Interesting facts about programming for kids. Fun facts about programming for beginners

Fact 1. Under the hood of the most critical programs that you use on a daily basis (Mac OS X or Facebook) there are an awful lot of hacks and crutches that can hardly get along with each other. It's as if you took apart the Boeing 747 and saw that the fuel line is held by a clothes hanger and the chassis is wrapped in duct tape.

The code of the programs is such that even if a website or program works great and looks great, behind the scenes everything that makes it work consists of errors, blunders and crutches. It barely works and sometimes it is not at all clear why.
Fact 2. 25% of the time in programming is spent thinking about what the user can do wrong.
It actually takes more or less percent of the time, but each time we really need to think about what the user can break here. Where will he click, what will he enter, and how can we understand what we are trying to do wrong. If we were counting only on ourselves, the programs would have too many problems -
because we know how the program works, but the user does not know.
Fact 3. A programmer is not a computer repair technician
The programmer works with algorithms and design principles, rather than fixing computers. We can understand how a computer works and how code is executed. But this does not mean that we know how to fix iron. We don't know what problem Chrome drops it on your computer, or why your computer is overheating. Programmers program computers, not fix them.
Fact 4. Programming is thinking, not typing
For the most part, we program when we sleep, walk, look out the window, or do something else that allows us to relax and think. Relaxation is one of the important aspects of programming. You can't just sit down and write a thousand lines of code and insert them into a program. We need to sit, walk around, think. Come up with a concept, fix its flaws, decide how it will work ... Relaxation is the only way we can use to fix problems.
Fact 5. Countdown starts from zero
It is important. The counting starts from scratch - your 1 is my 0, your 10 is mine 9. This is due to the need to do things efficiently, where even a small increase in efficiency can increase productivity at scale.
Fact 6. Programming is best in the flow - in a state of consciousness when you are focused on the task and everything seems simple. This state is also familiar to athletes and musicians.
Programmers love to work at night because it allows us to enter the stream, focus on one thing, and not worry about being distracted. Everyone else is just asleep. This is a time of day when no one is around, no one calls or tries to talk to us. Great time to think and program.
Fact 7. It is sometimes helpful to postpone the problem until the morning.
Sometimes it is really useful for programmers to sleep "with it" when faced with a difficult task. Many times I have met with the fact that I could not solve something for hours, but after only 20 minutes of sleep (or any other sleep) upon waking, the decision came by itself.
Fact 8. "Parent" can kill their "children" if their task is completed
Not the phrase that I would like to hear from anyone. But for programmers it doesn't sound so scary. Programs are often hierarchical, with a parent process in control of its child processes running at a lower level.
When the parent process no longer needs the child, it kills it - when the program doesn't need to do anything else, its execution ends.
Fact 9. You are not impressed with how much we know about computers. We are not impressed with how little you know about them.
Seriously. Enough. We don't care how proud you are that you don't want to learn new things. It's understandable if you say “I don't know much about computers” or “I'm not interested in programming” - but when you boast about how much you don't know about it, it's just annoying.

Did you know that in addition to the official holiday of the programmer (September 13 - "programmer's day") there are other holidays celebrated by them, namely, the day of the sysadmin (the last Friday of July), the day of the computer scientist (14 February), the day of the web programmer (4 April ) and even the day of the tester (September 9). Do not forget on this day to congratulate those who have devoted themselves to these difficult professions.
There are about 8,500 programming languages \u200b\u200bin the world (yes, that's right), but the number of languages \u200b\u200bthat are used most often is just over a dozen. This is due to low demand, and, consequently, poor sales of the product, with the inability to find a compromise for the creators of the language, and with various kinds of imperfections. This is how readers think and comment: Pascal and DELPHI - they rule! And generally speaking - best language one where you can write something more weighty than Hello World.
Did you know that the first IT specialist was a British woman, Ada Lovelace? It was she who, in the 19th century, wrote the algorithm for the analytical aggregator, so to speak, the ancestor of the modern computer. This machine was an innovation in its time and could solve the Bernoulli equation, that is, calculate the law of conservation of energy in fluid motion. Ada, not knowing at the time that she was starting a huge it-movement, developed a sequence of operations to solve the problem, which, in fact, is writing a program. This suggests that programming is subject to any person, regardless of gender, there would be a desire.
More often than not, people assume that if you are a programmer, you can do almost anything, and they start making various requests from computer repair, writing a program, to the most incredible things that do not belong to the specialization of a programmer. Anything - either set up an Internet in the phone, then reflash a plate or fix a tablet, or even repair a vacuum cleaner, and a TV. Remember, dear ones, that every person, including a programmer, has his own differences of specialization.
Now on the Internet, the following headlines often flash: "Create your unique website in 15 minutes without programmers and designers!" Many novice webmasters fall for this, and besides, they suffer from a direct obsession to surprise everyone and everything. Various tricky scripts with a variety of effects like "are you so weak?", Informers, players, piles of videos and other tinsel begin to appear on the site. Well, they were surprised, and then what? And here you can't do without programmers: either the script has crashed, then the informer is buggy, then the program is crookedly installed. It turns out that it is too early to write off programmers.
We found out that the profession of a programmer will always be in demand, regardless of what changes will take place in the world. But how do you tell a good programmer? Here are some of the positive criteria that differentiate a good programmer from a simple programmer:

