2/25/25, 8:55 AM Basics of Computer Programming For Beginners - GeeksforGeeks

Basics of Computer Programming For Beginners

Last Updated : 17 Oct, 2024

Be it any programming language in which you want to grow your career, it’s
very important to learn the fundamentals first. Before having a good
command over the basic concepts of programming, you cannot imagine the
growth in that particular career. Hence, this article will talk about all the
basic concepts of programming.

Also, if you’re a beginner aiming to be a software engineer? Students often

seek coding homework assistance from experts when they are beginners or
stuck with their difficult programming tasks. Then you have landed on the
right article. This article is specially designed to give you a glimpse into
programming and take a deep dive into the fundamentals of programming
that most neglect but yet are most important to know.

Table of Content
What is a Computer?
What is a Program (Code)?
Variables and Syntax in Programming
Data Types in Programming
Flow Control Structures in Programming
Why do we need to Learn Any Programming Language?
Programming Methods

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What is an Algorithm?
Top Most Popular Programming Languages
Benefits of Learning Programming Languages
What is a Computer?
A computer is an electronic device that will take input from the user, process
it, and give results or respond as per the user. The computer is a
programmable computational device.

The components of a computer are:

1. Input Unit
2. Central Processing Unit(CPU)
3. Output Unit

CPU is known as the brain of the computer system. All the operations within
the system are supervised & controlled by the CPU. It interprets and
coordinates the instructions. The CPU control all internal & external devices,
perform arithmetic and logical operation, controls memory usage, and
control the sequence of operation.

Performing all these operations the CPU has 3 sub-units:

1. Arithmetic and Logical Unit

2. Control Unit
3. Memory Unit

By this point, you will know a bit about computers and their components.
Also read Basics of Computer and its Operations

Now moving on to the next topic.

What is a Program (Code)?

Suppose I give you 10 numbers and tell you to find the average of the given
10 numbers, then how do you find the average? You add all those numbers
and then divide the sum of the numbers by the total numbers given.

Easy task yeah. Now, if 10 sets and each set contain 10 numbers then what
would you do?

For this problem, there are two solutions to solve the problem.

1. You take one set, add each number then divide it by the total numbers. If
you are thinking to solve this problem by this procedure, then it is right to

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solve by this but if you are going to be a software engineer then solving
the problem through this approach is not preferred.
2. You can write a program to solve the problem. Just you need to write a
program in which the computer takes input from the user and then it uses
a procedure to find the average.

I have used the word procedure many times, what does it mean?

We define a procedure by giving steps one by one to our computer system

and we call it a program. Like, taking numbers from a user, adding them, and
dividing the sum by the total number is a procedure.

In short, a program is a set of instructions.

Related Article: Programming Language Generations

Variables and Syntax in Programming

Variables are sort of containers for storing data values, and it is also memory
location for the data type. There are certain rules that need to be followed
before declaring them. Variables are generally names allocated to values.
The names are alphanumeric, i.e., they have a-z and 0-9. Also, you can use
special characters while declaring a variable such as $ or _.

While writing a program be it for a small operation (addition, multiplication)

or building an application, you need to require variables. The variable
declared for a value should start with an alphabet and later may include
numbers or special characters.

Syntax is a set of rules that defines the structure of a language. Every

programming language follows a different syntax. A programming language
isn’t understandable without its syntax. Syntax helps the computer to read
and understand the code. It is like giving instructions to the code.

