Intro to Programming: The Language of Java

What is Programming? Programming are directions that you assign your computer to perform. It is programming that allows you to see what is on this screen right now. Almost everything from a calculator to the robot roaming around mars uses programming. By learning how to program, you can program things to your own need. For example, programming your phone to turn off the ringer once it connects to the school wi-fi. To do this, you would need to learn its language to give it instructions so it can perform the task. Just like the many languages on earth there are different languages in programming as well. Programing languages have different purposes such as JavaScript is used to make websites while C++, a more complicated language, is used to make web applications.

I will be learning how to use Java since it is one of the most general and used language.

There are many different data types which help the application read what you are typing. So far, I have learned three basic data types. One of them is “int”, which stands for integer. This allows the application to tell the difference between a text and a number. The integer includes all positive and negative numbers. The second basic data types I learned is Boolean which will only print out true or false. In the book, Java for Dummies, it explains what a Boolean is pretty well, “It doesn’t contain any other information. However, Boolean variables are really important in Java because they help the application make decisions” (Mueller 65). For example, if you were to input a question like “do you go to school?” it will print out true or false. Lastly the third basic data type I learned is char, which is short for character. A char is out with one letter enclosed by single quotes, like this: ‘A’.

I have also learned how to use variables which is like the variables in math. In math, the variable “x” would store a certain number and in programming you would do the same but the variable doesn’t have to be a letter and the value doesn’t have to be a number. 

              

            

In the picture, I assigned “int” to be called “LuckyNumber” and then typed in a number. For Boolean, I called it “CanBeTorF”, which means it can be true or false and since that is a true statement, I typed in “true”. Lastly, I assigned “char” to be called “MathGrade” which I then put “A” in between single quotes. Just like how every sentences end in a period, instead of a period you would end it with a semicolon when finishing a line of code. In lines 9 through 12, it is basically telling what the application needs to output. I told it to print out “LuckyNumber” so that means it would output the number “42” since that was the number stored in the variable, and so on for “CanbeTorF” and “MathGrade”.

Anyone with any experience in programming, what are the most common mistakes when learning how to use Java?

 Mueller, John Paul. Java eLearning Kit For Dummies. Wiley, 2014.