Keeps track of new technologies
Work is fun and like a hobby
Knows how to create an idea, but also infect others
Has his own project, and not even one
Keeps pace with the times, continues to learn
Persistent, stubborn, and even stubborn in achieving the plan
Always looking for a new way to solve problems
Knows how to correctly express his thoughts, as well as listen. Shows an example of a competent person who can convince.
He has good experience in the field of programming, and therefore a decent resume.
Has a wide range of knowledge in various fields.
Knows how to work in a team

George Byron is one of the greatest English classics. Everyone knows his works. However, his daughter is usually mentioned in passing. Nonetheless, Ada Lovelace is one of the most significant (if not the most significant) figures in programming. And although Ada's contribution was small, a little more than 50 pages, but what a lot! Many scientists who wrote dozens of dissertations and did not become famous, but Ada became, with only fifty pages. We will tell you the story of Ada Lovelace, the first female programmer.

Ada Lovelace's childhood

September 10, 1815, London. Anna Isabella, wife of George Byron, gave birth to a girl who was named after the poet's sister, Augusta, whose middle name was Ada. The girl's mother was madly in love with mathematics, which she adopted from her daughter. However, a happy childhood was overshadowed: Ada saw her father only once in her life, when she was one month old. After that, George signed the papers and divorced his wife. All his books were removed from the library of the girl's family and until the end of her life she was called Ada, and not the name that her father gave her.

Ada was a short, little girl. She grew up incredibly educated, because her mother hired the best mathematics professors for her. And my daughter fell in love with mathematics, just like her mother, who was called the "queen of parallelograms".

Ada Lovelace's youth

At seventeen, young Ada was introduced to the court, because her family was quite famous. After that, she often began to attend receptions and dinners, began to "go out". The girl continued to study mathematics with the best teachers. From Mary Somerville (Scottish mathematician; she was Ada's teacher, whom she looked up to), she learned about Charles Babbage, an English scientist and professor at Cambridge. Having met him personally, she began to communicate closely with the professor, a strong friendship struck up between the two mathematicians, and after that they did not stop communicating. Later, Ada met many other outstanding people: physicists, scientists, mathematicians, writers.
Charles Babbage

Charles Babbage

Marriage and married life

Three years have passed. Ada was married to William King, twenty-nine, an English baron. William supported his wife in all her endeavors, loved her madly. This marriage was happy. Despite the unenviable position of women in science at that time, Ada had the opportunity to do what she liked, she always had materials for research. Moreover, due to the wealth of her husband, Ada's actions were not embarrassed financially. The couple had three children: Byron (future peer), Ann (future traveler, published several books) and Ralph (future writer).

Ada Lovelace's family: William King, Byron King, Anne King (Bunt), Ralph King

The Kings family led a social life and often hosted receptions, meetings and dinners. In this society, Ada was a welcome guest, she could not only talk about science, but also was an exemplary wife and woman. For all her mathematical mindset, Ada was elegant and feminine, one of the best housewives and a very interesting person. She surprisingly combined the best qualities of her parents: the cold mind and sophistication of the mother, the emotional makeup of the father's character.

Ada Lovelace in Science

However, back to Ada as a mathematician. She did not stop communicating with Charles Babbage and after marriage, she conducted research with him. Helped Babbage in the creation of his analytical engine. However, most important work in her life was the translation of an article by the French mathematician Luigi Menabrea and comments to it.

Ada Lovelace diagram

This work was not so important at the time when it was published, but in the future it was a huge success and almost fundamental in programming, because in fact Ada wrote the world's first computer program. In her comments, she said that in the future there will be machines, the purpose of which will change depending on the complexity. Ada predicted that "machines will be able to write music, paint pictures and show science new ways," described the computing machine of her friend and colleague, Charles Babbage. It's amazing how accurately she predicted the capabilities of modern computers back in the 19th century. In general, the book was released under the name AAL and had much more information than the original recordings. It was Ada who coined such terms as "cycle" and "work cell".

Ada lived a short but happy and full of joy life. At the age of 36, she was diagnosed with an illness. Modern doctors say it was cancer of the uterus. Unfortunately, she could not be cured, and Ada died of bloodletting at the age of 36. She was buried in a crypt with her father, whom she did not know during his lifetime.

