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What Is Programming - 00004

The document discusses the analogy between programming computers and teaching humans new tasks, emphasizing the need for verbosity and detail in instructions. It highlights the importance of different programming languages, comparing them to human languages, and introduces Python as the primary language for the lessons. The document sets the stage for further exploration of Python in subsequent lessons.

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ni.tya.a.n.antharama.n.187
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8 views1 page

What Is Programming - 00004

The document discusses the analogy between programming computers and teaching humans new tasks, emphasizing the need for verbosity and detail in instructions. It highlights the importance of different programming languages, comparing them to human languages, and introduces Python as the primary language for the lessons. The document sets the stage for further exploration of Python in subsequent lessons.

Uploaded by

ni.tya.a.n.antharama.n.187
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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• Use arm to open up left refrigerator door in front of you

• …

I think you get the idea. Of course this is a made-up example, and you should not begin learning
programming by trying to teach a robot to make sandwiches for you. I use this example to drive home the
points that (A) programming a computer is analogous to teaching a human being a new task and (B) when
programming a computer, we need to learn to be extremely verbose and detail-oriented.

What are computers good at?

Coming up with creative solutions.

Doing precisely what they are told.

Another thing to consider about computer programming is the language with which we tell a computer
what to do. As with human language, there are many different languages we can use to communicate
instructions. We can use English as I am using in this write-up, but there’s also a plethora of alternative
written and spoken languages that humans can understand. Some of these languages have similar syntax
and alphabet, such as Spanish compared to Portuguese. Others use different alphabets, such as Latin
compared to Cantonese. Some of these languages are ancient, whereas some have emerged over only the
past few hundred years.

In a similar sense, there is an abundance of computer language varieties, each with their pros/cons and
differences/similarities. Whereas the four most popular human languages in the world are English,
Mandarin, Hindi, and Spanish, some of the most commonly-used computer languages in the world are
Java, Python, C, and Javascript. For the purpose of this series of lessons, we will be sticking mainly to
Python as the language-of-choice. So what is Python? For that, continue on to the next lesson.

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