Programming Languages
SQL
Stands for Structured Query Language. It's been used to interact with databases since 1974. SQL code is often written as standalone lines known as queries. Each query is designed to either create, read, update or delete data in a database. SQL Code Example: SELECT Country FROM Customers WHERE Country <> 'USA' SQL is a vital part of software such as WordPress and MediaWiki. This website runs on WordPress and it relies on SQL to create, read, update and delete content like articles, images and metadata. Similarly, MediaWiki powers Wikipedia and relies on SQL to store all its articles and handle all its edits.
C
The foundation of modern coding languages is C. C has been around since 1972, and although it's not easy to learn, it's extremely powerful. C is a compiled language and the lowest-level of all the languages listed in this deck. It's readily built into nearly every operating system. C Code Example: typedef struct Bert Bert; typedef struct Wilma Wilma; struct Bert { Wilma *wilma; }; struct Wilma { Bert *bert; }; C is used in a range of areas and platforms, including Microsoft Windows and much of its software. C is truly an all-rounder coding language.
Java
is a ubiquitous coding language designed for cross-platform compatibility. It was developed by Oracle Corporation and first appeared in 1995. Java is a high-level compiled language and is designed to run on just about any operating system. Java Code Example: class HelloWorldApp { public static void main(String[] args) { System.out.println("Hello World!"); } } Java is seen all over the coding world, from the web to desktops. These days it's used to create Android apps. Java is also the featured language in most computer science courses, and as a result many coders have some experience in this language.
C++
is an enhanced version of C that adds the object-oriented paradigm. It was created by Bjarne Stroustrup in 1979. C++ is a compiled language and runs on multiple hardware platforms. C++ Code Example: #include using namespace std; int main () { count << "Hello World!"; return 0; } Most computer games are written in C++. The language also accompanies C in the source code of Microsoft Windows and accompanying software.
Assembly Language
Often abbreviated asm, assembly language is a low-level programming language for a computer, or other programmable device, in which there is a very strong (generally one-to-one) correspondence between the language and the architecture's machine code instructions. Each assembly language is specific to a particular computer architecture. In contrast, most high-level programming languages are generally portable across multiple architectures but require interpreting or compiling. Assembly language may also be called symbolic machine code.[2] Assembly language is converted into executable machine code by a utility program referred to as an assembler. The conversion process is referred to as assembly, or assembling the source code. Assembly time is the computational step where an assembler is run.
Visual Basic
is another Microsoft language, developed in 1991. It is an event-driven language, meaning it's designed to respond to user events such as mouse clicks or key presses. Visual Basic is a high-level compiled language and its platform is Windows. Visual Basic Code Example: Private Sub Form_Load() MsgBox "Hello, World!" End Sub Visual Basic is used as an easy way to develop graphical user interface programs for Windows, but ultimately it's limited and would not be considered a 'serious' coding language.
Objective-C
like C++ and C#, was derived from the C language. It was developed by Apple in 1983 and is designed to be used in conjunction with the company's Cocoa framework. Objective-C is a high-level compiled language and runs only on Apple operating systems. Objective-C Code Example: - (int)method:(int)i { return [self square_root:i]; } Objective-C is unsurprisingly Apple's language of choice. The language is used to create software for iPhone, iPad and Mac OS X.
C Sharp
like C++, has its roots in C. Also written C#, the language was developed by Microsoft in 2000 and is used extensively in its .NET framework. C Sharp is a compiled high-level language and runs on Windows only. C Sharp Code Example: class Foo { public int Value; public static explicit operator Foo(int value) { return new Foo(value); } } Foo foo = (Foo)2; C Sharp is used for desktop software on Windows platforms, and also forms the basis of Microsoft's ASP.NET web development framework.
PHP
A coding language for producing dynamic web pages. It was created by Rasmus Lerdorf in 1995. It has the abilities to send SQL queries and to output HTML, and can be described as the link between the database that stores all the content on a site, and the HTML that lets you view it. PHP's platform is the web server. It's a high-level interpreted scripting language, but it has the lowest-level access of any web server language. PHP Code Example: <?php function add($x, $y) { $total = $x + $y; return $total; } echo "1 + 16 = " . add(1, 16); PHP is a bit different to JavaScript. PHP scripts are executed by the server that hosts a website, while JavaScripts are executed by the browser viewing a website. While JavaScript focuses on effects and interaction, PHP's main jobs are to send SQL queries to the MySQL database program, and to receive data from the database to output as HTML. Although some modern coders have neglected it in recent years, PHP remains hugely popular as a web coding language. It's used by the likes of Facebook, WordPress and Wikipedia.
Ruby
A programming that was designed to be fun and productive to write, with the needs of coders - rather than computers - in mind. Ruby was created in 1995 by Yukihiro Matsumoto. It is a high-level interpreted language that's gained popularity on the web through the Ruby on Rails framework. Ruby Code Example: cities = %w[London Oslo Paris Amsterdam Berlin] visited = %w[Berlin Oslo] puts "I still need to visit:", cities - visited The Ruby on Rails web framework runs on a web server and outputs HTML, much like PHP. It powers many websites including Twitter, and a lot of web coders these days see Rails as a modern alternative to PHP.
JavaScript
A very popular coding language for websites that first appeared in 1995. It is a high-level interpreted scripting language. Its main platform is web browsers, but it's also gained recent popularity on web servers through Node.js. JavaScript Code Example: function myFunc(a, b) { return a * b; } document.getElementById('demo').innerHTML = myFunc(4, 3); It is widely used to add functionality and interactivity to web pages, with millions of websites relying on it every day. It is highly respected by coders, and its popularity has grown to the point where it's now the most used coding language in the world.
Perl
A web language that was developed by Larry Wall in 1987. It's a powerful and practical language that was originally designed for text processing. Perl has been called 'the duct tape that holds the Internet together', referring to its power and perceived ugliness. Perl is a high-level interpreted language and has been used extensively on the web. Pearl Code Example: while (<>) { chomp; if (s/$//) { $_ .= <>; redo unless eof(); } } Perl example code courtesy of Perl.org Perl was once a major web coding language, but newer technologies like Rails tend to replace it in more recent times. These days, Perl mostly does what it has always done best - text processing.
Python
Is a high-level interpreted coding language that runs on a range of different platforms including Windows, Linux and Macintosh. It was created in 1991 by Guido van Rossum. Python was designed to emphasize code readability, with clear and expressive syntax. A lot of people choose to learn Python first for this very reason. Python Code Example: words = ['cat', 'window', 'defenestrate'] for w in words: print w, len(w) //end of block Python is a multi-purpose language, mainly used to write scientific and numerical software. It's also one of the lesser used coding languages on the web, with some big players using it - most notably Google.
