programming and programming language?

Question

whats teh difference between learning programming and learning a programming language?

someone said:

If you're a beginner you should forget about languages for a while, and first learn programming. Learning a language to program in won;t do you any good if you don't know how to program. (Learning a language isn't learning programming, any more than it's learning medicine.) Try http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0... to learn programming. Then learning the syntax of a language won't be so difficult.

to me and i didnt understand what he meant.

Answer 1

well to me once you learn the language and know it's limits as in what you can and can't do with it, and know what you want the program to do, that's basically programming right there. I think that what he meant was even if you learn the language ie the syntax and everything, that if you don't know how to go about making the program, it won't do you any good. for example lets say i want to design a program that calculates rocket trajectory over a distance and I'm not a physicist or rocket scientist, even though i know how to program in the specified language (let's say c++) i won't be able to design the software b/c i don't know all the formulas and calculations needed in order for me to design the software, so therefore all that programming knowledge won't do me any good in that light. But once i confer with a scientist or physicist and they teach/show me the formulas then seeing as i already know the language, writing the program wouldn't be so difficult.



But the way he put it though seems to make less sense like someone else said. You can only discern what he said through deduction.





hope that helped and wasn't roundabout.

Answer 2

in short, programming is the way you solve the problem and programming language is the way you tell the machine to do so. Of course, this answer is just at very simple concept level. If you don't have anything to do with computers but just want to know the difference above then my answer is enough for you, otherwise if you want to become a programmer, then instead of asking such a question that do you nothing like above, choose a language, learn it and try to solve the problem by what you've learned. Learn programming in a particular programming language if you do want to create things. When you can program well in that language, learn another and compare these two. If your learn how to program without any particular language (learning programming in pseudo code only) and you will have nothing to do more than to throw you work into the thrash basket. Try to do the simple first, make a real thing first, and the complex after.

Answer 3

Lets imagine that you know how to program Microsoft C# (for example). There's a good chance that if you joined a company who use Java or VB.Net, you could easily, with a bit of time and effort, program either of these languages with no problems. This is because pretty much all languages essentially use the same methods to control what happens in a given routine.



Almost all languages have If - ElseIf - End If statements to control the flow of logic, it's just a case of understanding how to write this statement in your chosen language. For example:



VB.Net

If x = y Then

Do Something

Else

Do Something Else

End If



C#

if( x == y ){

Do Something

}else{

Do Something Else

}



Both of the above do exactly the same thing but the VB.Net way of writing is slightly different to C#. The common ground is Programming whereas the differences are Syntax.



That is an answer to your question at the most basic level. I can hear people saying "the statement 'The common ground is Programming whereas the differences are Syntax' is not correct, He's missed the point" and this is true to a certain extent (I'm trying to keep it simple).

Programming is all about finding ways to do things. There are always 10 different ways to solve any one problem when writing an application. Which way you choose (and the reasons you choose that way) is the real essence of programming. One way will be really quick, one way will really efficient in terms of reusability. One might adhere to Object Oriented prinicples whereas another might not need to.



As I'm sure you've seen, there are hundereds of books entitled 'Learn XYZ in 24 hours'. I used these myself years ago and basically they're not really worth using IMO. As somebody once said, "You can't learn to program in 24 hours but you can learn to program badly"

For this reason I'd agree with you original source and say learn to program and then worry about what language you want to use. The chances are that if you get a job in the future you'll have to be pretty flexible anyway. Ultimately you do need to use a language in order to learn programming as you can only take examples from books so far before wanting to try stuff out for yourself.



Try looking into Design Patterns and Object Oriented Programming



Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Nope (not at you Jeffrey - you got it right) - I meant that learning a language - whether it's a human language or a programming language, doesn't teach you how to write computer programs, any more than it teaches you neurosurgery. Learning a language just teaches you the language.



Computer programming is a science - you learn how to write computer programs in the human language you're best with - your native language (English, for most people reading this). You learn logic, you learn methods (a bubble sort is a bubble sort in English or in C++ - the language doesn't matter). Computer programming is just using a computer to accomplish a task. If you can instruct an idiot, who can only think one simple thought at a time, how to do something, you've written a program. In English. That's programming. Changing that to C# is coding, not programming.



Learning C++ or learning French teaches you just as much about programming - nothing.

Answer 5

He might be trying to say that you need to learn programming techniques and logic, rather than languages. This really is important, too. For instance, being able to hold a conversation in 15 human languages doesn't mean you can write an outstanding work of literature in any of them; and a really well written program is much like a really well written book, in that it needs to have many parts that fit together in non-obvious but effective ways.

Answer 6

What they mean is, learn theory and methods before learning the language... Doesn't make much sense though.



Go ahead and pick a language to learn. Try to avoid "dumb" languages such as Visual Basic... If you plan to learn a real language (do some research... VB isn't even a "real" language... It relies on a "virtual machine" to run) with real techniques.



A good book on the language will also teach proper technique to an extent. Once you are experienced in the language, buy a copy of Code Complete from Amazon. I got mine for like $3, shipped. Read that completely... It will bring you up to industry standards and give you an idea of what enterprise software development entails.

Answer 7

The person probably just meant you should learn what programming is, how programming languages work, how the computer works, programming concepts, etc. before you begin actually programming - basically programming theory.



You should learn both simultaneously, however. Being able to put the theory to practice really helps to sink the concepts in.

Answer 8

My professor told me in my "programming 101" class that he is not teaching programming



You must learn LOGIC first, which can then be applied to ANY language you choose........In programming, Logic never changes, only the syntax.



SO, I learned Visual Basic and C/C++ and got a job programming on the AS/400 (aka, iSeries or IBM i) using RPG, ILE, CLP languages. Also, at one point I took the logic of a VB program and converted that logic to the iSeries languages......proven that logic is maintained.

Answer 9

He probably meant learn pseudocode before learning a particular language. Pseudocode is a little like programming but for no particular language, it simply lays out the logic of what a program will do and helps clarify the process in your mind before you start coding properly in your chosen language.



There are lots of sites about pseudocoding - http://www.google.com/search?q=pseudocode



Pseudocoding although useful and even necessary on larger projects doesn't do anything, You need to write your program in a language using the pseudocode you've written as a guide.



Here are some free computer language packages - http://www.microsoft.com/express/product/default.aspx

Answer 10

He meant to learn the terms and the mindset of programming.