Coding languages and binary code explained

Introduction

I set myself a mini-goal this year to learn about artificial intelligence technology being used in healthcare today and to create a blog post about the topic. I thought it would be a good challenge for myself and something meaningful to learn about. In order to achieve this goal, I think it would be best for me to gain a basic understanding of coding.

What is coding?

Source code makes our everyday devices function properly. Our smartwatches, phones, cars, and computers all need the correct code to complete tasks. We are extremely reliant on our devices' code to work so that our day-to-day lives can run smoothly.

Source code is a set of instructions written in a specific coding language (Java, Python, Pascal, etc) to tell the machine exactly what to do. The code acts as the 'instruction manual' for the electronic device. The coding instructions are read by a microchip within the device. The chip interprets the code instructions which is how the machine knows how to respond to our requests (e.g when you press the boil button on a kettle the machine knows what to do based on the code being read by the microchip within the device). This is the simple way of putting it. The better written the code is, the better the machine will run.

For the code to work in our devices, the 'instruction manual' needs to include all the possible outcomes that the machine could face. This stops the machine from getting confused and then stop working. It is important that code is correctly written into machines like cars, trains, or airplanes so they do not suddenly malfunction. Machines/ microchips don't understand English or human languages directly. The code needs to be written in a coding language that machines can understand such as "Python", "Assembly", or "C++".

Some examples of machines that need a chip and code to operate

How does coding work?

Codings instructions are written in horizontal lines and then more lines are added beneath them. All of these code lines can combine together to create an individual task that the machine can do. This is called making an algorithm. A phone app or a search engine may need millions of code lines to function well.

Thousands of lines of code be combined to tell a single machine how to operate

Human beings speak many different human languages just like us machines have hundreds of coding languages. This is mainly to help coders make algorithms that work in a different machine. A good way to remember this is different coding languages can be used to speak to different machines or to help make instructions for certain tasks.

Coding can look different depending on the language it is written. Coding languages like “C” and "Assembly" are used to format simple devices like traffic lights, thermostats, and fridges. Mobile games, laptops, and desktop apps use “Swift” and “C++” coding languages to operate. “JavaScript” is used in making web pages. “SQL” coding language is a language large social network sites may use to collect data from their users and create meaningful friends’ suggestions, target ads, etc. 95% of the 10 million most popular web pages use “JavaScript” to create their page. Artificial intelligence in machines is written in more advanced coding languages like “Python” or “Prolog.”

Visualisation of C++ and which devices it can be used in

This is an example of a program written in “Assembly” coding language.

This is an example of a program written in “SQL” coding language.

Tasks and functions can be made in more than one coding language but this depends on the coder’s preference and which languages he/she is most comfortable in. All coding languages originate from Binary code which is the original language we used to speak to machines.

Binary code

Computers' native language is binary code which is made of ones and zeros, similar to in the "Matrix" movie. Binary code is very difficult for humans to learn and use.

My Dad learned how to use binary code when he was in school 30+ years ago. His school project was around coding a robot arm on how to move up and down properly using binary code. This might seem like an alien concept for people to conceptualise, but zeros and ones in the code put simply are just parts of the machine in this case the robot arm you want to turn on and off. On the way up you would want the levers responsible to raise the machine to be switched on and once it is at the top you would want the arm to hold in a static manner. Surprisingly depending on the sequence of the ones and zeros, it would change the speed of how the arm was lifting and how it would stop. The sequence of ones and zeros made a big difference when my Dad was coding the machine arm. If the code was too simple would make the arm lift up too quickly, stopping the arm at the right position needed the right amount of speed and velocity which could all be formatted using ones and zeros.

Example of binary code conversions

Final thoughts

In summary coding and its instructions to machines influence our daily lives. “JavaScript” is used for most popular web pages. Google searches use more advanced coding languages like “SQL”. Our mobile phones and electronic devices run of lines of code from languages like “C” or “C++”. I hope you got some basic information out of this post thank you for reading.