ABSTRACT
This chapter describes programming and programming languages for the reader with a summary of modern computing as a backdrop. It explains the role of numbers in computers and potential problems in their use. Computers are incredibly fast, accurate, and stupid. Humans’ beings are incredibly slow, inaccurate, and brilliant. Computers used to be humans who were trained to do quite complex calculations using only their minds and some mechanical aids. There are several ways to categorize programming languages. Some of the programming languages are better for speed, some for conciseness, some for controlling hardware, some for reducing mistakes, some for graphics and sound output, some for numerical calculations, and so on. A modern computer typically has the following features. It has one or more central processing units, memory, which holds data and programs, and input and output interfaces. A typical computer uses the binary system internally.
