What is programming? What is a program in the first place? Easy commentary!
"Programming" = commanding a computer!
"Programming" is the work of creating a "program".
Even so, you may be wondering, "Then, what is a program?"
To put it simply, a program is "a program that writes out the processes that a computer makes to do in order."
Computers can't think for themselves. For example, you can't just say "Swim!" To someone who has never swam. You have to tell them, "First, put your right hand forward, scratch the water behind you, and then your left hand ...".
In order to achieve the purpose of "swimming", it is necessary to explain each movement in order. A "program" does this for a computer.
Humans can somehow anticipate and move, "I wonder what to do next," but computers have no power to imagine. It is necessary to strictly instruct (= program) a series of movements in a form that can be read by a computer.
In fact, around us ... various "programs"
In the first place, there are various "programs" that are not related to computers. Entrance ceremony programs, athletic meet programs ... Why are these called "programs"?
Recall the athletic meet program. "1. Opening remarks," "2. Principal's words," "3. Student president's words," and so on.
The program is "what you write down what you do". In other words, athletic meet and entrance ceremony programs are essentially the same as computer programs.
The difference is "who works according to the program?" And "how do you give instructions?"
In the case of an athletic meet program, it is the teacher who creates the program, and the children and parents who follow the program.
In the case of computer programs, it is humans who create programs and computers that run.
"How do you give instructions?" Is "Japanese" in the case of the athletic meet program, but since the computer cannot understand Japanese, it is necessary to give instructions in the "program-specific language (programming language)".
Both smartphones and games are running on the program!
The machines around us are powered by programs.
The light that turns on when a person passes by is operated by the program "Turn on the light when the sensor responds" to explain the mechanism very simply. Electric kettles, rice cookers, smartphones, game consoles, etc. are all powered by the program.
In an era where so many products are mechanized and automated, the way we work has changed dramatically. In many industries, the work that uses the head is divided into humans, and the simple work is divided into computers.
Until the spread of calculators, all calculations were done on paper. It is now rarely hand-calculated. In other words, there are many workplaces that use Excel as well as calculators.
If society develops as it is, more things will be mechanized and automated by the time children become adults.
In order to work, the ability to instruct the computer and master the computer (= programming ability) is indispensable. That is why programming education has become compulsory.
What good is it to be able to program?
So what are the benefits of being able to program?
The range of computer utilization is greatly expanded!
Computers, including smartphones and tablets, have become established as convenient tools in our daily lives. At the same time, crimes and troubles targeting people who are not familiar with computers are becoming more frequent.
If you don't know how your computer works, you won't be able to use it, and above all, you're feeling anxious.
It's not "get used to learning", but it's best to get a good sense of how to use a computer early.
It should be nearly impossible for children born in modern times to live independently of computers until their death. By becoming a resident of the "computer world" as soon as possible and expanding the range of utilization, you can live a rich and enjoyable life.
May lead to future work and hobbies
In recent years, the shortage of IT human resources has been criticized in the Japanese business society. Taking only the domestic Web business as an example, the market size has expanded from 10 trillion yen in 2010 to 47 trillion yen in 2020, about 4.7 times.
In addition, the so-called "wall of 2025", which requires the total replacement of domestic companies' systems, is approaching.
Under these circumstances, some companies are offering ICT human resources an annual income of 7 million yen or more even for new university graduates. The need for IT human resources who have programming skills and can organize the business will increase.
Of course, the business scene will change when children grow up, and it may be too early for some people to think about their "future profession" from elementary and junior high school.
However, now that "YouTuber" and "game creators" are ranked in the dreams of the future, isn't it a plus for children to acquire IT skills from an early stage?
If programming becomes a hobby, you may be able to do a little side business, such as developing a smartphone app yourself.
What are some professions that make use of programming?
As parents, many people think that they don't want their children to have a hard time in the future.
"I understand that logical thinking is important, but what kind of work do you have?"
Some people may have the question.
Here, we will introduce examples of occupations where you can utilize your programming skills.
Programmer | A person who "translates" human language and operates a computer
A "programmer" is a profession that masters programming languages and moves the "contents" of various services and products.
Even if you say "write a program" in a nutshell, the efficiency varies greatly depending on the person who writes it. My job is to think about the service and product I want to make, think about which procedure is appropriate (called an algorithm), and give instructions (programs) to the computer to operate it.
Even if you use the same machine, the operating speed and stability will change greatly depending on the skill and idea of the programmer, and it is truly a professional.
Engineer | Plan a system and make a big whole from parts
Today's computer systems are so large that it is almost impossible for a single programmer to do everything from planning to programming. Sometimes hundreds of programmers work for one system.
What is needed is a system engineer who will be the organizer of the project.
Based on the design of the entire system, we will allocate work to groups of programmers and even individual programmers. We will control the creation of a highly complete system by managing personnel, budget, and processes.
Many companies have career plans that step up from programmers to system engineers.
Data Scientist ｜ Statistics and Mathematics Specialist dealing with Big Data
A job called "Data Scientist" that I had hardly heard of a name 10 years ago. Nowadays, it is a job that is attracting attention and earning high income.
The background is the current situation in which big data and social analysis using AI are receiving a great deal of attention.
For example, when collecting the movements of all vehicles running on a highway and predicting future congestion, it has the role of supporting AI's decisions by familiarizing themselves with the meaning of the data and what results to read from the data. You will need people.
This is the job of a data scientist, which requires not only knowledge of big data and AI, but also knowledge and insight that is familiar with the ideas of mathematics and statistics. Only a limited number of people have such a wide range of expertise, which leads to high income.
