Data-processing programming

The programming in the field Informatique is the whole of the activities which allow the writing of the computer programs. It is a big step of the Conception of software (even of material, cf VHDL).

To write the result of this activity, one uses a Computer programming language.

The programming usually represents the coding , i.e. the drafting of the Source code of a software. One uses rather the term development to indicate the whole of the activities related to the creation of a software.

A short history of the programming

The first programmable machine (i.e. machine whose possibilities change when his " is modified; programme") weaving loom Jacquard is probably the , which was carried out in 1801. The machine used a succession of perforated pasteboards. The holes indicated the reason which the trade followed to carry out a weaving; with different charts the trade produced different weavings. This innovation was then improved by Hermann Hollerith of IBM for the development of famous the Perforated card of IBM.

The first computer programs were carried out with a soldering iron and a great number of vacuum tubes (later, Transistor S). The programs becoming more complex, that became almost impossible, because only one error made the program whole unusable. With progress of the data carriers, it became possible to charge the program starting from perforated cards, containing the list of the instructions in binary code specific to a type of particular computer. The power of the computers increasing, one used them to make the programs, the programmers naturally preferring to write text rather than continuations of 0 and 1, with load for the computer to make of it the translation itself. With time, new computer programming languages appeared, disregarding more and more material on which were to turn the programs. This brings several factors of profits: these languages are easier to learn, a programmer can produce code more quickly, and the produced programs can run on various types of machines.

End of the programmers?

At all times, one predicted “the end of the programmers”.

In the Sixties, the languages symbolic like AUTOCODE, COBOL and FORTRAN indeed put an end - mainly - to the programming of low level such as the Assembleur. It seemed then clear that no matter who was able to write code of the type multiply MONTANT-HT by TAUX-TVA giving MONTANT-TAXES. add MONTANT-HT, MONTANT-TAXES giving MONTANT-TTC. or RDELTA = SQRT (B ** 2 - 4*A*C) X1 = (- B + RDELTA)/(2*A) rather than of tens of cryptic lines like movl %esp, %ebp subl $24, %esp flds 12 (%ebp) fmuls 12 (%ebp) flds 8 (%ebp) flds .LC0 fmulp %st, %st (1) fmuls 16 (%ebp) fsubrp %st, %st (1) fstpl (%esp) cal sqrt fstps -4 (%ebp) flds -4 (%ebp) fsubs 12 (%ebp) flds 8 (%ebp) fadd %st (0), %st fdivrp %st, %st (1) However it quickly should have been realized that the programming was not limited to coding, and that the design of applications was a true trade which is not improvised.

In the Eighties, microprocessing often led to a wild computerization of the companies, whose overflowed data processing department did not manage to satisfy the requests (which did not correspond besides inevitably to truths needs for the end users). From where the realization of applications arranged by trainees “little genius” in BASIC and others macros of spreadsheves, meeting a specific need, but creating in fact a parallel information system not maintained. In this category, one can also partially arrange the applications developed with L4G (languages of 4th generation of the Eighties) by not trained users. It is obvious that this type of tool (whose ACCESS is a reincarnation) allows a user not trained to carry out small applications which it would not have undertaken differently, and with a qualified user to develop important applications very quickly, but they do not have the magic capacity to make the analysis and the design automatically in the hands of a user beginner.

Practices

• Algorithmic
• Management of versions
• Optimization of the code
• Programming system
• unit Refactoring
• Test
• Integration test

Techniques of programming

• imperative Programming
• structured Programming
• directed Programming prototype object
• directed Programming
• Programming by contract
• declaratory Programming
• functional Programming
• logical Programming
• Programming by constraints
• directed Programming component
• directed Programming aspect
• concurrent Programming
• procedural Programming
• Programming by intention

See too

Internal bonds

• Paradigm (programming)

• Chronology of the computer programming languages
• Wikilivre on the programming
• BNF Grammar of description of language.