For example,

int a =10;

here a is variable

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int is data type

10 is value

Data Types in Programming

Data type is a classification specifying the type of value stored in a variable.
It also indicates what type of operation can be applied to it. Data Types are
generally classified into two types:

1. Primitive – It specifies the size and type of variable. There are eight
primitive types
1. int (4 bytes)
2. short (2 bytes)
3. long (8 bytes)
4. float (4 bytes)
5. double (8 bytes)
6. boolean (1 byte)
7. char (2 bytes)

2. Non-Primitive – Non-primitive types are used to call methods to perform

operations.
1. String (8 bytes)
2. Arrays
3. Class (empty class – 1 byte)
4. Interface

Flow Control Structures in Programming

Flow Control Structures are the ways to specify the flow of controls in a
program. A program is well clear when control structures are used in it. Its
main purpose is to analyze the program. They are 3 types:

1. Sequential – Sequential is the execution of code line by line or one after

the other. For example, cooking an item.
2. Selection – Selection is deciding whether the given condition is true or
false and on the basis of which it produces the final result.
3. Iteration (Loops) – A loop is a structure in which a statement is repeated
again and again until the given condition is satisfied. They are of three
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types –
For
While
Do-While

To read more: Flow Control Structures

Why do we need to Learn Any Programming Language?

A computer or any programmable device understands machine language
because the computer works on electricity and electricity works on binary
numbers (0 and 1). We humans only understand natural language. To fulfill
this gap between humans and computers programming language is
introduced.

What happens if either human understands machine language, or a machine

understands natural language?

If that happens then we don’t need to know any programming language to

give instructions to machines and anyone can be a programmer if that
situation happens.

Also Read: Which Programming Language Should I Choose as a

Beginner?

Programming Methods
There are three programming methodologies so far mostly used.

1. Monolithic Programming
2. Modular/ Procedural Programming
3. Object Oriented Programming

Monolithic Programming: It was practiced when programming was just

introduced. In monolithic programming, everything from code, data, and
instruction, is in a single file which makes it difficult to review the code. We
are not reusing the code.

Modular/ Procedural Programming: Procedural programming helps to

divide the work among a team, and we also use function so that it allows for
to reuse
Trending Now ofDSA
the Web
code.
TechData and function
Foundational CoursesareData
used separately.
Science Practice Problem Python Machin
Object Oriented Programming: OOPs are widely used in industries, we take
data and functions together and created them as a class.

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In all these programming methods codes remain the same, and the logic
remains the same but one thing changes is how you organize your program
code.

What is an Algorithm?
The algorithm is a step-by-step procedure for solving computational
problems. Programs mean the same, is it?

Every programming language follows a specific syntax that allows us to

write code so that it is easily understandable to the machine. Whereas, in
the algorithm, we write pseudocode. Pseudocode is an informal language
that helps programmers develop algorithms. It is neither in English nor in
code.

Let’s see pseudocode for the algorithm of an average of numbers.

sum == 0, n= total number of elements

for each element num in list

begin

sum = sum + num

average = sum/x

return average

Top Most Popular Programming Languages

Learning a programming language before learning any technology is a must,
hence, it’s very important to have full command of anyone programming
language. Choosing anyone programming language instead of going for
many is better. Try working on basic problems using different programming
languages, and whichever seems easy to you, you can prefer working on
that.

C/C++
Java
JavaScript

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Python
Kotlin
Swift
R
Ruby
Scala
TypeScript

If you are planning to learn to program, then you might start with any one of
the above.

Benefits of Learning Programming Languages

As learning a new programming language can be a bit difficult task for the
newcomers but gives a lot of added advantage in excelling the career. Some
of the primary benefits of learning popular programming languages include:

It directly allows you to be more creative in tasks like website designing,

app development, etc.
It can help in developing structured and creative thinking by allowing you
to think about problems from different perspectives.
It also helps you to develop logical thinking skills by teaching you how
to identify patterns and give instructions to computers.
Advances your career with new scope of learning and make you a
potential candidate along with others.
Also, it focuses on the practical learning experience where along with
codes, you may expect the better project results to be on top of
competitions, hackathons, etc.

Conclusion
If you’re a beginner and want to enter the world of programming, this article
covers everything you need to know as a beginner in programming. Start
from the basics and slowly dive deep into the fundamentals and advanced
concepts as well. Get ready to start this programming journey and try to
explore as much as you can.

Related Tutorial:

Learn Programming – How To Code

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