What is Programming?

Get Started With Programming

To master programming, you need to learn the core concepts first.

No matter the programming language, many of the concepts used are still the same.

The first 5 core concepts you need to learn are:

1. Variables
2. If Statements
3. Arrays
4. Loops
5. Functions

It is recommended to learn these concepts in the order above.

To fully understand these concepts, you also need to have a basic understanding of data types, boolean logic, and operators.

After you have learned these core concepts, you can move on to more advanced concepts.

Programming Languages

A programming language is how we write code, what keywords we use, to tell the computer what to do.

Different programming languages are used for different purposes, like JavaScript is good for web development, Python is good for AI, and C/C++ is good for programming microcontrollers.

What we actually have to write to make use of for example variables, or functions, is slightly different depending on the programming language, and that is called the syntax of the programming language.

Just look at how a for loop counting down from 10 is written in Python, JavaScript, Java, and C++:

for i in range(10, 0, -1):
  print(i)
print('Liftoff!')

for (let i = 10; i > 0; i--) {
  console.log(i);
}
console.log('Liftoff!');

for (int i = 10; i > 0; i--) {
  System.out.println(i);
}
System.out.println("Liftoff!");

for (int i = 10; i > 0; i--) {
  cout << to_string(i) + "\n";
}
cout << "Liftoff!\n";

If you haven't tried programming yet, it is recommended to try the concepts described here yourself as you move along, starting with either Python, or JavaScript as your first programming language.

Since the concepts are the same in all programming languages, you can learn the concepts first in one language, and then use the concepts you've learned in another programming language later.

Go to the next page about variables to start learning programming!:)