• Question: What exactly IS 'programming'?

    Asked by genevieve to Martin on 16 Mar 2012.
    • Photo: Martin Zaltz Austwick

      Martin Zaltz Austwick answered on 16 Mar 2012:

      Programming is writing instructions for a computer to carry out. There are lots of “languages” which translate between something that looks a bit like English and the languages computers speak, this makes it easier to write instructions (like “draw” or “print” or do maths). You might have heard of them: Python, Matlab, Java, Fortran, C and R are all examples of languages we use in science. I speak some Java, Matlab and Python, and a bit of R.

      I also use a language called “Processing”, which is like a simple version of Java designed for graphics and animation. If you are interested in learning, it is quite fun! You can download it for free at processing.org and they have loads of examples to get you started.

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