How is software created? If software is the set of instructions that tells the hardware what to do, how are these instructions written? If a computer reads everything as ones and zeroes, do we have to learn how to write software that way?
Modern software applications are written using a programming language. A programming language consists of a set of commands and syntax that can be organized logically to execute specific functions. This language generally consists of a set of readable words combined with symbols. Using this language, a programmer writes a program (called the source code) that can then be compiled into machine-readable form, the ones and zeroes necessary to be executed by the CPU. Examples of well-known programming languages today include Java, PHP, and various flavors of C (Visual C, C++, C#). Languages such as HTML and Javascript are used to develop web pages. Most of the time, programming is done inside a programming environment; when you purchase a copy of Visual Studio from Microsoft, it provides you with an editor, compiler, and help for many of Microsoft’s programming languages.
Software programming was originally an individual process, with each programmer working on an entire program, or several programmers each working on a portion of a larger program. However, newer methods of software development include a more collaborative approach, with teams of programmers working on code together. We will cover information-systems development more fully in chapter 10.
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