Programming 101 - 5 Basic Concepts of Programming

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Programming 101 – The 5 Basic Concepts of any Programming Language list
by TRE VO R PAGE on JU NE 3 0 , 2 01 2
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First off, I’d like to say that I’m writing these preliminary posts in a way that I’ll assume you have very little knowledge
in programming.  I want this content to provide anyone “walking in off the street” the knowledge to be able to write Subscribe

their first program with the Java programming language with as little pain as possible.  

So, let’s get started with our first topic: The 5 basic concepts of any programming language.  You might say, “Why are J ava T utorial e B oo K

we talking about any programming language?  I thought this was about Java”.  Well, I’ve found that it’s important to
remember that a lot of programming languages are very similar, and knowing what’s common between all
programming languages will help you transition into any other programming language if you need to!  For example,
with the Java programming knowledge I had obtained, it took me less than a month to learn how to program in a
language called Objective C (which is used for iPhone apps).  That’s powerful stuff!

So here are the 5 basic concepts of any programming language:

1. Variables
2. Control Structures
3. Data Structures
4. Syntax
5. Tools

I recognize that these words probably look foreign to you, but don’t worry, I’ll do my very best at taking the mystery
out of them.  Now, there’s a lot to say about each of these 5 concepts, so for today’s post I’ll only be talked about item
#1, variables! J ava V ideo T utorials

What is a variable?
Variables are the backbone of any program, and thus the backbone of any programming language.  Wiki defines a
variable as follows:

In computer programming, a variable is a storage location and an associated symbolic name which contains

some known or unknown quantity or information, a value.

Join our community of coders today & save BIG

Okay, well, that’s kind of cryptic.  To me, a variable is simply a way to store some sort of information for later use, and
Each answer gets you an extra $15 off a
Coders' Campus membership
we can retrieve this information by referring to a “word” that will describe this information.  For example, let’s say
you come to my website www.howtoprogramwithjava.com and the first thing I want to do, is ask you what your name Save
is (so that I can greet you in a nice way the next time you visit my website).  I would put a little text box on the screen
Are you an aspiring programmer
that asks you what your name is… that text box would represent a variable!  Let’s say I called that text box
that is confused by
J ava W eb
$15
H osting

‘yourName’, that would be the symbolic name (or “word”) for your variable (as described from our wiki definition
programming
above).  So now, when you type your name into the text box, that information would be stored in a variableand needs help?
called
‘yourName’.  I would then be able to come back and say “What value does the variable ‘yourName’ contain?”,
No - I do not and
need any coding help
the program would tell me whatever it was your typed into that text box. YES! I need help with learning to code

Next
This concept is extremely powerful in programming and is used constantly.  It is what makes Facebook and Twitter
work, it’s what makes paying your bills via your online bank work, it’s what allows you to place a bid on eBay.
Powered by
 Variables make the programming world go ’round.

Now, if we want to get more specific, when it comes to the Java programming language, variables have different
types.  Brace yourself here, as I’m going to try to confuse you by explaining an important concept in three

sentences. If I were to be storing your name in a variable, that type would be a String.  Or, let’s say I also wanted to
store your age, that type would be stored as an Integer.  Or let’s say I wanted to store how much money you make in
a year, that type would be stored as a Double. L isten to T revor on
S M art P assive I nco M e
What the heck are String, Integer and Double?

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Excellent question!  In Java, the programming language wants to know what kind of information you are going to
be storing in a variable.  This is because Java is a strongly typed language.  I could teach you about what the
difference is between a strongly typed language and a weakly typed language, but that will likely bore you right now,
so let’s just focus on what a type is in Java and why it’s important.

Typing in Java, allows the programming language to know with absolute certainty that the information being stored
in a variable will be ‘a certain way’.  So like I said, if you’re storing your age, you would use the Integer type… well
F ollow T revor O n T he
that’s because in Java, an Integer means you have a number that won’t have any decimal places in it.  It will be a
W eb !
whole number, like 5, or 20, or 60, or -60, or 4000, or -16000.  All of those numbers would be considered an Integer
in Java.  So what would happen if you tried to store something that wasn’t an Integer, into an Integer variable, say for
instance the value “$35.38″?  Well, quite simply, you would get an error in the program and you would have to fix it!
 ”$35.38″ has a dollar sign ($) in it, as well as a decimal place with two digits of accuracy.  In Java, when you specify
that a variable is of type Integer, you are simply not allowed to store anything except a whole number.
J ava T utorial
Now I don’t want to go into too much detail about Types, as this is better suited to programming basic concept #3 – Start Here – 1st Tutorial
Data Structures.  So that’s all I will touch on for now, but no worries, it will all make sense in time!

