What is Coding? Here’s Everything You Need to Know

When it comes to computing, coding is the point where everything starts. Everything that you need to tell a machine or computer to do is in the form of instructions, and these instructions are specified using programming languages.

What is Coding?

The functioning of devices such as mobiles, laptops, and tablets requires coding. Basically, coding is the process of communicating commands to a device. It is like generating a set of instructions in order for a device to work efficiently.

How do Electronic Devices Work?

In order to understand coding, we need to understand how devices that are charged or are functioned by electricity work. Devices (like computers) work and function with the help of electricity.

The flow of electricity can have only one state at a time. Hence, Electricity has only two states, namely ‘on’ and ‘off.’ These two states of electricity are called ‘binary states,’ the prefix ‘bi’ meaning ‘two.’

What is Binary Code?

Two states of electrical charges (i.e. binary states- ‘on’ and ‘off’) translate well with the term binary code. It is a numerical system that computers use in order to perform every task and command they have been given.

They are called binary as these consist of sequence 0’s and 1’s (bi). Binary codes by design correspond directly with specific machine instructions, commands, and locations device’s memory. Then the device interprets these instructions and that’s how it performs a particular task.

Working of Binary Codes

Even though days of dealing with binary codes directly are long gone, computers still work in 1’ and 0’s. Code of all programming languages is converted to machine code every time during execution.

A CPU consists of various microscopic digital circuits that are made of transistors that carry information. These circuits have their tiny sequences of electrical signals that are switched either on (1) or off (0).

This results in two types (binary states) of electricity flow or voltage, either high or low. This results in the representation of different values, which is basically different commands or calculations being performed.

These electrical signals from the transistor circuit and other electrical components, when linked together and modified in a specific manner, make an extensive and broad range of tasks possible for a device to perform.

Computer Programming

Computer programming is a language to instruct devices to perform tasks. It is developed through a series of numerical and alphabetical codes. Every programming language has a particular syntax and follows certain programming paradigms, such as procedural programmingAMP, object-oriented programming, functional programming, and so on.

Programming vs Coding

Although programming and coding are used interchangeably, there is some difference between the two. While coding is the process of writing code, programming is the superset of coding that also includes gathering requirements for the program development, analyzing them, testing the code, and maintenance.

Popular Programming Languages

Programmers or developers use different programming languages to build websites and applications. Each programming language has its own advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, developers need to take them into consideration while choosing a programming language.

There are hundreds of programming languages, however, not all of them are popular. In the following section, we will briefly describe the best programming languages to learn in 2022:AMP

1. Python – It is used for creating websites and software programs and performing data analysis. It is among the most popular programming languages for data science.
2. C – C is one of the oldest programming languages that is still in use. It is used for system programming and developing operating systems.
3. C++ – C++ is the successor of the C programming language. It is an object-oriented programming language that is used for developing games and software.
4. Java – Java is one of the most popular programming languages due to its high portability, which is possible due to the concept of JVM (Java Virtual Machine).
5. C# – Developed by Microsoft, it is used for creating desktop applications and web services. It forms the basis of the .NET platform.
6. PHP – PHP is a popular programming language to work with the backend of web apps and websites. Its popularity is receding, however, with the increasing popularity of NodeJS.
7. Kotlin – Developed by JetBrains, Kotlin is a programming language based on the Java programming language. In fact, Kotlin code is interoperable with Java code. Kotlin is the official language for Android Studio, the leading IDE for Android development. 
8. SQL – It is the most popular database query language that helps to create, manage, and organize relational databases.
9. Swift – It is a multi-paradigm, compiled programming language developed by Apple for designing software for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS.

Other Popular Programming Languages

• HTML – It is used for creating the structures of webpages, like paragraphs, links, and so on.
• JavaScript – JS is used for creating web pages and facilitating front-end and back-end development.
• Objective-C – It is used for writing software for Apple devices.
• R – It is one of the top options for statistical programming.

Conclusion

Coding is the first step to developing software. Every software developer must be well-versed in coding in many programming languages. Moreover, developers should have sound knowledge of tools and frameworks related to a programming language.

Modern-day software development involves using a wide range of tools and techniques that make it easy to develop code. It’s never too late to start learning a new programming language.

Moreover, the more programming languages you know, the better it is. However, starting with a programming language might be easy, but mastering it will take a great deal of time and effort. So, all the best!