In honor of Ada Lovelace, a talented female mathematician far ahead of her time, was named the main programming language ADA, created by the US Department of Defense as the main programming language (currently used by the US military and NASA).

In addition, two small towns in Alabama and Oklahoma are named after her. The latter even has a college that bears her name.

Programmer - a specialist who writes programs for computers.

Such a short description is clear to everyone, but does not reflect the entirety of the picture, since programmers can write software for a huge number of electronic devices, not just computers. Take a look around, in many things around you there is the result of the work of programming specialists, ranging from toys, household appliances and ending with cars, airplanes and space rockets. Thus, the profession of a programmer is in great demand and, more importantly, the demand for a programmer in the labor market will only grow along with the inexorable increase in the number of things and equipment for which it is required to write software.

The huge demand for the profession and the bright prospects for its position on the labor market make the specialty of a programmer one of the most successful profession choices. Even at the initial stages, the programmer's salary is above the market average, and with the acquisition of experience, this gap only widens. A good specialist can receive more than 100,000 rubles. a month or more.

Programming is one of the unique professions that offer endless scope for creativity, self-realization and personal projects for the soul or for earning money.

For successful work, a programmer does not need a higher education; this is one of the professions that, thanks to a large number of books, online courses and other sources of information, are mastered on their own if there is such a desire. The most important thing in the development and work of a programmer is experience, and it is gained independently, working on their own or other people's projects, helping people on forums, studying open source programs and in many other ways. Thus, at the interview, the presence of higher education during the interview will be an undoubted plus, but the main decisive factor for hiring will be the result of the test tasks.

Programmer specializations

Conventionally, programmers can be divided into 3 large groups, which can be divided into smaller ones already within themselves: these are system, application and web programmers. Let's consider each group in more detail.

System programmer -writes software that is intended to ensure the operation of the device as a whole or for use by other computer specialists. These can be operating systems, drivers, interfaces to databases, networking, and more. Another task of system programmers is to ensure that the created programs work correctly and smoothly. System programmers are usually the most professional, experienced, and highly paid specialists.

Application programmer - develops and debugs software for solving certain, specific tasks, and can also adapt existing programs for narrower tasks, the requirements of an employer or user. The result of the work of applied programmers include: games, photo and video editors, messaging programs, accounting programs, audio and video surveillance systems, office programs, and more.

Web Programmer -in terms of work and tasks, it is similar to an application programmer, but the main bias of activity goes to work with the Internet and network users, both local and worldwide. Such programmers write software for the operation of sites, their correct display in browsers, create dynamically changing pages and develop interfaces to databases. Inside, they can be divided into frontend, which develop the part visible to users, and backend developers, who develop mechanisms that site visitors do not directly encounter - working with databases, processing, transmitting information, etc.

Possible jobs

History of the profession

The profession of a programmer appeared quite a long time ago, in the 19th century. Of course, these were not the programmers to whom we are accustomed: computers as such did not yet exist, and accordingly there was nothing to write programs with algorithms for.

For many centuries, mankind has tried to create a calculating machine: the first attempts have been known since ancient Babylon, 3000 years BC. Blaise Pascal, who created the calculating machine in 1642, became the founder and discoverer.

It is interesting that the first programmer was a woman, and not just a woman, but the daughter of the famous poet Byron - Ada Lovelace, who wrote several programs for a mechanical machine designed by Charles Babbage in 1833 that could perform the simplest arithmetic operations.

The first full-fledged computer was created by the German Konrad Zuse in 1941. No programming languages \u200b\u200bstill existed then, they appeared closer to the sixties of the last century, and computers (electronic computers) understood only their own, machine language. Later, programming languages \u200b\u200bappeared that made it possible to conduct the process of recording a program in a form more understandable to a person and then transform it into a form understandable for a computer.

This was followed by an increasingly accelerating process of development of computers and computer science, as a result of which computing devices have penetrated into all spheres and the existence of the modern world is simply impossible without them. That is why the profession of a programmer is one of the most demanded and highly paid ones.

On my own

As mentioned earlier, the profession of a programmer is perfectly mastered without obtaining a higher education. You have a huge amount of reference information, books, online and offline courses at your disposal.

Educational IT-portal GeekBrains offers a variety of programming courses for all levels with renowned instructors and free internships. There are both paid and a significant number of free courses.

If you are at a loss with the initial choice, then the free course "Fundamentals of Programming" will certainly help you.

Hurry up to start learning. The discount for training the profession "Programmer" is valid for you only 3 days!