A rchives
So, to sum up, we talked about what a variable is and how you can store information in a variable and then
retrieve that information at some later point in time.  The variable can have a name, and this name you give to January 2014

the variable is usually named after the kind of content you’ll be storing in the variable, so if I’m storing your December 2013
name in the variable, you’d name the variable ‘yourName’.  You wouldn’t HAVE to give it that name, you could name November 2013
the variable “holyCrapImProgramming”, but that wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense considering you are trying to
October 2013
store a person’s name.  Makes sense right?  Finally, variables have types, and these types are used to help us organize
August 2013
what can and cannot be stored in the variable.  Hint: having a type will help to open up what kind of things we can
do with the information inside the variable.  Example:  if you have two Integers (let’s say 50 and 32), you would be June 2013
able to subtract one variable from the other (i.e 50 – 32 = 18), pretty straight forward right?  But, if you had two May 2013
variables that stored names (i.e. “Trevor” and “Geoff”) it wouldn’t make sense to subtract one from the other (i.e.
April 2013
 ”Trevor” – “Geoff”), because that just doesn’t mean anything!  So, types are also a powerful thing, and they help
March 2013
us to make sense of what we CAN do with our variables and what we CANNOT do!
February 2013
So I hope this information has been helpful to you, and I hope you realize what the benefits of learning a January 2013
programming language are! The allure to learning a programming language is quite high in today’s corporate world, December 2012
as most companies are hiring programmers with the skills to create web applications. The programming profession is
November 2012
one that provides excellent pay and job stability, and in the end, isn’t that what we’re all looking for?
October 2012

September 2012
Plenty of Ways to Learn
August 2012
COMMUNITY – Learning with a community is the best way to ensure accountability and support when you need
July 2012
help. Coders’ Campus is a brand new community that is dedicated to new programmers like you!
June 2012
BLOGS – If you feel like you enjoy the way this information is laid out in blog format, then I invite you to click on
the “next” button below.
BOOKS – If you feel like you are better at learning from a book, then I invite you to check out my ebook via C ategories
http://javapdf.org. This eBook is organized, and packed full of easy to follow tutorials and videos.
Advanced Tips
VIDEOS – If you feel like you prefer learning by watching Videos, then check out the Java Video Tutorials
Assignment
website. It’s full of fun and easy to follow video tutorials. So far the students enrolled in this video course have
rated it 9.5/10! HTML

PODCASTS – Finally, if you prefer to learn by just listening, then there’s also a podcast available on iTunes via Intermediate Tips
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hardikpatel
July 13, 2012 at 12:33 am

helpfull site……….

Trevor Page
July 13, 2012 at 1:08 am

Thanks Hardik, I’m glad you think so, this is a new site so keep checking in every week for new topics.

Fahad Munir
October 10, 2012 at 9:44 am

Exellent

sonu
July 14, 2012 at 11:41 am

excellent site……..

Javin
August 26, 2012 at 12:12 am

I share same feeling, good stuff with clean layout. Thanks for your sharing your knowledge dude. Along
with basics of programming, its also important to know basics of OOPS like Abstraction or Polymorphism;
Which is I guess next step for any programmer.By the I have subscribed your blog now

Trevor Page
August 26, 2012 at 12:58 am

Great stuff Javin,

Nice to have another Java blogger in the neighbourhood

Mrigank ved
July 18, 2012 at 6:52 am

Good explanation

sassirekha
July 21, 2012 at 6:21 am

programs on concept of core java

jessiel cana
July 21, 2012 at 9:12 am

nice explanation! keep it up1

Thathri
July 22, 2012 at 12:43 pm

Thank You Master.

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sapana
July 26, 2012 at 9:28 am

it is easy to understand!!!

nive
August 4, 2012 at 12:26 pm

i want some more information about java programming

Trevor Page
August 6, 2012 at 7:52 am

Hi nive,

I was just away on vacation and didn’t have time to write any new posts, but I’m going to sit down today and get
one out for you guys, keep your eyes open for it, or sign up for my mailing list where i let you know when a new
post is up.

ATAMA ALBERT
March 13, 2013 at 1:34 pm

yes i am

kunj
August 8, 2012 at 5:02 pm

very helpful site….

Thank you.

manish
August 9, 2012 at 12:06 pm

Hi, Today was my first class about this crap! I was sleeping there but its really helpful and good information
for me. I am going to read all info. here.

Trevor Page
August 10, 2012 at 6:46 am

Glad you were able to stumble upon my site, feel free to spread the word to your classmates if you think
they’d benefit from it too

Take care,

Trevor

Bartholomew
September 25, 2012 at 9:30 am

hello Page pls can you put me through in using java to send message.i have tried but my code is not
sending message.ur help is welcome

Trevor Page
September 25, 2012 at 10:32 am

I can absolutely help you out, but I will need a little more information. What do you mean when
you say that you want to “send a message”. Are you trying to send an email? Are you trying to just output
a message onto the console?

