• Question: Did you learn other coding tools like Java or just the basic PC tool CMD?

    Asked by whchetandrob to Mike on 2 Jul 2012.
    • Photo: Michael Cook

      Michael Cook answered on 2 Jul 2012:

      When you write a computer program, you need two things: first, you need to know a programming language. A programming language, just like a spoken language, is a list of rules that define what you can and can’t say. Java is a language, and I know Java.

      The second thing you need is a program to turn the language into very complicated codes that a computer can understand. Sometimes this is called a ‘compiler’. You don’t need to know how a compiler works to use it – you just click ‘Go!’ and it does its work.

      Java was one of the first languages I learned. The stuff you type into CMD on Windows is also a language, but it’s not as easy to use as Java. If you’ve used CMD in the past and thought “Wow, this is tricky!” then don’t give up!

      Javascript is a really fun language that is a bit like Java. You can learn it online at Codecademy: http://www.codecademy.com. I really recommend it if you want to learn a bit of programming!

      Let me know if that didn’t answer your question!

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