The Basics
Ok, WHAT is coding? Coding is a skill that let's us tell computers what to do.
"Coding is what makes it possible for us to create computer software, apps and websites. Your browser, your OS, the apps on your phone, Facebook, and this website – they’re all made with code." codeconquest.com
Why learn coding? Through coding, you can make a website, find a job, build a career, work in many industries,, start a software business, build an app, launch a video game, or just understand technology.
How does coding work? You write code...and the code tells the computer what to do.
A computer can only understand ON and OFF, which uses Binary Code written in 1's and 0's. The computer is a collection of on/off switches called transistors. Every function is a combination 1's and 0's, signalling some transistors turned on and some transistors turned off. In Binary Code, each digit represents one transistor. Binary code is organized into bytes. Bytes are groups of 8 digits representing 8 transistors.
What are programming languages? Programming languages are unique sets of rules that define how code should be written and formatted. Each language comes with a special program that that translates what coders write into binary code the computer can understand. Different programming languages are designed for different purposes Low-level programming languages are closer to the binary code a computer understands, while high-level languages are not as similar to binary code but are easier to use. Most of the popular programming languages now are high-level languages.
What are programs? A text file written in a certain coding language is a program. The code inside the program text file is called the source code. Every coding language has its own file extension for identifying code files written in that language.
How do you make a program? You write the code in a plain text editor and save the file to your computer.Tah-dah!
What happens when you run a program? A computer only understands ON and OFF.
To understand and complete a command, the source code must be translated into assembly language, the assembly language must be translated into machine language, and the machine language must be translated into binary code.
Fast Facts
- The demand for coders far exceeds the supply and career coders are paid well.
- Coders can start at $65,000 a year salary.
- At Facebook and Google, starting salary is 125,000 a year.
- The coder Nick D’Aloisio famously sold his iPhone app, Summly, to Yahoo! for $30m.
- PHP and JavaScript are different - PHP scripts are executed by the server that hosts a website, while JavaScripts are executed by the browser viewing a website.
- "Today, just 3.6% of Fortune 500 companies are led by women, and less than 10% of venture capital-backed companies have female founders. Yet females use the internet 17% more than their male counterparts,” the website notes." Girls Who Code
