Note: Creating a computer program requires knowledge of one or more
programming languages, as well as other considerations. This page does
not provide step by step instructions for creating a program, as the
steps differ depending on the type of program being created and the
programming language.
Anyone interested in developing software, such as a program, game, or
online service, must start by learning a programming language . There
are many different programming languages and creating a new software
program requires more training and more time than one page can
provide. Therefore, this page is meant as a general overview to help
point you in the direction to get started. An important beginning step
is to have a plan for what program you want to develop. For instance,
a plan would include the purpose of the program, game, or service, and
the features you want to include. Be thinking of what your plan is as
you continue reading.
Picking the Language
As we noted above, there are many different programming languages.
Deciding which language to learn can be a challenge by itself.
Creating a program with many features and functions often requires you
to be fairly proficient in one or more programming languages.
That being said, basic understanding of the concepts of pretty much
any programming language can help to get you started. Our listing of
programming languages includes examples of the various types of
software each language can create. Here are a few of our
recommendations.
Computer Hope Recommendations
Deciding on your programming language depends on what type of program
or script you would like to create. For example, Java and Visual Basic
are both popular because of their relative ease and because both are a
good way to learn programming fundamentals. Other popular languages
include C , C++ , and C# , which are used to create games , apps,
drivers , operating systems , as well as many of the software programs
that run on a computer.
If you are interested in developing scripts and programs, like online
forums and services, Perl,
PHP , and Python are all popular choices, in addition to HTML.
Deciding on an editor
An editor is any program that allows you to write
computer code . They range from simple (like any basic text editor )
to advanced software, such as
Adobe Dreamweaver , Eclipse, JDeveloper, or
Microsoft Visual Studio . Fortunately, any program can be written in a
text editor, which means you can get started for free. As you get more
comfortable with a programming language, using a more advanced editor
is recommended, as it can make coding and testing the code more
efficient.
Computer Hope Recommendations
For Windows users, we suggest an editor such as
Notepad ++ because it is free and supports
syntax highlighting . If you're on a Mac, you can use their free
editor named TextEdit . Also, it is good to keep in mind that visual
programming languages, like Visual Basic, include the editor and
compiler in the same tool used to create programs.
Compiler
Most computer programming languages are high-level programming
languages, meaning they are easy for you to understand but impossible
for a computer to understand. For the computer to "read" your program,
it must be compiled or have an interpreter . Your programming language
is the deciding factor on whether or not you'll need a third-party
program to compile or interpret it.
For example, Eclipse is an interpreter that takes a program written in
Java and "translates" it into code that can be run on and understood
by a computer. Other languages, like Perl, are interpreted, meaning
they do not need to be compiled. These languages only require that
they are installed on the computer or the server that is running the
script.
Learning the language
After you have decided on a programming language, editor, and
compiler, you are ready to program. For most users, the easiest way to
start is with the infamous Hello World! program. After you have been
able to run your program that prints "Hello World!" to the screen, the
next step is to learn the language's syntax. To do so, you need to
understand the following concepts:
Understand how to declare variables
Create conditional statements (e.g. if , elsif , and
else)
Perform loops (e.g. do , for , foreach , goto , and
while)
Understand escape sequences
How to make comments or temporarily disable parts of the code
Understand regular expressions
As you run into questions, an Internet search can answer most of them.
Books written for your programming language or programming courses are
great ways to develop your skills further.
