Computer Programming - Overview

Introduction to Computer Program

Before getting into computer programming, let us first understand computer programs and what they do.

A computer program is a sequence of instructions written using a Computer Programming Language to perform a specified task by the computer.

The two important terms that we have used in the above definition are −

Computer Programming - Basics

We assume you are well aware of English Language, which is a well-known Human Interface Language. English has a predefined grammar, which needs to be followed to write English statements in a correct way. Likewise, most of the Human Interface Languages (Hindi, English, Spanish, French, etc.) are made of several elements like verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs, propositions, and conjunctions, etc.

Computer Programming - Environment

Though Environment Setup is not an element of any Programming Language, it is the first step to be followed before setting on to write a program.
When we say Environment Setup, it simply implies a base on top of which we can do our programming. Thus, we need to have the required software setup, i.e., installation on our PC which will be used to write computer programs, compile, and execute them.

Computer Programming - Basic Syntax

Let’s start with a little coding, which will really make you a computer programmer. We are going to write a single-line computer program to write Hello, World! on your screen. Let’s see how it can be written using different programming languages.

Computer Programming - Data Types

Let's discuss about a very simple but very important concept available in almost all the programming languages which is called data types. As its name indicates, a data type represents a type of the data which you can process using your computer program. It can be numeric, alphanumeric, decimal, etc.

Computer Programming - Variables

Variables are the names you give to computer memory locations which are used to store values in a computer program.
For example, assume you want to store two values 10 and 20 in your program and at a later stage, you want to use these two values. Let's see how you will do it. Here are the following three simple steps −

Computer Programming - Keywords

So far, we have covered two important concepts called variables and their data types. We discussed how to use int, long, and float to specify different data types. We also learnt how to name the variables to store different values.

Computer Programming - Operators

An operator in a programming language is a symbol that tells the compiler or interpreter to perform specific mathematical, relational or logical operation and produce final result. This chapter will explain the concept of operators and it will take you through the important arithmetic and relational operators available in C, Java, and Python.

Computer Programming - Decision

Decision making is critical to computer programming. There will be many situations when you will be given two or more options and you will have to select an option based on the given conditions. For example, we want to print a remark about a student based on his secured marks. Following is the situation −

Computer Programming - Loops

Let's consider a situation when you want to print Hello, World! five times. Here is a simple C program to do the same −

#include <stdio.h>

main() {

Computer Programming - Numbers

Every programming language provides support for manipulating different types of numbers such as simple whole integers and floating point numbers. C, Java, and Python categorize these numbers in several categories based on their nature.

Computer Programming - Characters

If it was easy to work with numbers in computer programming, it would be even easier to work with characters. Characters are simple alphabets like a, b, c, d...., A, B, C, D,....., but with an exception. In computer programming, any single digit number like 0, 1, 2,....and special characters like $, %, +, -.... etc., are also treated as characters and to assign them in a character type variable, you simply need to put them inside single quotes.

Computer Programming - Arrays

Consider a situation where we need to store five integer numbers. If we use programming's simple variable and data type concepts, then we need five variables of int data type and the program will be as follows −

#include <stdio.h>

Computer Programming - Strings

During our discussion about characters, we learnt that character data type deals with a single character and you can assign any character from your keyboard to a character type variable.

Computer Programming - Functions

A function is a block of organized, reusable code that is used to perform a single, related action. Functions provide better modularity for your application and a high degree of code reusing. You have already seen various functions like printf() and main().

Computer Programming - File I/O

Computer Files

A computer file is used to store data in digital format like plain text, image data, or any other content. Computer files can be organized inside different directories. Files are used to keep digital data, whereas directories are used to keep files.

Computer Programming - Summary

We appreciate your patience for going through this tutorial. We have tried to keep it concise but as this subject contains several topics, we have shown a few examples in detail.

Computer Programming - Quick Guide

Computer Programming - Overview

Introduction to Computer Program

Before getting into computer programming, let us first understand computer programs and what they do.

A computer program is a sequence of instructions written using a Computer Programming Language to perform a specified task by the computer.

The two important terms that we have used in the above definition are −

Computer Programming - Useful Resources

The following resources contain additional information on Computer Programming. Please use them to get more in-depth knowledge on this topic.

Discuss Computer Programming

Computer programming is the act of writing computer programs, which are a sequence of instructions written using a Computer Programming Language to perform a specified task by the computer.