GnuVision

What does a Computer Program do?

Dear Rahul,

I am very happy to know that you got a chance to record
a song at the All India Radio, Trichur. In your previous
mail, you had asked me for directions to reach the radio
station. Here it is.

Once you reach Trichur railway station, take an auto to the
North bus stand. From there, get into any bus which goes to
Pallimoola or R.V.Puram. Get down at Pallimoola junction.
The radio station is just a few minutes walking distance
from the junction.

With Love,
Dad

Let’s hope that Rahul followed his father’s instructions
and reached the radio station safely. His song recording
also should have gone well.

But what has this letter got to do with Computer Programming,
you ask?

A Computer Program, like the letter above, is simply a set of
clearly written instructions which helps a computer do useful
work. Just as Rahul used the instructions in the letter to
reach the radio station, a Computer uses the instructions in a
program to play games, show videos, send email and do any number
of fun and interesting jobs.

Why should we learn to program?

Why do people sing or draw or act or dance? Because doing it is
fun and exciting!

Similar is the case with writing Computer Programs.

You have spent hours playing that car racing
game on the computer. Won’t it be cool to surprise your friends
by creating an even better game of your own? You can do it, if you
learn the magical art of Programming. All it takes is a bit of
patience and a lot of enthusiasm!

The Zoo of programming languages

Foreigners visiting India are surprised to know that as they
travel a few hundred kilometers from one state to another, the
language spoken by the people changes! Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu,
Kannada, Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi … there are people who speak
such a lot of different languages!

That being the case, you will not be surprised to know that
Computers also can be `instructed’ in a large number of languages
- some with plain, boring names like C, C++ (reminds you of
the English alphabets), others with the names like Pascal (you
might have heard his name in your science class - he was a famous
scientist) and still others like Ruby (a precious stone!).

But what really takes the cake is a language with the name of a reptile
- and that too, a big nasty one! Yes, there is even a programming
language called `Python’!

But don’t worry - our Programming Language “Python” is as gentle
as a lamb - she is in fact one of the languages best suited for
introducing people to the magical world of programming!

As you go through this book, you will become friends with the
gentle-but-mighty Python - she will take you on a fun filled tour
of the mysterious world of computer programming!

Have a great journey!