Classical higher education

Get higher education in the field information technologies is possible in many universities. When applying for admission, it is better to focus on large or federal universities that have proven themselves in the preparation of IT specialists with a good educational base with well-known programmers as teachers. Another factor in the quality of education is the percentage of graduates employed in the specialty, especially those working in the most famous companies: Microsoft, Google, Yandex, SKB-Kontur and others.

In Russia, programmers are trained in the following specialties:

02.03.02 - Fundamental Informatics and Information Technology (bachelor's degree)

02.04.02 - Fundamental Informatics and Information Technologies (Master's degree)

09.03.03 - Applied Informatics (Bachelor's Degree)

09.04.03 - Applied Informatics (Master's degree)

02.03.01 - Mathematics and Computer Science (Bachelor's degree)

02.04.01 - Mathematics and Computer Science (Master's degree)

09.01.02 - Computer security

The future of the programming profession

We can safely say that the need for programmers and related professions will only increase. The increase in complexity and the need for more programs will lead to higher wages and benefits, and there will be a battle for real programming professionals.

Responsibilities of the programmer

On the basis of scientific, technical and production tasks, the programmer develops software for their successful implementation. Determines the type, content and form of information entered into a computer, methods and ways of processing it, storing and outputting finished results on a screen or print media.

Debugging his own and others' programs, eliminating mistakes and modifying functionality. Determines the need and possibility of using a third-party software at the enterprise.

Works on the unification and automation of computing processes, participates in the development of standard forms of enterprise documents for machine processing and storage.

Pros and cons of the profession of a programmer

pros

Great demand in the labor market
Salaries are well above average
Excellent social package (meals, payment for the gym, compensation for internships)
Ability to work as a freelancer with foreign customers
You can develop personal projects for the soul or making money
Prestigious profession
Creative profession with the opportunity to realize oneself
Opportunity to retrain in related industries

Minuses

The need to constantly improve qualifications
Prolonged sedentary work at the computer
Possibility of rush jobs and the need to urgently finish the project overtime
There is often a lot of work
Potential lack of interpersonal communication

Requirements for the programmer

The programmer must have a sharp mind, developed logic and attention. Since programming is developing rapidly all the time, it is necessary to be able to quickly adapt to new conditions and be ready to constantly learn new technologies. Otherwise, his value as a professional will decline over time.

For the part of programmers who are not engaged in freelancing or their own development, it is important to be able to work in a team using a variety of modern methodologies: SCRUM, KANBAN, AGILE and others. To move up the career ladder and work in project management or as a lead programmer, it is highly desirable to have team and task management skills, the ability to take personal responsibility for the tasks assigned.

Such qualities as independence, responsibility and initiative are important for any profession and programmers are no exception.

Another important and necessary requirement for a programmer is possession english language at the level of reading the documentation and reference information in the original. All new items and modern technologies are developed abroad and it is better to read the information in the original source.

Salary of programmers

The approximate salary level is shown. It can vary significantly depending on the region and employer.

Funny videos about programmers

Programmer's Day - celebrated on September 12. The day was not chosen randomly and symbolically: this is the 256th day of the year, and 256 is the number of numbers that can be expressed in terms of an eight-bit byte.

The profession of a programmer is one of the ten most demanded professions in the world.

About a quarter of all the time in programming is spent thinking about what the user can do wrong and how to prevent it.

The Python programming language is not named after pythons at all, although icons, logos and ubiquitous fan art depict them. The author of the language loved Monty Python's Flying Circus and named the language after him.

The most expensive hyphen in history was worth $ 135 million when, thanks to a missing hyphen in one of the equations, Mariner 1 crashed shortly after launch, the first spacecraft to study Venus.

A programmer is not a computer repair specialist. Although, due to entrenched stereotypes, they are constantly asked to fix computers and even household appliances.

Women make up only a few percent of the world's programmers. It's a shame, especially considering the fact that the first programmer in history was a woman.

Sometimes, to debug a program, programmers use the so-called "Duckling Method", when a duckling figure is placed in front of the monitor (the classic version is a yellow duckling for bathing) and line by line it is explained to it what the program should do. Often this method allows you to identify errors that are ignored simply by looking at the written code.

Famous programmers

Richard Stallman- Founder of the free software movement, the Free Software Foundation and the League for Free Programming, the GNU Project.

Donald Knuth- scientist, professor emeritus at Stanford University, teacher and ideologist of programming. Author of numerous monographs and the world famous book series "The Art of Programming". Creator of METAFONT and TEX publishing systems for typing and imposition of scientific and technical books.

Bill Gates- entrepreneur, public figure, philanthropist. Founder of Microsoft and richest man on the planet. One of the record holders for donating funds to charity.

Linus Torvalds - the creator of the Linux kernel, the most widespread free operating systems.

Alexey Pajitnov - Soviet programmer, author of the famous Tetris. After moving to the United States, he continues to develop computer games.

