Introduction to Programming

Welcome, in this video, we wrap up your computer science primer with 0:00 an introduction to computer programming. 0:05 Let me give you a few definitions. 0:07 First, what is programming? 0:09 Programming is the process of designing and 0:11 writing computer programs to perform specific tasks. 0:14 What is a program? 0:18 A program is a set of instructions written in a specific programming language 0:20 that a computer follows to complete a task. 0:24 What is a programming language? 0:27 A programming language is a special language used to write algorithms that 0:29 a computer can understand. 0:34 Each programming language has its own syntax, rules, and logic. 0:36 You can learn many different programming languages at Treehouse, 0:41 like JavaScript and Python. 0:45 I will explain syntax and algorithm in more detail. 0:47 Syntax is the vocabulary and grammar of a programming language. 0:51 It is the special words, commands, and punctuation of a language, 0:57 as well as the rules for putting them together to create a program. 1:02 Let me give you some example sentences in English. 1:06 Seneca eats lunch at noon. 1:08 Instagram is my favorite iPhone app! 1:12 Can Casper cleave the coriander conspicuously? 1:16 Each statement follows the rules of the English language to 1:19 form a proper sentence. 1:24 Even if you don't know all the words in that last example, you probably 1:26 recognize that I am asking a question about a person's ability to do something. 1:30 You might think I made up some of those words just to prove a point. 1:34 I promise I didn't, but 1:38 some of the words in that second sentence didn't even exist 20 years ago. 1:39 An algorithm is a set of well-defined instructions, 1:44 performed sequentially, to complete a task. 1:48 An algorithm may be written in plain language or in pseudocode, which is 1:51 a mix between your spoken language and the code of a programming language. 1:56 Be careful, 2:01 what may seem obvious to you might be harder to describe than you think. 2:02 Here's a human example of an algorithm. 2:07 How would you explain the process of making a peanut butter and 2:10 jelly sandwich to a five-year-old? 2:14 Let me give it a shot. 2:17 One, obtain two slices of bread, one scoop of peanut butter, one scoop of jelly. 2:18 Two, spread the peanut butter on one face of the first slice of bread. 2:26 Three, spread the jelly on one face of the second slice of bread. 2:30 Four, to create the sandwich, combine the peanut butter face of 2:35 the first bread to the jelly face of the second bread. 2:40 Five, slice the sandwich diagonally. 2:44 Six, finally, bite your sandwich and enjoy. 2:47 You can make some minor adjustments to this algorithm. 2:53 For example, you can swap steps two and three, and still yield the same sandwich. 2:56 You can omit step five all together and still eat the sandwich. 3:02 You can replace peanut butter and jelly with other ingredients. 3:06 Of course, you'll end up with a different sandwich. 3:11 However, you cannot completely mix up the steps. 3:13 Otherwise, you may end up with a sticky mess or no sandwich at all. 3:17 Hopefully, this was helpful as you begin your journey into a wonderful new field. 3:22 Feel free to visit these videos again as a refresher. 3:27 If you have questions about anything covered in this workshop, please reach out 3:30 to other students in the community or the Treehouse staff, thanks and good luck. 3:34

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