TLDR: Coding is fundamentally about learning to create a new file type on your computer that will be executed by an application (runtime) that knows how to interpret the code you put in that file. In the recording below, we explore this mental model with JavaScript in a browser.
When we first attempt learning to code is can quickly seem like an exercise in memorization. We're shown new concepts like loops, operators, arrays, and of course, functions in the first hours of studying a programming language like JS. Then we are supposed to figure out how all this equates to "programming a computer." We tend to miss one piece; we already know how to write a program; specifically, we know how to program a computer. If you're reading this, I assume you have created a computer file then ran/opened/executed that file in an associated application. Think of a .mp3 file, and it's an association with your computer media player application or .docx, and it's an association with a word processor application like Microsoft Word. These files are indeed sets of instructions we expect to run on our computers. What we are describing here is the gist of modern computer programming.
The difference between these common computer files and code files is how they are created. Coders create files on a computer using a programming language. Once these code files are created, we pass them to an application called a runtime to execute those files' code instructions. When you learn a programming language, you learn its features and available computer instructions. For example, iTunes can't process the instructions in a .docx file. Displaying a word doc is not an available instruction for iTunes.
Another example is how we use the English language. The English language features only work if we are using them to communicate with someone who understands English. This may seem a bit abstract right now, but we use this as a mental model to cover the Fundamentals of Programming with JS in the live code lecture below. It's a mental model that helped me early in my career, and I hope it can help you as you learn this powerful programming language, JavaScript.
Live Recording
30 mins
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