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The Evolution of Programming

“Whether you want to uncover the secrets of the universe, or you just want to pursue a career in the 21st century, basic computer programming is an essential skill to learn.” - Stephen Hawking

A programming language is a language that specifies a set of instructions for a computer. Programming languages are used to create programs that implement specific algorithms.

The first programming languages were in 1s and 0s (binary), and were considered as low-level language programming, as they are hard to understand. The earliest official programming language was made between 1943-1945 and was called Plankalkül. In 1954, the language Fortran was created by IBM, but was still considered as a low-level language and was considered a compiler. 

High-level programming language is a programming language that is easier to understand by humans, compared to low-level languages. High-level programming languages are more frequently used than low-level languages nowadays. Popular high-level programming languages include Javascript, Python and Ruby. These languages are easy to learn, compared to languages like C++.

Languages like C, C++ and C# are mostly used for operating systems, micro-controllers and browsers such as Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. 

On the other hand, Python is used for creating and powering applications such as Instagram and Youtube. Javascript is usually used for client side scripting, which means that the code is written into another HTML code, linking both of it together. 

Currently, programmers are in-demand since in this era, people rely a lot on technology (apps, gadgets, etc) and people who create programs for such things are needed. In 2017, languages such as Python, Ruby and Javascript programmers were a few of the highly paid programming languages. 

Post-millenials (generation Z) should learn to code as it will be useful in the future. Nowadays, robots and computers are taking over people’s jobs, more precisely jobs that involve a lot of repetition (librarian, cashiers, etc). Programmers, however, only have 4.2% of being replaced by a robot or a computer. Programming also develops structured and creative thinking. Since programs may have problems, a programmer is supposed to break down the problem and find the solution for it. Programmers are taught to be persistent while solving a problem (e.g. debugging). When you learn programming, you start seeing problems in the light of their solution. Basically, you transform yourself into a solution-driven individual. 

“The programmers of tomorrow are the wizards of the future. You’re going to look like you have magic powers compared to everybody else.” -Gabe Newell, co-founder Valve Corporation (video game development company)

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Interesting Javascript Facts

* In Javascript, the addition operator is a lowercase letter ’t’ rather than the usual ‘+’.

* In Javascript, the equality operator is ‘+’.

* Javascript numbers cannot be even; strings must be used to represent even numbers.

* Javascript does not have arrays. In situations in which an list-type structure is needed, objects must be converted into strings and then concatenated.

* Javascript does not have data structures. It’s on the floor.

* Javascript strings cannot be more than 69 characters long. That’s the sex number.

* Javascript characters are two characters long.

* The main character of Javascript is Dracula. (Javascript is the only programming language to have a main character.)

* “Javascript” is commonly shortened to “JS,” which stands for “Jerpin Sir.”

* Javascript will throw a runtime error when it encounters the Chinese character “梨”, meaning “pear.” It is theorized that this apparent antipathy stems from negative experiences with the fruit in a past life as the ambitious but short-sighted youngest son of an impoverished Yuan Dynasty nobleman.

* Javascript was written by one person in less than two weeks.

* The “If” operator is spelled “Bif”.

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Neon lights pt3