From: Derek Derek Date: 2007-02-13T21:08:46+09:00 Subject: Re: Just a really general Question... unknown wrote: > On Feb 12, 10:14 am, Derek Derek wrote: >> Your reply helped a little bit.. i guess what i really need to figure >> out is what exactly programming is. All i've ever coded was CSS and >> HTML, and as far as the programming stuf .. i've only made a contact >> form with PHP, but further than that .. i really have no idea what >> programming is or it's uses. Thank you anyway though. :) >> >> -- >> Posted viahttp://www.ruby-forum.com/. > > One incredibly oversimplified/overgeneralized response to this is, > "Programs model things, actions and processes in the real world," e.g. > - a program that simulates flying a plane or driving a car or tells > you where your car is based on a GPS device and a satellite > communicating with each other. Another equally simplistic response to > this is, "Programs receive input, process the input, and produce > output." e.g. - a program that reads a list of salaries from a > database, calculates a percentage raise for each employee, and then > stores the new salary figures back into the database. > > While these are oversimplified conceptions, they are also quite > fundamental and true and encountered early on (implicitly if not > explicitly) in any effort to learn to program. These are also useful > signposts for programmers of all levels, being roughly analogous to > two fundamental questions any programmer must answer when designing > and coding anything, "What is this program supposed to do?" and "How > will this program do what it is supposed to do?" > > Hope this helps and was at least in the neighborhood of the answer you > were looking for. > > -- Mark Mark, haha, as over simplified as that was, it was exactly what i needed! Things are a bit more clear now in terms of the POWER of programming and it's need in the world. I work at a barnes and noble, so i have plenty of books to read through, but the size of the programming area is sometimes over whelming! Anyway, thank you again. -- Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/.