Programming Languages (Scratch)

    

       Programming Languages are written machine code with a set of formal rules that make computers execute tasks they are being told to do (Alves, J., Neto, A., Pereira, M., & Henriques, P., 2023).  Strach is a kid-friendly programming language that helps kids make videos, games, and much more using more of our language and automatically having it translate into machine codes.  Strach was easy to use and made a short video of a rooster with chicks walking around.  I also included questions like what your name is, with a reply showing like you're having a conversation.  It was challenging to figure out all the options under control, and I kept playing with them all until I figured it out.  Using Strach showed how easily errors in code can occur.  Although there is less typing involved with Strach, you can still move the block to the wrong area or select the wrong block of code.  In the textbook activities I did in ZyBooks, it was easier to make typing errors, causing the input to provide the wrong output.  Machine language uses 1s and 0s and understands four instructions written with 1s and 0s: input, add, output, and stop (Vahid & Lysecky, 2019).  Assembly language is a text way to help humans understand and write in machine language (Vahid & Lysecky, 2019).  A high-level language uses high-level instructions like formulas that use a compiler to convert the instructions into assembly/machine languages (Vahid & Lysecky, 2019).  Other than Strach, I found Python to be the most straightforward programming language to use because the formulas are easy to understand, which helps you be able to repeat.  A software programmer would use machine language because the computer needs the program written in 1s and 0s to provide output when commands are used.  High-level languages are primarily used in most workplaces, making learning and writing computer commands to give output or different outputs easier.  The most popular high-level languages are Python or JavaScript because most companies state one as a requirement for some IT positions.  They are easy to learn and use because they use more human language than machine language.  

My Scratch video: Are you my father? on Scratch (mit.edu)

To learn about the popular programming languages, visit this link: The 10 Most Popular Programming Languages to Learn in 2023 (northeastern.edu)

References:

Vahid, F., & Lysecky, S. (2019). Computing technology for all. zyBooks.

Alves, J., Neto, A., Pereira, M., & Henriques, P.  (2023). Characterization and Identification of Program languages. SLATE. https://drops.dagstuhl.de/opus/volltexte/2023/18527/pdf/OASIcs-SLATE-2023-13.pdf.

Fourment, M., & Gillings, M. R. (2008). A comparison of common programming languages used in bioinformatics. BMC bioinformatics, 9, 82. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2105-9-82