This brings up a distinction that many developers make. Some coding languages such as HTML, CSS, and Markdown don't use algorithms and data structures, while others such as JavaScript, Python, Java, and C++ use them heavily. Programming still involves writing instructions for the computer to follow, but now data structures and algorithms are important. Many developers view programming as a more advanced term than coding, and a lot of others use both words interchangeably. If coding is the act of writing instructions for a computer to follow, what then is programming? This lets you make websites, applications, and software, and do some other cool stuff. When you learn how to code, you'll be able to write instructions for computers to follow. And developers speak to them through those languages.Įxamples of coding languages include HTML, GitHub Markdown, CSS, JavaScript, and Python, among many others. Computers don't understand human language, so over time, humans have created languages that computers can understand. Some people use it interchangeably with programming, while others would argue they are not entirely the same.īy definition, 'code' refers to a set of instructions that tells a computer what to do. 'Coding' is a commonly used term for computer programming.

I'll also point you to free learning platforms and resources. In this article, I will share some tips and info about how to learn to code for free as a beginner.

And many of them are readily available online for free – so choosing one can be overwhelming.īut there's definitely an upside: you don't need to attend a paid bootcamp or university anymore in order to learn how to code.

These days, there are a lot resources out there for learning how to code.

Writing code for beginners