Programming Languages

Programming Languages Programming languages are used to provide instructions to computers. Without programming instructions, computers will not run. Throughout the years, programming languages have become easier to use. Scratch is a high-level programing language designed for kids as an educational tool. A description of the different programming languages as well as a scenario of when each could be used, will help one gain a better understanding of each. Furthermore, it will be explained as to which language is the most popular and why, along with which is the easiest to use. Experience Building a Program Using Scratch Although Scratch is aimed at children, it was challenging to figure out. After I played with Scratch for a bit, it became more fun. Using Scratch was the first time that I had ever built a program. One difficulty I experienced was stringing the program together to make the program work. The way that I solved the problem was by watching tutorials. After watching the tutorials, I experimented and got an idea of what I needed to do. Then I played around with different combinations of blocks and hitting play to see if my program worked. If something did not work, I would try again until I figured it out and watch more tutorials as needed. Scratch

 

 This project gave me insight into programming. Programming takes time, and a step must be followed, or the program will not work. In programming, problems are converted into instructions for the computer. The programmer arranges the instructions of a computer program and runs those instructions, tests the program to see if it is working properly, and makes corrections to the program. If it were not for programs, the computer would not work. The programing language sends instructions to the computer, which can then get the computer to do anything you want it to do. Experience programming in Scratch with the Participation Activities Scratch is easier to understand compared to the participation activities in the textbook. I understood Scratch easier than the participation activities. When I participated in the machine language and assembly language activities, I saw numbers and had trouble understanding what I was doing. With Scratch, actions were in the form of words that one could easily understand, like "stop all sounds." Python was the most comparable to Scratch. Computers do not understand words, so the programmer must use ones and zeros when creating a program. Language is the instructions consisting of ones and zeros that the computer understands (Vahid & Lysecky, 2019). There are three types of programming languages, machine language, assembly language, and high-level language. A machine language consists of ones and zeros and is the hardest to understand of the three languages. Machine-language programming requires the programmer to write out the sequences of binary or decimal digits (machine language, 2017). Assembly language is the language between high-level programming languages and machine language. It is one level above machine language. Assembly language is easier for humans to understand than machine language. According to Vahid & Lysecky (2019), A program called an assembler automatically converts an assembly language program into machine language. High-level languages like Python are the easiest to understand. A program converts high-level language into assembly language and machine language. This makes high-level language the most efficient for the programmer. Easiest to Use and Most Popular High-level language is the easiest language to use and learn. Thus, it is the most popular. Vahid and Lysecky (2019) state Python has increased in popularity because it is easy to learn, freely available, and has powerful high-level data-processing operations. High-level language is the closest to natural written language. Programmers write in high-level languages because they are easier to comprehend and are less complicated than machine code (BBC, n.d). 

 

 Machine language is programming in its most basic form and is the most difficult to write. According to Çıtak (2019), machine language is not commonly used because it is hard to remember the binary codes and is easy to make mistakes. Since processors only understand machine language, machine language can be used to program personal computers. Assembly language is rarely used today with high-level language like Python. Assembly language is the most commonly used low-level programming language that can help one write code concisely (Admin, 2023). A scenario when one might use assembler language is when they are developing an application for a smartphone. A scenario where someone would use a high-level language like Python would be when they are developing a website. Python is easy to learn, freely available, and has powerful high-level data-processing operations (Vahid & Lysecky, 2019). Since it is easy to use, people who are not programmers use Python. Each language has its uses, but high-level is the most commonly used today. Conclusion When first using Scratch, it was difficult to understand. I watched tutorials and experimented to better understand how to program on the site. There are three programming languages: machine, assembly, and high-level. Machine language consists of binary numbers, which is what the CPU understands. Assembly language allows the programmer to code using words and expressions that are then converted into binary so the CPU understands. High-level language like Python is the easiest to use and understand but similar to assembly language in that the programmer uses words, objects, and math that is then converted into binary. Scratch