What is a programming language?

A programming language is a formal language, which comprises a set of instructions that produce various kinds of output. Programming languages are used in computer programming to implement algorithms which involve a computer performing some kind of computation or algorithm and possibly control external devices such as printers, disk drives, robots, and so on. 

Let’s explain it in a different way, as we know as a human being a language has been our primary tool for communication for thousands of years. A language contains words that have meanings and we, humans use it to communicate to each other.

When we look at the computer and study how it works we could see that it’s not much different than human communication. Let’s explain it more deeply, so, computers have two components, first one is hardware and the second one is software. And, programming languages is a communication tool between these two. Thousands of different programming languages have been created, and more are being created every year. 

A programming language is a computer language engineered to create a standard form of commands and it is a way of giving computers instructions about what they should do next. These instructions are known as code, and computer programmers write code to solve problems or perform a task. These commands can be interpreted into a code understood by a machine. Programs are created through programming languages to control the behavior and output of a machine through accurate algorithms, similar to the human communication process. The code is pretty much like writing a paragraph of instruction or creating a to-do list to computers. Unlike us humans, the to-do list and instructions you write for the computer have to be extremely detailed and written in some logic. With a programing language use can solve very complicated problems within a second.

Another question is

Where can I use a programming language?

A programming language is used in Web Development, this is a process of building a websites. If you are interested in building a website then you need to learn programming languages, like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, Java, C++ and etc.

It’s also used in Game Development, if you are interested in making a game for mobile phones, tablets, or even gaming consoles, then you need a programming language, like Python, C++, C# and etc.

For Data Science and Machine Learning, if you are interested in Artificial Intelligence (AI) then you need to learn a programming language, like Python, Java, C++ en etc.

In conclusion, we can say that in order to really understand what is a programming language and how it works you need to understand how computers work at least in a basic level. You can read online or watch videos online for free to learn Computer Science concepts. And, if you are willing to learn a programming language, first you need to decide what you are going to make, and then choose specific languages to learn. First language is always difficult to learn, which is normal, it requires a lot of practice, practice, practice. But, after your first programming language second and third languages are going to be very easy to learn.