How to Get Started Programming
Are you interested in learning to program but need help knowing where to begin? This article will introduce you to programming and get you started using the popular programming language Python. You'll even write your first computer program!
Introduction to Programming
Computer programming is the process of creating the set of instructions, known as a program, that instructs a computer on how to complete a given task. For example, one could write a program that takes two numbers and adds them together. Software technologies such as Microsoft Excel, Windows, and iOS are all examples of computer programs. Typically, computer programs are written in The human-readable text written in a programming language that defines the behaviour of a computer program. source code. However, computers only understand A numerical computer code used to control a computer's central processing unit. machine code, so the source code must be translated to be used by a computer. Source code can be compiled by a compiler into machine code. Alternatively, source code can be processed without being converted into machine code by an interpreter.
Source code can be written in many different languages, such as C, C++, Java, and Python. Below, we will discuss Python, an example of an interpreted language.
The Python programming language was developed by Guido Van Rossum and first released in 1991. Today, Python is used in various tasks such as developing web apps, data analysis and visualisation and The use of statistical algorithms to train computers to learn patterns and make decisions without explicit programming. machine learning. A study conducted by Statista reveals Python to be amongst the most popular programming languages. So let's get Pythoning!
Installing Python
To get started with Python, you can install it onto your device by following this guide: How to Install Python on Windows.
If you don't want to download Python onto your device, you can run Python commands online using Jupyter Notebooks: Online Jupyter Notebooks.
Integrated Development Environment
Programmers typically use an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) to write programs. An IDE is software that contains facilities such as a A text editor for source code. source editor, a A computer program used to resolve errors in code. debugger , a compiler, and an interpreter, all bundled into one application to help improve developer productivity.
When you download Python, you will see that it comes with an IDE called 'IDLE', which stands for Integrated Development and Learning Environment. We can use this IDE to create a computer program. To open IDLE, go to the Windows search bar, type 'IDLE', and open the software.
Alternatively, if you are using online Jupyter Notebooks, go to File > New > Notebook and select the Python kernel.
Your First Computer Program!
Now that you are on your Python IDE of choice, it is time to write your first computer program. To begin with, we will create a simple program to print 'Hello, World!'. print is a function in Python that prints the specified message onto the screen. Other programming languages have their own equivalent of print.
Print 'Hello, World!'
To print 'Hello, World!' enter the below code into the code editor:
print('Hello, World!')And there you have it, folks, your first computer program!
More Python Exercises
Now that you have written your first Python program, check out Introduction to Python Course for more Python programming exercises to further your knowledge of Python.
As you progress through your programming journey, you will learn that many modern-day programming languages are similar. Once you get the hang of one, others will become much easier to learn.