Learn to Program, 2nd Edition

Programming Languages

To tell your computer how to do something, you must use a programming language. A programming language is similar to a human language in that it’s made up of basic elements (such as nouns and verbs) and ways to combine those elements to create meaning (sentences, paragraphs, and novels). There are many languages to choose from (C, Java, Ruby, Perl...), and some have a larger set of those basic elements than others. Ruby has a fine set and is one of the easiest to learn (as well as being elegant and forgiving and the name of my daughter, and so forth), so we’ll use that one.

Perhaps the best reason for using Ruby is that Ruby programs tend to be short. For example, here’s a small program in Java:

public class HelloWorld ...