Programming languages easily explained
One of the key concepts in IT is programming languages. A programming language is a formal language that consists of instructions for a computer to perform certain tasks.
In the most basic way, a programming language is nothing more than a normal language. When you talk to other people, you use English, French, Spanish, or even sign language… The same applies for computers, by using a programming language, you can talk to the computer, and tell it what to do. So instead of using English or French, you would then use Java, Python, JavaScript or any other programming language out there.
What is important is to keep in mind that, whatever language you speak, when you are really fluent with the language, you are able to say whatever you want. The same applies to programming languages. If you speak (write) a programming language really well, you are able to let the computer do almost everything you want.
So why do people often use Python for Data Science or JavaScript for Web Development for example? It is the same as in human languages. There are some things that are easier to explain in English, because the vocabulary in certain topics is richer, while other things are quicker to explain in French.
The same applies to programming languages. In a very basic way (we are cutting some corners now), Python has made it very easy to explain to a computer how to perform data science tasks while it’s more difficult to explain to a computer how to create computer games. Obviously, it is a bit more complicated than that. But for now we’ll keep it at that to help you grasp the bigger picture.
One last thing to note is that there are quite some distinctions that are made between programming languages. Maybe you have heard of high-level and low-level programming languages, object-oriented programming languages or scripting programming languages.
These are distinctions that we will explain in the upcoming blogd, so stick with us.
In the meantime, let us know what programming languages mean for you in the comments and give us a clap if you like it!
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