1. What is a computer program?

A computer program (also a software program, or just a program) is a sequence of instructions written to perform a specified task for a computer.[1] A computer requires programs to function, typically executing the program's instructions in a central processor.[2] The program has an executable form that the computer can use directly to execute the instructions. The same program in its human-readable source code form, from which executable programs are derived (e.g., compiled), enables a programmer to study and develop its algorithms. 2. What is a programming language? A programming language is an artificial language designed to express computations that can be performed by a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine and/or to express algorithms precisely. 3. Types of programming language? In today's computing world, there is a wealth of various programming languages available to us; however, they can each be categorized into one of the three major types:
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Machine Languages Assembly Languages High-Level languages

Machine Languages As was mentioned earlier, a computer can only understand its own machine language. The machine language is the language that the hardware designers create and is quite complicated if you decide to use it to create a program, simply because it consists of sets of numbers (0s and 1s). Machine language uses these sets of numbers to perform various operations. NOTE In our Human-Computer programming languages analogy if two English-speaking people speak to each other their brains will compile the code and understand it directly. If you are a machine code programmer then you will write the code that the computer will understand directly and execute the program. Assembly Languages Programmers found that developing even the simplest programs, using sets of numbers, was a very complicated process so they developed assembly languages. Assembly languages use keywords and symbols, much like English, to form a programming language -- I can personally say that this is much better than the huge amount of numbers used in the machine languages -but at the same time introduces a new problem. The problem is that the computer doesn't

understand the assembly code, so we need a way to convert it to machine code, which the computer does understand. Programmers developed assemblers which are programs that convert assembly language code to machine language code. By using these assemblers programmers can write code in assembly language and convert into machine code. High-Level Languages Computer scientists found that computers were quickly becoming popular all over the world, so they needed faster, easier, and more powerful programming languages than what was currently possible using assembly languages. They designed "high-level" languages and they called them high-level languages because when you develop applications using a high-level language you don't have to deal with low-level details like machine code, which allows you to write keywords that are much easier than assembly and that can perform multiple operations. An example of a high-level language is C#. 4. Give at least 10 programming languages? 1. PHP y What it is: An open-source, interpretive, server-side, cross-platform, HTML scripting language, especially well-suited for Web development as it can be embedded into HTML pages. Why you should learn it: Its particularly widely used. "High-speed scripting with caching, augmented with compiled code plug-ins (such as can be done with Perl and PHP) is where the future is. Building Web apps from scratch using C or COBOL is going Job availabilities: 1,152*

y 2. C# y y

What it is: A general-purpose, compiled, object-oriented programming language developed by Microsoft as part of its .NET initiative, it evolved from C and C++ Why you should learn it: Its an essential part of the .Net framework. "Learning C#, which is just Java with a different name plate, is critical if you heavily use Microsoft," said Duquaine. Job availabilities: 5,111

3. AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) y y What it is: Though technically not a programming language, AJAX uses XHTML or HTML, JavaScript and XML to create interactive Web applications. Why you should learn it: Ever since Google Maps put AJAX, well, on the map, the requests for AJAX-knowledgeable pros went through the roof. "The demand for AJAX knowledge is huge because its so damned hard to learn," said Huckaby. Of note, Microsoft announced recently plans to release a tool named Atlas that will make AJAX easier to implement. "If Microsofts Atlas tool is successful, it would bring the extreme complexity and annoyance of AJAX to the average worker," said Huckaby. Job availabilities : 1,106

4. JavaScript y What it is: Not to be confused with Java, JavaScript is a an object-oriented, scripting programming language that runs in the Web browser on the client side. Its smaller than Java, with a simplified set of commands, easier to code and doesnt have to be compiled. Why you should learn it: Embedded into HTML, its used in millions of Web pages to validate forms, create cookies, detect browsers and improve the design. With its simplicity to learn as well as wide use, its considered a great bang for your educational buck. Job availabilities: 4,406

y 5. Perl y y

y 6. C y y

What it is: Perl is an open-source, cross-platform, server-side interpretive programming language used extensively to process text through CGI programs. Why you should learn it: Perls power in processing of piles of text has made it very popular and widely used to write Web server programs for a range of tasks. "Learning some form of scripting language, such as Perl or PHP is critical if you are doing Web apps," said Duquaine. Job availabilities: 4,810

What it is: A standardized, general-purpose programming language, its one of the most pervasive languages and the basis for several others (such as C++). Why you should learn it: "Learning C is crucial. Once you learn C, making the jump to Java or C# is fairly easy, because a lot of the syntax is common. Also, a lot of C syntax is used in scripting languages," said Duquaine. Job availabilities: 6,164, including all derivatives

7. Ruby and Ruby on Rails y What they are: Ruby is a dynamic, object-oriented, open-source programming language; Ruby on Rails is an open-source Web application framework written in Ruby that closely follows the MVC (Model-View-Controller) architecture. Why you should learn it: With a focus on simplicity, productivity and letting the computers do the work, in a few years, its usage has spread quickly. As a bonus, many find it easy to learn. Job availabilities : 210 and 54, respectively

8. Java y y What it is: An object-oriented programming language developed by James Gosling and colleagues at Sun Microsystems in the early 1990s. Why you should learn it: Hailed by many developers as a "beautiful" language, it is central to the non-.Net programming experience. "Learning Java is critical if you are non-Microsoft," said Duquaine. Job availabilities: 14,408

9. Python y y What it is: An interpreted, dynamically object-oriented, open-source programming language that utilizes automatic memory management. Why you should learn it: Designed to be a highly readable, minimalist language, many say it has a sense of humor (spam and eggs, rather than foo and bar), Python is used extensively by Google as well as in academia because of its syntactic simplicity. Job availabilities: 811

10. VB.Net (Visual Basic .Net) y y What it is: An object-oriented language implemented on Microsofts .Net framework. Why you should learn it: Most argue that VB.Net is currently more popular than ever and one of the only "must-learns." "It is currently dominating in adoption and that is where all the work is," said Huckaby. Job availabilities: 2,090