{"id":203,"date":"2023-06-21T11:30:21","date_gmt":"2023-06-21T11:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/concordant-thought.com\/?p=203"},"modified":"2023-06-21T11:30:21","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T11:30:21","slug":"what-is-programming-algorithm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/concordant-thought.com\/what-is-programming-algorithm\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Programming Algorithm?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>What Is a Programming Algorithm?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">If you are reading these lines, it is because you already know what a computer is. Anyway, you know what it\u2019s for, and what it looks like. Here, now, we are going to explain how a computer works as well as the principles of programming.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This machine contains a whole bunch of electronic components and also some mechanical components, fans, for example, to cool the whole.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You will know very well how to find the screen, the mouse (or trackpad) and the keyboard.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You probably know the others less: you have to be able to open a computer to see what\u2019s inside. Yet, while not all machines look exactly like the diagram above, all contain the components shown.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>In particular, the motherboard is made up<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">of a microprocessor that executes what you ask of it<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">of a random access memory used by the programs during their execution,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">of several \u201ccards\u201d, electronic components responsible for a specific task.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The graphics card manages the screen displays, the network card access to the Internet, as for the sound card, it is for the sound, of course!<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">and a hard disk that stores data over the long term.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You can have several hard drives, it is safer to save what is on the computer in two different places.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Hard drives do not have an eternal lifespan even if it is 3 to 4 years in general.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>\u201cThe microprocessor does what you ask it\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Ah but that\u2019s great, you think! However, you\u2019ve never seen a computer prepare your afternoon snack\u2026.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">In fact, it will only do what it was programmed to do. But because they are programmed to do more and more things, some people think that soon computers will be able to do as many things as humans. This is why we are going to dwell here on what \u201cprogramming\u201d means, you will realize for yourself that these people speak more of science fiction than of reality.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Computer programming what is it?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>What does programming a computer mean?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><em><strong>A program<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0is a list of instructions written to solve a problem, or to perform an action.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">For example, when you start the computer, a program called operating system starts. It is used to manage the display and execution of other programs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Then if you want to go read a Kidisciences page on the Internet, you need to open a navigation program, which will manage access to the Kidisciences site as well as the display of the site. It will communicate with the network card and the graphics card. There are several: Firefox, Safari, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Also, when you want to watch the video at the end of the article, an image and sound processing program will be run.<\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">Programs are therefore mainly used to manage information, transfer it, generally from the Internet to your screen, transform it and store it if necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The term programming appeared before the first computers saw the light of day, thanks to famous computer theorists Ada Lovelace (1815-1852), Charles Babbage (1791-1871), and Alan Turing (1912-1954) ( more information at the bottom of the article with links to videos and other articles). Computers were, in fact, created to run programs. Better and faster.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">But to design software, you don\u2019t just need to know how to program.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The software must be attractive, easy to use, and also easy to improve and adapt to other functions or new machines.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">There is therefore a lot of software design work, not only on the visual aspect but also on all the programs to be written:<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">How to break it down into several \u201csubroutines\u201d?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Which programs for which function?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What tests do I do to be sure it won\u2019t crash?<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What data is needed?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>It is software engineering:<\/strong>\u00a0it begins with the analysis of the different functions and requirements, then continues with the technical choices, and finally ends with programming.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Rather than programming, we sometimes say coding because programming consists of translating actions into a language understood by the computer so that it can perform them.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>What is a programming language?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">With computers, powerful calculating machines, another element appears: the programming language. These are the words, vocabulary, and grammar with which the program is written.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The machines being, as you saw, only electronic components, they do not understand our language, we must therefore translate everything for them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">An instruction from a program in assembly language, one of the oldest languages, looks like this:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">more 61,% al<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It is about a single line of a program which makes it possible to make additions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This language is close to the machine because you have to break down all the actions into very simple, elementary operations that tell the processor exactly what to do.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>For example, this programming line means that you have to store 61 in the place named \u201cal\u201d.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You can imagine that the following lines allow to store the second number, to add these two values, and to store the result of the addition in a different place.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yes, yes, this language is very technical, but it allows maximum control over the execution of the calculations of the machine!<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">And one of the first programming rules to respect is that you have to be able to reread and understand a program that you yourself wrote a few months ago, or a few years ago!<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">So we created other languages to be able to write complicated programs without getting lost.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The source program, written and understood by humans, has thus been separated from the binary program which is the source program automatically translated for the computer.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Yes, a program is responsible for translating the source program and handling memory and all that boring or hard-to-know stuff for those who are not experts in machine architecture.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">No, it sounds complicated but it\u2019s very simple: a program is a series of instructions to be followed in order, for example, to open a video on the Internet.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A programming language is used to communicate with the computer so that it can run the program efficiently.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The same program can be written in different programming languages, but some languages facilitate certain actions or allow better handling of complicated data structures.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>IT = disciplines<\/strong><\/span><br \/>\n<span style=\"color: #000000;\">We have approached some of the computer disciplines:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Architecture, which is concerned with the electronic components of the computer,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The networks which manage the external connections between computers, in particular efficient transmission and security,<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Development software, which is the development of successful, complex programs that can be used by everyone.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It is also important to remember that all of these disciplines are linked. And since you can\u2019t find experts in everything, you have to work as a team!<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Read More:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20211128145010\/https:\/\/www.concordant-thought.com\/what-does-rsvp-mean\/\">What Does RSVP Mean?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20211128145010\/https:\/\/www.concordant-thought.com\/how-many-earths-can-fit-in-the-sun\/\">How Many Earths Can Fit In The Sun?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20211128145010\/https:\/\/www.concordant-thought.com\/how-do-blue-jays-get-their-color\/\">How Do Blue Jays Get Their Color?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20211128145010\/https:\/\/www.concordant-thought.com\/who-discovered-the-proton\/\">Who Discovered the Proton?<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20211128145010\/https:\/\/www.concordant-thought.com\/who-invented-the-telephone-in-1876\/\">Who Invented The Telephone In 1876<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What Is a Programming Algorithm? If you are reading these lines, it is because you already know what a computer is. Anyway, you know what it\u2019s for, and what it looks like. Here, now, we are going to explain how a computer works as well as the principles of programming. This machine contains a whole [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/concordant-thought.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/concordant-thought.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/concordant-thought.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/concordant-thought.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/concordant-thought.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=203"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/concordant-thought.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":205,"href":"https:\/\/concordant-thought.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/203\/revisions\/205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/concordant-thought.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/concordant-thought.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/concordant-thought.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}