Steve Wozniak - Co-founder of Apple, single-handedly designed the Apple I and Apple II computers that shaped the industry and launched the microcomputer revolution.

Evgeny Kaspersky - Russian programmer, one of the world's leading experts in the field information security... Co-founder, owner and head of the international company AO Kaspersky Lab.

Mark Zuckerberg - American programmer and entrepreneur, one of the founders and developers of the largest international social network Facebook.

Pavel Durov - Russian programmer and entrepreneur, one of the founders of the leading domestic social network Vkontakte. One of the creators of the secure Telegram messenger.

Dennis Ritchie - a computer specialist who participated in the creation of the BCPL, B, C programming languages \u200b\u200band the development of the Multics and Unix operating systems.

Quotes about programmers

When it seems that everything is already working, everything is combined into a system - you still have four months to work - Ch. Portman

Generation of random numbers is too important a question to leave it to chance - R. Kovzyu

Error? This is not a bug, this is a system function - D. Wendell

The user does not know what he wants until he sees what he received - E. Yodan

If debugging is the process of removing errors, then programming should be the process of introducing them - E. Dijkstra

Computers are incomparable: in a few minutes they can make such a huge mistake that many people cannot make in many months - M. Meecham

Any program has errors - an axiom.

Murphy's Laws for Programmers

The complexity of the program grows until it exceeds the capabilities of the programmer.

The more mistakes a programmer makes, the faster he becomes a scientist.

If you managed to write a program the first time in which the interpreter did not find any errors, then be sure to inform the system programmer about it. It will fix bugs in the interpreter.

The programmer sees errors only in other people's programs.

If the written program worked correctly, then most likely the programmer did not understand the task.

The team working on the program always loathes weekly reporting of progress, as it is too obvious a lack of progress.

Any program is always more expensive and time consuming than expected.

If the program is already fully debugged, then it will need to be redone.

Any program tends to occupy all available memory.

The most serious error will only be revealed when the program has been in production for at least six months.

Increasing the number of programmers to develop an out-of-time program only slows down the process.

A poorly planned program takes three times longer than anticipated; perfectly planned - only two.

If the program is useful, then it will definitely have to be redone.

There is always one more error in any program.

It is absolutely impossible to create a program with absolute protection against fools, for fools are extremely inventive.

If development is going well, expect serious complications.

If it seems that there is nowhere worse, then it will soon become clear that this is far from the case.

If you do not understand a term in technical documentation, then feel free to ignore it, the meaning will not be affected in any way.

Always leave room for an explanation of why a program you write does not work as expected.

If builders erected buildings in the same way as programmers write programs, the first woodpecker to fly in would destroy human civilization to the ground.

What programming language was named after the comedy series?

The Python programming language is not named after pythons, although icons for files with scripts written in it or logos of development environments often represent a snake's head. The author chose the name of the language due to the fact that he was a fan of the sketch series "The Flying Circus of Monty Python".

How were computer games and programs downloaded from paper magazines and radio broadcasts?

In the 1980s and early 1990s, the ZX Spectrum computers were very popular in Europe, and then in the countries of the former USSR. Their cheapness was due to the use of a conventional TV screen as a screen, and a household tape recorder as an external storage device. Audio cassettes with recorded games and programs were inserted into it, the sound of which was interpreted by the computer as a sequence of bits and loaded into memory. Often the programs could be "downloaded" in special radio broadcasts by recording on cassette. Also, small programs were printed in magazines dedicated to "Spectrum" in the form of source code - it had to be typed on the keyboard, run and again saved to the audio carrier.

What feature did all the leading programmers of the first ENIAC computer possess?

Before the invention of electronic computers, computers in the United States were called workers who were engaged in manual calculations on arithmometers of complex problems - for example, calculating shooting tables. Most computers were women, and there are even more in war time... Many of them then successfully retrained as programmers. So, among the six leading programmers of ENIAC, the first general-purpose electronic computer, there was not a single man.

How do toy ducks help programmers debug code?

Some programmers use the duck method to debug code. To do this, you need to put a toy duck on the desktop (or imagine it) and explain in detail line by line what the program should do. When resorting to this method, the programmer often encounters the desired error, which he did not notice when looking at the code in the development environment.

What's the most expensive hyphen in history?

In 1962, the Americans launched the first spacecraft to study Venus, Mariner 1, which crashed a few minutes after launch. At first, the antenna on the device failed, which received a signal from the guidance system from the Earth, after which the on-board computer took over control. He, too, could not correct the deviation from the course, since the program loaded into it contained a single error - when transferring instructions to the code for punched cards, one of the equations missed a line above a letter, the absence of which radically changed the mathematical meaning of the equation. Journalists soon dubbed this line "the most expensive hyphen in history" (in terms of today, the cost of the lost apparatus is $ 135 million).

