Intro:
Coding and programming are becoming more and more popular among children all over the world. Coding is a popular pastime today as many children are introduced to coding through games and platforms such as Minecraft and Roblox.
10 Facts About Coding and Programming:
- There are about 700 different programming languages. The most popular languages on this list are JavaScript, Swift, Scala, Python, PHP, Go, Rust, Ruby, and C#, used by millions of users both in their careers and personal projects. . However, new programming languages are being created all the time.
- Perl, Delphi, and VBA are the least popular programming languages according to many online surveys. PHP, Objective-C, Coffee script, and Ruby follow closely. Interestingly, two entries on this list, PHP and Ruby, are still very popular with users, regardless of how the community views them as a whole.
- According to a recent survey, about 70% of programming jobs have nothing to do with technology. That’s right, you or your child can learn to code and apply that knowledge to subjects completely separate from technology, such as natural history, geography, film, and design.
- The world’s first computer programmer was a famous mathematician. Born on December 10, 1815, in London to the famous poet Lord Byron, Ada Lovelace was a mathematician of great talent. In her later years, she worked closely with Charles Babbage, the famous mechanical engineer who developed one of the earliest mechanical computers.
From there she wrote her theory on coding a machine that calculated Bernoulli numbers. The following code ended up being the first algorithm run by a machine and was essentially the first computer program.
- Computer programming helped end World War II. Alan Turing was also a very famous mathematician, born in England on June 23, 1912. In his community, he is widely regarded as the father of modern computer science.
But alongside this high title, he also had the responsibility of helping the Allies end World War II. At the height of the all-out conflict, he used his skills to crack Enigma his machine, a cipher used by the Nazis to secure military communications.
- The first computer virus was developed in 1986. Nicknamed Brain, the virus was developed by two Pakistani brothers named Basit and Amjad Farooq Alvi. The brothers, who owned a popular computer store, created Brain to prevent customers from copying software without permission.
However, unlike traditional viruses, Brain only contained a hidden copyright message and did not damage or delete user files or information.
- The first programming language was called FORTRAN. It was developed by a team led by American computer scientist John Backus. First appearing in 1964, his FORTRAN is still in use today, primarily helping computer scientists perform complex tests in numerical weather forecasting, geophysics, crystallography, and computational chemistry.
- Many owners of big tech companies loved video games when they were kids. As an example, Apple co-founders Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs first achieved success when they created their own video game called Breakout. From there, they became his two most influential names in the tech industry, earning billions of dollars over the years.
- There are three very different types of hackers, one malicious, one benign, and one somewhere in between. Black hats are the first type and specialize in maliciously breaking into computer networks. They often try to steal passwords, credit cards, and other types of confidential information while extorting money from Internet users.
White Hat, on the other hand, chose to use his skills for good in the first place and is regularly hired by companies to scan his infrastructure for security vulnerabilities online. Grey hats are a combination of both, not only helping people but often exploiting web-based vulnerabilities when they are not being paid for their services.
- The first computer game did not bring any benefit to the development team. Titled Spacewar, the game was developed from the ground up by young computer programmer Steve Russel and his passionate team of fellow developers. Incredibly, Steve and his team chose not to charge anything to play Spacewar, instead happily sharing their creations with anyone who wanted to try them out.
