Programming Languages
In Information Technology, there are various computing languages, some more complex than others. This paper will be reflection of the materials covered on Hardware & Software in Computing Technologies, and my experience using the block program, Scratch. I faced a variety of challenges, but in all with a little research, the program was very useful in breaking down what I needed to do to create a short game, https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1118336326/.
For first time programming beginners like myself learning machine language has been challenging. Being that this was my first time ever seeing Scratch, I was lost, and initially it was extremely challenging figuring out what options were most important to use throughout the various block options I had before me. Some of the difficulties I faced were making the “Sprite” move smoothly throughout the game, how to make the game repetitive, and adding in additional sprites with duplicate commands throughout the game. Some of these difficulties I overcame by the trail & error method, which I think is a common method used in the IT world when troubleshooting an issue. I would input a series of desired commands, and run a test, using the green flag. If it didn’t work, I would re-order or delete the commands, and test it again. With the more complex issues, I turned to YouTube and watched tutorials on how to make certain commands run, and using my own tools, overcame those complexities. In the end, I gained the insight that the computer will do what you tell it, the importance of that is that you know what & how do tell it the specific action
With research, process of elimination, & patience, I was able to put together a smooth product, that to the user, seems simple. Comparably, Scratch was significantly easier to understand than the exercises provided in the textbook. From an honest standpoint I found it difficult to understand initially. Eventually however, I understood that the beginning two digits of a code is basically a run code that tells the computer what to do. For example, in the textbook, the CPU understood four types of instructions which are input, add, output, & stop. The input function starts with (01), add starts with (11), output (10), & stop (00). As a result of understanding that basic knowledge, I was able to reference which commands to match within the exercises provided. Machine language, assembly language, & High-level language are programming languages that have various purposes. Because a CPU only understands 0’s & 1’s, machine language is used for this purpose to execute a program’s instructions. Lastly High-level language is used as a higher performer of assembly language for more complex computer programming. Programs such as Python, or C++ use this language. As of now, I think machine language was the easiest for me to understand because if you understood what the computer processes as inputting, adding, outputting, and stopping & translate that into 0’s & 1’s, you could essentially put the commands together in the required sequence with ease.
In my own understanding, machine language is a basic programming language that uses 0’s & 1’s. Assembly language is more focused on the specific hardware that is being manipulated within the computer, such as device drivers, & embedded systems. High-level language is used for higher complexity issues, not on lower-level programs that the other languages are used for. Its code that is a more descriptive, readable, & specific language that solves issues within the computer. It is also used in the development of programs & is not as time consuming as machine language could be is being used to write a program. I think all of programming languages are popular, due to having different purposes, some of which overlap into the other. However, I think High-level languages are more popular because they save a lot of time & are used in various creative programming tasks. Many developers use this language to create software & streamline programs & websites. In conclusion, by apply the applications used in Scratch, and participating in the exercises provided in the literature, I have learned that programming is complex but has many purposes & uses that can be applied to make a computer respond to commands, & create simple or even complex programs.