Computers and other computing devices take up a huge part of our lives. With the help of such devices, we not only look for the necessary information or use useful programs, but also make purchases, communicate with friends and family, do work, spend leisure time and much more. Today it will not be difficult to scan a document or, for example, download your favorite melody. But until recently, humanity did not know such opportunities.

So, modern users may complain that the video file is loading for several minutes longer than it should. Some 30-40 years ago, in order to watch a new film, you had to go to the cinema at the appointed time. In order to listen to a beautiful melody 100 years ago, one would have to invite a musician and pay good money for it. And that's if we only talk about entertainment. It's hard to imagine how much time was spent on calculations and preparation of documents, on communication and obtaining important information. Today machines do it all for us thanks to one main process - programming. Even if you look at a modern washing machine or multicooker, then it is equipped with a simple, but still artificial intelligence. We use such devices almost every day, but we don't even think about who made it all possible. Today we are going to talk about people who made our life much easier and opened the incredible world of software code to us - programmers. You will find out who was the first programmer in history and how it all began.

First steps to the program

It is generally accepted that only men have passion and abilities. If you look at the list of the most outstanding programmers, only male names are striking. However, few people know that it is a woman who is the first programmer in the history of mankind. Who was this significant person?

Many of us have heard of such a famous English writer as George Gordon Byron. His daughter, Ada Augusta Lovelace (Byron), is the world's first programmer. The love for mathematics was instilled in the girl by her mother since childhood. The best scientists in the area where the young lady lived were studying with her. So, her first teacher was the outstanding August de Morgan, who was considered an outstanding mathematician and logician. It is these two components that lay the foundation for programming. They helped the girl in her subsequent scientific works.

The first programmer in the world - Ada Augusta Byron

In the history of information technology, one of the first names is the name of Charles Babbage. This man worked on the theory of functions and the mechanization of counting. Babbage is rightfully considered the progenitor of the first and is called the "father of the computer." He created the first digital machine and called it analytical. An acquaintance with this outstanding inventor became a significant event in the life of Ada Augusta. The girl's mother was well acquainted with him, and Babbage himself was sincerely happy with every new achievement in Ada's mastery of mathematical science.

Introducing the Analytical Engine

The young talent had a chance to visit the workshop of the "father of the computer". She paid the visit in the company of Mrs. de Morgan, the wife of her mathematics teacher and a family friend. In her memoirs about this visit, de Morgan noted that all the guests looked at the analytical engine with great amazement, for them it was something unusual and completely strange.

And only Ada Augusta, according to de Morgan, did not see anything supernatural in front of her. She carefully examined the machine, was able to understand how it worked and appreciated the invention. This is how the first female programmer got acquainted with computing technology for the first time. After this incident, the girl became even more fired up by scientific activities. She knew and believed that this invention was a step into the future and only the beginning of achievements that could mechanize any processes. And, as we can observe today, it was right.

The first programmer and his everyday life

At the age of nineteen, Ada Augusta gets married. Her chosen one is Lord King, later - Earl of Lovelace. At that time, the lord was 29 years old, and Ada's family life proceeded happily and measuredly. The girl's husband supported all her scientific endeavors and even admired her mentality. The spouses quite often attended social receptions, but the young lady was interested in something completely different. Even though she was married, her relationship with Charles Babbage became her closer and more cordial. The girl reminded Babbage of his deceased daughter, especially since Ada was almost her age. The "father of the computer" also admired the girl's abilities, they often exchanged interesting ideas and showed each other their calculations. Over time, they became not only colleagues, but also good friends. Hell could not stand a superficial society and stupid people. She was demanding of herself and those around her. With a mathematical mindset, she was attracted to things that were not characteristic of women. The girl became a real genius of her time and devoted her life to science.

Ada Augusta does not stop in her scientific calculations

Over time, the first programmer was forced to move away from science a little. The reason for this was the birth of three children, and Ada had to spend all her time with her family. But her love of mathematics was so strong that she was not ready to sacrifice science for the quiet family life with her husband and children. When the girl realizes that she can no longer exist without mathematics, she asks Babbage to find her a good teacher to continue her studies. It is at this moment that she is confident in her abilities as never before, and is ready to go far in her developments. Babbage replies with a young scholarly letter in which he indicates that at the present time he cannot find a worthy teacher for her, but continues to search. He also noted that her knowledge in the field of mathematics is simply brilliant, and that he doubts at all whether she needs a teacher.

Studying Babbage's Machines

A little later, Ada Augusta begins to study in detail the computers designed by Babbage. She asks the inventor to send her detailed information, calculations and drawings of the device. The girl seriously believes that cooperation with the inventor can become more than productive.

