions involves computation and needs to be much specific and accurate since computers will not try to reason what you might have meant , it will instead do exactly what you tell it.
Programmer
Someone who writes and maintains computer programs. They are also involved in debugging,testing and troubleshooting to ensure that the program is working as expected.
Programmers are also referred to as, coders, software developers or software Engineers.
programming language
This is a set of predefined grammatical rules for instructing a computer on how to perform various tasks.The most basic type of programming language is machine language.Other languages include Python , Java, C++.
Syntax
This are a set of rules that defines how various symbols and words should be used to form correctly structured statements or expressions in a specific programming language.
It is the language's way of doing things and forms it's vocabulary.
Keyword
Text-editor
A text editor is a program which is used to write and edit the source code.Most modern text editors provide real time code highlighting and syntax correction.
There are some editors which are language specific and others which support multiple languages.
Integrated Development Environment ( IDE)
An IDE is a software which combines common development tools into one graphical user interface.Some common tools that most IDE offers includes a text editor ,a compiler or an interpreter and a debugger.
Source Code
This is the human readable form of a particular program,it is written in the syntax of a particular programming language through a text-editor and saved in a file.
Machine Code
Machine code is a sequence of computer instructions in binary form i.e a series of zeros and ones.
Computers can only understand machine code,and can respond to them directly with no need for translation.
Compiler
This is a special program that is used to translate all instructions in a source code to their equivalent machine code.
Interpreter
An interpreter unlike a compiler translates source code of a program into the equivalent machine code one instruction at a time.
Algorithm
An algorithm is set of rules formatted in a step by step basis which if followed will solve a particular computation problem.
Data structures
paradigm
a paradigm is an ideology on how various computation problems should be tackled. Check programming paradigms to see discussion on some popular programming paradigms.
Bug
Debugging
The process of locating bugs in the source code and doing the necessary changes.
Exception
An unexpected condition or error that is encountered during the execution of a program.An example of an exception is when a program tries to open a non-existent file or when a part of a program tries to divide a number by zero.Most programming languages offers try blocks so that a program can escape the error that will be returned when an exception is encountered.
Data
This are raw unprocessed facts , formalized in a way that is suitable for interpretation and processing by a computer.
Data in it's unprocessed form is not useful , it needs to be processed in to usable information.
Data processing in a computer goes through three basic stages which are also known as the data processing cycle:
input
In this part , the raw data is converted into a machine readable format then fed to the processing unit.This can be achieved by using the various input methods such as entry trough a keyboards, microphones, scanners etc.
processing
In this stage , the entered data is passed through various data processing methods in order to generate meaningful output.The processed data in it's useful form is known as information.
output
The processed data is finally transmitted to the final user in a readable form such as tables, graphs, audio, video ect.This is achieved through the various output methods such as console(screen),loud speakers, printers ect
the processed data can as well be stored for reference or further processing.
Information
This is the processed, meaningful and useful form of data.
Pseudocode
We cannot exhaust all terms associated with programming, we have just covered the ones which you will encounter regularly when programming.