In this edition of Layman’s Terms, we’ll take a look at a few more definitions related to the web. Specifically, we’re going to look at some of the languages in which the Internet is coded; a few of the languages which makes it what it is.
HTML: “HTML” stands for “Hyper Text Markup Language.” Now, that’s not really much of a definition in itself, is it? Essentially, HTML is the language of your web browser. If it’s reading a page, it’s reading that page in HTML, and then displaying it according to the commands in that page’s code. Essentially, HTML is an instruction manual for your web browser.
Believe it or not, HTML isn’t actually a ‘coding language’. It’s something known as a ‘markup language.’ What that means is that it’s a language responsible for the orientation, processing, formatting, layout, and style of text and other elements. Originally designed exclusively for text, the latest revision of the HTML standard (HTML5) is a powerful language with support for rich media.
Java: Originally developed by Sun, Java’s quickly become an industry standard, and is used for coding a wide array of programs, both online and off. Aside from HTML, it’s probably one of the most widely used languages on the web; used to code games for a number of mobile devices as well as for the PC. Want an example of a game coded in Java?
Minecraft.
The reason for its popularity is that it’s easy to use, reliable, and works regardless of what platform you plop it onto. Not too shabby, eh?
Flash: Flash is a multimedia programming language, designed to enrich the experience of the web. While HTML5 has started to replace it in many circles, a huge number of browsers aren’t yet HTML5 compatible so this old technology’s going to be sticking around for a while. Flash was also used to program games and the like at one point, but it’s started to be shunted out of this role by Java.
Today, it’s mostly used for advertisements and multimedia with Adobe reporting that over 85% of websites currently utilize Flash in some form.
C: Look at your desktop. There’s at least a 90% chance that it uses some derivative of a programming language simple known as “C.” Developed by the late Dennis Ritchie of Bell Labs back in the 1970s, C proved to be powerful, versatile, and very, very efficient. As a result, software developers the world over adopted it when they launched into the process of coding their operating systems – developers with big names like Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs/Steven Wozniak.
The reason C is so efficient (and, in some cases, difficult to learn) is because it’s very close to a computer’s base programming language (binary code). Languages such as Java are known as “high level” languages, easy for humans to read and understand. Even though C technically fits the bill for this, it’s close enough to machine code that computer systems find it very easy to translate and understand.
Image Credits: [Technotab]
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In keeping with the theme of “In Layman’s Terms”, I thought I’d note that HTML is a great “language” to introduce beginners to programming in general. It’s so easy that you’ve probably already used it and didn’t even know it.
I want to make this text bold.
or, in common forum markup language (often called BBCode):
I want to make this text [b]bold[/b].
There you go, you’ve just used HTML! Albeit in the simplest possible way.
(Note: these comments do not interpret the HTML as such, so the text does not actually turn out bold. But it WOULD be if that sentence were being directly interpreted by your browser.)
…except it’s not programming, in general, or at all. It’s fine to learn some HTML, but too many equate that to programming, which is like thinking you’re a musician while playing Guitar Hero.
Now, JavaScript, otoh, is another matter…
I never called HMTL a programming language. I used it a an example because it’s simple, some of the same general skill sets as true programming, and in my case, it’s the first thing I learned how to do and is what introduced me into the world of programming.