The Italian scientist Manibert publishes his article on Babbage's machines, and the first programmer undertakes to translate it. Together with the "father of the computer", she composes detailed comments on the publication, which later will make her famous in certain circles.

First programs

The girl wrote her first programs for calculating Bernoulli numbers. More than all, Ada Augusta explained in her writings the solution to the system of two linear equations... Then for the first time such a concept as working variables and their sequential change in the program appeared. The girl was able to apply which is still an integral part of even the most complex modern program. The second program, described in the comments on Maniber's article, was compiled by Ada Augusta to calculate trigonometric functions and included the work of the cycle. Recursive nested loops were the backbone of her third program.

The name of the first programmer, however, is rarely found in publications about the history of technological progress. For the most part, this is due to the fact that during Ada's lifetime, not a single program was launched. This happened after the death of this outstanding woman.

The last years of the scientist's life

Ada dies at the age of 36. At the same age, her father died from bloodletting. Father and daughter died due to one disease - cancer. Even though Ada Augusta tried to heal, the last years of her life were painful. Each new calculations were more and more tiresome for the woman, but she did not stop studying science until her death. One of the unique programming languages \u200b\u200b"ADA", two small towns in America and a college are named after Ada.

It's amazing that the first programmer in the world is exactly a woman. But this young lady gave the world her developments, which became the basis for modern programming.

Programming, like any other field, has its own history. And if you are just thinking of where to start learning programming, this article will reveal to you some interesting and entertaining facts that may surprise not only beginners, but also experienced IT pros.

Fact one about programming for beginners. The first IT specialist is a woman Few people know that the first person to study programming was a British woman, Ada Lovelace. It was this woman who in the 19th century wrote the algorithm for the ancestor of the modern computer, the analytical aggregator. This machine was an innovation in its time and could solve the Bernoulli equation, that is, calculate the energy conservation law for a fluid in motion. Ada, not knowing at the time that she was starting a huge it-movement, developed a sequence of operations to solve the problem, which, in fact, is writing a program.

Twenty-five percent of the programming time from scratch is thinking about how the user will behave.

This fact about programming will be interesting for beginner IT specialists. According to Brian Humes, vice president of Emerson Process Management, programming is not only about writing code, but also analyzing user behavior. IT-specialists in their work about 25% of their time think about how the end user will work with the program, application or website.

Learning programming isn't about writing code, it's about thinking about the process

Only with the help of a pre-planned concept, a decision on how the program or site will work, can you make a truly high-quality product. Novice programmers cannot just sit down and write a thousand lines of code. To see a high-quality result in the end, you first need to structure the information, prepare for the task and collect all the necessary data. You can learn about the different nuances of this profession in specialized courses or in books on web programming for dummies.

It is important for beginners to know about programming. IT people don't fix computers

But this does not mean that they do not know how to fix them, of course. It all depends on the hobbies of each individual person who is studying in web programming courses for beginners. In fact, the IT specialist works with design principles and algorithms. A professional in his field understands how a computer works and how it processes code. But, unfortunately, in our realities the phrase, or better to say - the meme, "You are a programmer", has acquired a completely different meaning and many people still believe that if they need to fix computer equipment, then they need to contact the person who writes the code.

The most popular programming language to learn from scratch is Java

Recent research, which is based on surveys of Internet users as well as search results, tells us that Java is the most popular programming language for beginners. And this does not mean that he is the most in demand, it means that people are most interested in him. By the way, after Java, the most popular languages \u200b\u200bare C and C ++.

Hello dear readers of my blog. I think it will not be superfluous sometimes to post not only an overview of programs, but also interesting news or facts from the life of IT technologies. And today I got the idea to write a review of the ten most popular myths associated with programmers. Why exactly about them? Well, firstly, September 13 was the day of the programmer, and secondly, I myself have something to do with their number. Creation and layout of the site is also related to web programming. Sit back and forward to myth-breaking.

There are two sysadmins:
- Why are you so sad?
- Yes, the server crashed yesterday.
- So what, you still haven't "raised"?
- Raised it, but he fell off the table ...

# 1 Undemanding programmer.

Of course, everyone thinks that a programmer is such a creation of a humanoid nature, who, apart from a powerful computer and a comfortable chair, does not need anything else. In a way, this expression makes sense to be. But believe me, if you take everything except the above things from such a person, he will not work for you for a long time. Visiting the homes of friends of programmers, I saw quite a comfortable and pleasant environment. And unless the presence of a Good PC and many gadgets for it speaks of the participation of this person in the class of programmers. And remember, only movie characters can live in some kind of basement, surrounded by trash made of iron and bits around them.