Web Designer | Planning and Designing Websites
If the data scientist is a computer knowledge + math / statistics specialist, a web designer is a job that requires creative and design sense.
We are involved in the planning of various websites on the Internet such as information sites, news sites, and shopping sites, and use HTML / CSS, JavaScript, etc. to instruct the computer to perform actual movements.
In addition to the ability to realize rationality and efficiency in terms of practical use, such as "how to make the service convenient to use," design sense is also required, such as making it look fashionable, cool, and futuristic. It is the job.
Is it true that programming = earning money?
Is programming a profitable job? When asked, the answer is both yes and no.
There are various types of programming.
It will be difficult to make a high income just by following the instructions and coding as close to simple work as possible. On the other hand, it is not a dream to become a millionaire if you are a programmer who can create programs and business models that no one in the world could create.
Especially in recent years, it has become a world where IT human resources can earn money. Let's take a quick look at what the situation is like.
Lack of IT resources
As IT becomes more common throughout society, there is always a shortage of talented programmers, data scientists, web designers, and other human resources in a business environment.
Currently, research on automatic programming using AI is underway, but human wisdom is still needed for the part of idea, creation, and planning.
Good conditions for changing jobs and hiring careers
In the image of "work" so far, there may have been many cases where changing jobs = negative evaluation.
But things are different in the IT industry. It is not uncommon for a company that has a certain amount of experience in a certain area to evaluate the experience of the previous job as a career and receive a higher salary.
As long as you have the ability, you can choose your own workplace. That is the strength of IT human resources.
There is also a way to earn high salaries at foreign-affiliated companies
Centered around multinational companies such as GAFA (Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple), human resources of various nationalities are now forming a team across national borders.
It is the ability to decide the treatment. There are many people who earn high salaries while working at a company with technologies and ideas that only they can do.
Some people work abroad
Currently, the mainstream programming languages such as Python and JavaScript are common throughout the world.
Even domestically educated human resources can work at overseas companies without any problems.
In particular, international software development companies also have a job called localization (creating a Japanese version), and many people born in Japan choose overseas as their workplace.
How to learn programming?
So what are some ways to learn programming? Here, we will introduce the main methods and summarize the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Buy a commercial book
If you go to a big bookstore, you can find manual books such as "Introduction to Programming".
You can buy it for about 2,000 to 3,000 yen, so you can easily study by yourself.
While it is a great advantage to be able to learn at your own pace, there are also disadvantages such as the fact that there are no instructors to ask questions, so questions cannot be resolved, and it is easy to be frustrated when it comes to difficult parts.
Also, even if it is titled "Introduction", there is a considerable difference in level, so it is a good idea to compare it carefully at a bookstore.
Some people use it as a subtext while attending the classroom.
Search for information online
If you search the net, you will find a surprising amount of free content. If you patiently look for information, it's not impossible to master programming for free.
That said, regardless of the level of learning by playing, it is difficult to acquire systematic knowledge when trying to learn full-scale programming, and it seems that there are many cases of frustration on the way.
On the other hand, once you have some basics, there is no better tool to ask questions.
Go to a programming class
From classrooms for children to classrooms for job preparation and professionals to reinforce their knowledge, programming classrooms are growing rapidly.
As with the school, the teacher will teach you, so the biggest merit is that you can ask questions immediately if you don't understand. There are people who study together, and the fact that you can make friends and rivals also motivates you to continue learning.
However, it is a disadvantage that the tuition fee tends to be high. In many cases, it costs several thousand yen to 20,000 yen a month, so many people may find it burdensome. Also, in rural areas, it seems that you may find it inconvenient to say, "There is no classroom in the first place!"
Summary of mainstream programming languages
Python
Python is a versatile programming language developed by Dutchman Guido van Rossum in 1991.
The grammar has been simplified to the utmost, and it has been evaluated as an easy-to-read and easy-to-write programming language with improved comprehensibility.
It is a language used for many purposes such as application development, artificial intelligence, and data analysis.
Ruby
Ruby is a programming language announced by Yukihiro Matsumoto in 1995.
Known as an "stress-free" object-oriented scripting language, it was the first language developed in Japan to be certified by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
PHP
PHP is a general-purpose programming language based on Rasmus Lerdorf, a Danish-Canadian programmer, and has since grown as an open source program by engineers around the world.
It is said that it is suitable for creating dynamic web pages, and it is very useful for creating Internet homepages.
Java
Java is a programming language regretted by Sun Microsystems in 1995, and its syntax is very similar to C ++.
Java makes it easier to port programming languages that were previously highly related to operating systems such as Windows and Mac OS to more operating systems.
It is widely used from PCs, mobile phones and smartphones to embedded systems for home appliances and automobiles.
JavaScript (Javascript)
Note that it has a similar name to Java, but it is a completely different programming language.
A scripting language specified by Mozilla, a non-profit organization created to support the open source web development environment.
It is used when the program runs on browsers such as Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Safari.
It is said that more than 90% of the world's sites currently use JavaScript.
HTML (HTM)
A website is a markup language (a language that specifies how the screen looks) that is indispensable for creating a homepage, as it is called HTML.
Various screen displays can be made with instruction symbols called tags, and characters can be colored, filled, quoted, linked, and so on.
CSS
It is a style sheet for web design that is mainly used with HTML and XML in many cases.
In addition to the design expression that can be expressed in HTML, it has a function that can express a web page in a more expanded manner. Along with HTML, it is said to be essential knowledge for web designers.