what does computor programming involve?

Question

i know it might sound like a weird question but like what do you do exactly?
k.thanx.=]

Answer 1

Computer programming means creating software for it... (the short version :) ). It involves learning some programming languages (mainly C/C++,Java,Basic but there are many others)..

Answer 2

Programming is basically writing a set of instructions that tells the computer what you want it to do. You can't just write it in english, but you use special programming languages which have specific instructions. You can then put a bunch of those instructions together to make the program do what you want it to. It's not TOO hard to make it do something simple, but it will take some learning to make something that's really useful.

Depending on the programming language you choose (there are many), you will use different instructions. For example, some languages have instructions like these:
input - get some information from the operator (you)
print - display some information on the screen
+, -, *, / (add, subtract, multiply, divide)
and so on. Most languages have hundreds of instructions, that can work on numbers or strings (like words and sentences) or other kinds of objects.

That's a long answer that still doesn't really tell you much!

Good luck!

Answer 3

I feel that everyone's answers here miss the mask. You wouldn't describe a salesman's job involves travelling a lot. Sure, but that kinda misses the point.

Same with computer programming. Yes, it involves a computer and typing arbitrary codes on it. But that's not really what programming is about. It's about thinking and logic. When you sit down to a real world problem, there is no instruction manual that tells you what to type. It doesn't say what the answer is. You must figure out how to take a problem and solve it using the tools of your trade. That forces you to sit down, and analyze the problem.

It's not as obvious as it sounds. Memorizing a computer programming language is easy. Understanding how it can be applied to a real world situation is hard. Beginners focus on the tools of the trade. Those who work for a living understand that there is more to it.

Answer 4

Actually writing the code is a very small percentage. Most of the time we spend deep in thought or reading manuals or having informal discussions trying to figure out exactly what it is we are trying to do and how to do it. In larger companies we also have to write a lot of documentation explaining what we did or how it works or how somebody else makes use of it.

Once a program is written, we have to try to get it to "fail" (that sounds weird but we need to find problems before our customers do). In smaller places we may be pretty much on our own to do this, in larger places there are usually "quality assurance" people dedicated to this. A large time is then spent "debugging".

Then, in almost any program, no matter how well it has been checked, there are always problems after it is delivered (and requests for additional features). This "maintenance" (it's not really maintenance in the sense of what you do to a car for instance, but the name has stuck) is, for better or worse, what we do MUCH more than develop new things. It's challenging because you have to understand how the original program works (YOU are rarely the person who wrote it originally) AND get as much information from the program's user how it failed (this is often like pulling teeth).

The person above me is correct too, if you don't spell correctly that is one of the causes of "bugs" and unfortunately computers, even in 2007, do what you TELL them to do, not what you WANT them to do.

Answer 5

csanon is exactly right. Programming is about problem solving. The language you use to tell the computer what to do becomes a detail when you are programming for a living. Also, you do have to tell the computer *exactly* what to do. The computer is an unintelligent, blubbering bucket of bolts. Programming is like trying to steer a runaway train with no brakes onto the right tracks to narrowly avoid destruction.

Answer 6

It really depends on what kind of Computer Programming you are talking about, but generally in computer programming you use special code to create programs made for certain uses. The programs may be simple and they may be complicated, and the more complicated they are the more code you will have. You type this code in something called a compiler which translates your code into computer language called binary code. I hope that helped.

Answer 7

I think it involves realizing a machine is a true simpleton and you have to tell it each and every thing about thinking, in surprisingly excruciating detail. Like, say, REMEMBER that when I say A, I mean the total of 15 and 7. IF A is EQUAL to 22 THEN GO SQUEAK. OTHERWISE GO BURP...and like that...(and of course at some point *somebody* has to tell it what I mean when I say REMEMBER and IF and EQUAL and THEN and GO and all those other words...)

Answer 8

first principal of computer programming:

A computer can do anything in the world that it has the hardware for and you can tell it how to do.

It's involves learning a new language, one that you can talk to the computer in, and then telling it what to do.

A robot maid is no good unless you tell it where and when to vaccuum, and it's no good if it doesn't have arms to use that vaccuum.

From that information, you should be looking for classes on programming, look to basic, visual basic, java, C++... Then expect to spend long hours looking at text and code filling up a screen, and the horrors of debugging a typo in code that causes a crash in your computer.

Answer 9

Exact spelling

Answer 10

it involves writing code (words with a lot of ;{}() stuff) and spending hours fixing it