# 2 The programmer is an eternal bachelor.

Although sadly, there are cases in which a poor wife leaves the grief of a programmer. But there are no more such cases than those in which wives adjust to their beloved, and even find some interest in his work. So my friend's wife "sat down" on graphic programs without his help. And now, having often come to visit them, I can see two bodies peacefully knocking on the keys of computers. Probably the dream of any programmer :). Every person working in the field of writing and creating software is alive, he is not alien to affection, love, care and other human feelings. But the undeniable factor is that from 1000 maybe 2-5 have highly romantic inclinations. Here either love him as he is, or look for happiness in another person. And I will add more on my own! Every wife can and should have some kind of influence over her spouse. So a little magic and he will give you both time and attention.

# 3 Life and relationships are only online.

This myth also takes place, but! Not all one size fits all. Watching my friends, I noticed a very interesting point. Their online status is always on !!! Yes, yes, my dear readers, it turns out that programmers do not live on the net, but you are my dear reader. Every second, or even more often people, have Skype turned on, are active in social networks, work at full ICQ power, etc. Believe the programmer, if he spent all this time on the network, then there would be no time to write code. There is one point, though. Sometimes a miracle happens and such social residents gather in reality every six months, communicate and get to know each other. Which is practically unrealistic for a programmer. All meetings from the network take place only at the business level and when absolutely necessary.

# 4 All reading comes down to books on programming topics.

Probably this is stated by people who do not know programmers by sight, as such. Firstly, they read more for any other user, because everything develops and very often looking for a question for any answer, a phreaker spends hours reading and studying blogs, forums and portals. In the home library of such people, you can always find a lot of literature on the subject of fantasy. This is justified by the fact that working with "immaterial, virtual and abstract things" leads to a craving for such topics. Although I am not a direct programmer, I am connected with the Internet by specialty and education., And so, in my electronic library a lot of books on the topic of philosophy and psychology. I can tell you about such authors who are unknown to the average resident of the network. So the question of narrowly thematic books applies to each person individually, regardless of the article and activity.

№5 Hobby, hobby except IT is alien.

You know, there is such a saying: Those who find something to their liking will never work in their life! In what area are there people more dedicated to their work than programmers? I don't think you will meet those. Maybe some fanatics. A programmer is a person who enjoys his work. And they are really happy, especially when everything works out with the code 🙂. Every second has a passion for puzzles and sports games. There are fans of bowling, paintball, and even sports. If you need to work in an office and with a good salary, then such a person will be happy after work time relax somewhere.

Dad, and dad, buy me a new hard drive, otherwise the old one is bent ...
- And the magic word?
- Here, damn it, and here they set passwords!

№ 6 Mess and chaos on the table.

Well, this is more likely not a myth, but a harsh reality. To see a lock on the table is very rare, and if this happens, it is only through the fault of the second person. It can be an evil boss, who will give "people" for the mess. The wife or girlfriend can also act as a teacher in extreme cases. And there are a few aesthetical programmers who are able to keep their desktop perfectly clean.

# 7 Long "tail" of hair on the head.

it so happened that most of the programming people have long hair. This does not mean that they are sloppy, as for me, large hair needs more thorough care than short hair. Any girl will confirm this. Such programmers are not saved by a strict dress code and even severe reprimands from superiors. But this is not a rule, and very many go with a short-cropped head, nevertheless, they are excellent specialists in their field. So you won't be programming because you won't cut your hair 🙂.

# 8 Woman programmer is a myth.

I agree that there are almost no female programmers, but to say that there are none at all is a complete delusion. If you don't believe me, go to IT portals, see when the programmers' congress will take place and visit it. You will be surprised, but the fourth part will be women. Why so, because they are more attentive to themselves and it is difficult to find out whether she is programming or not. And even more than that, there is an opinion that the female programmer is more accurate in the code than her male opponents.

№9 Jokes only on IT topics.

A little prologue…. Yesterday, 09/22/2013, my IT friend and I met in a cafe with a girl who was generally far from the IT sphere. To make it clearer, I work as a site administrator, and my friend is a system administrator. For 4 hours we talked, joked and just had a good time. When parting, the friend admitted that she had not been so fun for a long time. This is what it means to evolve all-round and not be a fanatical nerd programmer. Although if you bring together two or more human programmers, then there is a chance the rest will get lost in their jargon and communication.

# 10 They can fix any computer.

This is 100% myth. A programmer is not a repairman, but a person who works with program code. There is a huge difference between the two types of these people. A PC repair technician will never write even the simplest application for a computer. Likewise, a professional programmer will not fix a serious breakdown in his PC. Everything can be reduced to a banal change of failed parts for new ones.

I hope you found it interesting to read these myths about the life and work of programmers. I say goodbye to you and see you in a new interesting article. Regards, AHDEPC.

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