Coding is a subset of programming and is essentially the process of implementing the application development plan in various understandable languages. It primarily aims to facilitate communication between the user and the machine.
Simply put, coding makes a computing device perform a certain task in its understandable language. That can be as simple as telling a machine how to add numbers or telling a car how to drive down the road on its own.
Languages which objective is to translate, map or represent something directly (without a programming logic) are considered coding languages. The most used and known coding languages include:
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Short answer: no. Coding is the first step to set up complex queries, and it is easier than programming. It deals with lines of codes without worrying too much about the details. On the other hand, programming deals with other difficult scenarios and queries in order to provide appropriate machine-level responses. Hence, it's essentially a more difficult form of coding, and far more complex.
Programming is the process of creating and developing an executable machine program that performs a set of instructions or tasks. It’s the process of building an application from scratch, planning, gathering resources, and structuralising the entire app.
The primary aim of programming is writing code formally so that human input and machine output always remain in sync. Simply put, programming is about keeping all the cycles of programming and application development in tandem so that whenever you give your computer or your application a certain input, you will have to have a certain output that makes sense.
We will break down the differences into three main categories which will help us understand coding vs programming better: which tools are used on both, knowledge required to perform each, and the end product.
When it comes to coding, one of the most important tools will be a text editor - it can simply be Notepad, a compiler or interpreter, or something more visually appealing to work with like Visual Studio Code, Emacs, Sublime Text, Atom, or Vim.
For programming, on the other hand, we will need more complex tools. A programmer will usually perform document reviews, a lot of planning, thinking about design, and so on. Hence, the tools he will need to use include advanced code editors, compilers, linkers, analysis tools, debuggers, modelling frameworks, and modelling algorithms.
Coding will usually require a basic knowledge of programming languages and their syntax as the aim is to write the code that tells the machine to perform a certain task. Programming, on the other hand, requires a much deeper understanding of programming languages, building and working with algorithms, designing websites, debugging and testing codes, and project management.
Critical thinking, problem-solving, being analytical-oriented are also essential skills when building complex systems.
Whereas in coding, the expected outcome is generally a simple solution that, after compiling, will successfully give the desired output, in programming, the result will be a full working application or piece of software ready to be used.
Different languages are created for different purposes and different types of software. According to TIOBE, these are the top contenders in the community for the most popular programming languages:
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What’s more, according to a survey run by StackOverflow, JavaScript has been the most commonly used programming language in the past years. However, Python has been rising in the ranks alongside Typescript, being the two languages developers want to work with most.
By now, you already know the difference between coding vs programming and what the two deal with. Now let’s take a better look at how the two can - and should - work together to accomplish a seamless end product.
Let’s say you want to create an app that helps you prepare homemade meals and reduce waste. This is how the process of coding and programming will come into place:
Programming
Coding
All in all, both coding and programming are used to create any software, web, or mobile app product. Coding is the first step in translating the requirements into a machine-legible syntax. In contrast, programming deals with the next stages of the executable program in order to build the appropriate machine-level outputs in response to the given human inputs. Hence, it entails all key aspects of the software development process, from debugging and compilation through testing and implementation.
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