A Never-Ending Debate Between Coding and Programming
Coding vs programming is a contemporary dispute in the software development field. Read on to see why they vary and why it is critical to understand the differential.
It took me a long time to figure out what programming and coding meant, as well as what each subject included. And I’m sure I wasn’t the only one who was perplexed by those two concepts when I first started working with computers.
We’re starting to increase our personal vocabulary in ways that make the typical person uncomfortable, thanks to the recent growth in computer science studies across all grades.
To make matters worse, many of these “new” phrases appear to have such daunting backgrounds that we don’t take the time to learn how to use them properly — instead, we just repeat them without thinking about what they really mean.
“Programming can be divided into roughly 3 sub-tasks. The first thing is deciding what the program should do. If you don’t think carefully about that, it’s going to wind up not doing something that it probably should do or you wind up with an ‘absolute bug-free program’. Because to have a bug, you have to have some notion of what it means for the program to be operating correctly. And there is no precise definition of what it means for the program to be correctly operating — so, well, no bugs. Not a very good situation,” said Lamport, who is best known for his seminal work in distributed systems and the development of the document preparation system LaTeX. — Leslie Lamport
Coding vs. Programming in a Head-to-Head Battle
This article is based on a comprehensive explanation of the distinctions between coding and programming, as well as how both activities work together to create apps and websites. I’ll provide you all the details you need to tell the difference between the two phenomena. Above all, you’ll learn how coding is an important part of the whole programming process and how it may help you in your career. You will be able to make a career selection at the end of this article.
So, let’s start by knowing what these phrases signify and how experts utilize them.
So, to put it simply, what is coding?
Coding may be defined as the process of converting human language into a machine-readable language for a computer. This code instructs the machine on how to act and behave.
Coding is the process of successfully creating communication between a software program and computer hardware. Compilers convert the source code into assembly language. The assembly language is converted to Binary Coded Signals during the coding process.
Computer systems are electrical devices that communicate and perform via binary coded signals. O’s and 1’s are the two sorts of binary coded signals. Switches and transistors are used to create these signals. The high-level and assembly level languages are converted into binary codes throughout the coding process, and communication between the computer hardware and software application is established.
“You don’t understand something until you’ve written it down carefully — carefully enough to explain it to somebody else. And if you haven’t done that, you’re just thinking you understand it,” Lamport said at HLF 2019.
Let’s take a closer look at what programming entails.
The process of producing a set of instructions that inform a computer how to complete a task is known as programming. Several computer programming languages, such as JavaScript, Python, and C++, can be used to programme.
There are a plethora of definitions for computer programming, but here is mine.
“Programming is the process of instructing computers to solve issues (problems).”
Programming is a creative endeavour: just as there is no right or wrong method to paint a picture, there is no right or wrong way to solve a problem.
There are options to consider, and just because one option appears to be better than another does not mean the other is incorrect! A programmer may create software to handle an infinite variety of issues, from predicting when the next train will arrive to playing your favourite music, with the correct abilities and expertise.
Your creativity is the only limit to what is possible. That is one of the reasons I enjoy programming so much.
“The easy part is taking that algorithm and encoding it in some particular programming language. But imagine trying to invent Euclid’s algorithm. If you were thinking about it in terms of code, you know, gee, should I have a procedure here? Should this be an assignment statement? You’d never discover Euclid’s algorithm.”
“So, you should be thinking about the algorithm — the basic how it’s done — before you start writing code.” — Lamport
Baseline Distinction
As previously stated, the distinction between coding and programming may be seen in the definitions of both operations. Programming is the process of building a programme that adheres to a set of rules and completes a certain goal. Coding, on the other hand, is a subset of programming that is only concerned with turning human language into machine-readable binary commands.
Final Thoughts:
Which of the two worlds do you belong in? It took some time for me to figure out what I was truly passionate about.
If you’re more interested in logic, consider focusing your efforts on the entire programming process. Invest your time on coding if you truly appreciate reading and developing code.
Computer science, as we all know, is a vast area that is always expanding. Work on identifying and focusing on the road you want to pursue — but don’t forget to appreciate and have fun along the way.
If you’re still having trouble, I hope this article has cast some light on the situation and assisted you in finding your spot.
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That’s all!
Thank you for sticking with me this far. If it is sorted than next task to sort difference between Software Development vs Software Engineering.
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