Welp MagazineIt’s no secret we live in a digital age, with over 4.66 billion active internet users. Our reliance on technology is evident in everything we do and is arguably one of the most important parts of the evolving world. And what or more importantly who powers this tech? Programmers.
Computer programming is essential in today’s and tomorrow’s world because so much of our world is automated. As our reliance on tech only continues to grow, getting into programming is an exciting – and potentially lucrative thing to do.
What is programming?
At first, programming can appear to be a complex series of digits and codes. But, put simply, programming is how you get computers to solve problems. And this is made even easier when you understand the language they use.
Computer programs – software – are what make computers function. When you program a computer, you give it a set of instructions, which it will run one at a time in a sequence you have created.
Because computers don’t understand language in the same way we do, e.g. English, programmers must use specific programming language in order to follow instructions.
There are many different programming languages and there are certain languages that are better suited to a particular set of tasks.
What you need to get started
The best thing you can do to get started in programming is getting yourself a bit of kit like a Raspberry Pi. Raspberry Pi boards are great whether you’re a complete novice or you’re looking to expand on your programming knowledge, because they can be completely custom built.
When you first start out, it’s worth spending time researching how to code and maybe enrolling on a course for beginners. If you’re looking at getting your child into coding, it may surprise you to hear that games like Minecraft and Roblox are actually already teaching them the basics.
Once you’ve started to have a go, you may find that programming is something you want to look into as a profession. If this is the case, you should decide what type of programming you want to do. Are you interested in web development or is being a software engineer more your thing? Perhaps artificial intelligence or maybe another emerging tech, like Eco technology is more what you’re interested in? Whatever you choose will shape the pathway you take.
If you’ve decided what type of programming you want to be involved in, you’ll need to consider which field. This could be front-end or back-end web developers, software programmers, data scientists, database administrators, and mobile app development to name but a few.
Ultimately, the world is your oyster when it comes to programming as long as you practice. Learning the different programming languages will help you build up a portfolio of work and will get you to where you want to be.