Thanks for your comment

Trevor

atama albert
March 15, 2013 at 1:32 pm

i would wish that you sent me some your programes via my email

Trevor Page
March 16, 2013 at 1:27 pm

I have assignments + solutions available on this blog:

Here’s assignment 1: http://howtoprogramwithjava.com/java-practice-assignment-1

I also have a walk-through of a real world example available when you sign up for my mailing list on
http://javavideotutorials.net

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noobCoderSwag
August 9, 2012 at 1:23 pm

Hi, I took a Java class last year and I’m about to take the 2nd level this year.

Just wanted to let you know what a great of a site you have.

I appreciate how you break things down using simple (human) language.

I was the only one in my class who never had any experience with programming and felt so out of place and
confused when the teacher would use computer science terms with us so loosely.

This article is very valuable to people coming in with no knowledge of programming.

Keep up the good work!

And to all you newbies out there, don’t be afraid to take it slow.

A solid understanding of fundamentals and much practice will take you far in the long run.

Trevor Page
August 10, 2012 at 6:48 am

Thanks for your great comment… I’m here to help out, as I was a student who was completely lost as
well! Feel free to shoot and questions my way if there’s anything you’re stuck on

Trevor

mobiltelefon software aus dem Internet
August 15, 2012 at 2:33 am

Great post.

Rayudu
August 29, 2012 at 2:21 am

please send me what is the differnece between string and stringbuffer

Rayudu
August 29, 2012 at 2:22 am

If u dont mine i want real time explnation on any project

Trevor Page
August 29, 2012 at 3:47 am

Hey there,

Thanks for the comment, bit i need you to be a little more specific. I don’t know what you want exactly.

hardi patel
September 1, 2012 at 1:54 am

plz send me programs on concept of core java.

Trevor Page
September 1, 2012 at 8:18 am

This entire blog contains programs with concepts of core Java, just read through my posts in order
starting with this one

Abed
September 6, 2012 at 9:55 am

i want to know more about java

Trevor Page
September 7, 2012 at 9:02 am

Then by all means, keep going through the tutorials beyond this one Let me know if you need any
help understanding any of these concepts, or if you want me to cover something that I haven’t yet talked about,
please do let me know.

acyl
September 19, 2012 at 8:12 am

i am a newbie and is still taking java programming. We have to develop a game using java SE.. we are
making a SPOT THE DIFFERENCE game.. just want to know more about the mouselistener and imageicon and the
other tools we will be needing in developing this game.. and oh we only have about 3 weeks to finish it.. thanks in
advance

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Trevor Page
September 20, 2012 at 9:05 am

I assume you’re using Java AWT of Swing for the Graphical User Interface… is that correct?

Samyr Laine
September 25, 2012 at 9:20 am

can i ask for codings in netbeans for binary calculator

like adding of binary numbers, subtraction, multiplication and division.

can someone knows that ?

because we were having a project like that…

sahad
September 26, 2012 at 4:24 pm

want to be a good programmer,how can i learn java perfectly?

Trevor Page
September 26, 2012 at 8:25 pm

Hey Sahad,

If you follow through all of my tutorials and download my podcast that would be a good start to understanding
the core concepts of programming in Java. Make sure you download an IDE and install it to create your
programs (that info is in part 5 of this series entitled “tools”).

The most important thing is to stay focused and not to get too frustrated. If you do ever get stuck, just leave a
comment here and I’ll be glad to help you out!

Arbiter
September 27, 2012 at 8:36 pm

Hey,

I need your help !… ive got a java test in school with nested if on monday… I am totally confused!

i Actually dont know how to proggram with nested if,when it is used and stuff.

REGDS

ARBITER.

Trevor Page
September 27, 2012 at 8:38 pm

You’re in luck, I’m actually writing a tutorial right now… would you like to hop on Skype for a quick
tutorial?

muahmmad tayyeb
March 9, 2013 at 1:58 pm

i like

Trevor Page
September 27, 2012 at 9:38 pm

I also just posted a quick tutorial on nested ifs, check it out here:
http://howtoprogramwithjava.com/nested-if-statements/

lyn
September 28, 2012 at 9:59 am

hi im new here.. i hope this site could help me doing a java source code.

i mean thanks for this site .

lyn
September 28, 2012 at 10:08 am

could you pls help me doing a joption pane using a dialog box,,?its like doing “year entry level”

and need to appears a freshmen,sophomore,junior,senior… its like that code? i am very anxious to find out..

thanks,

regards

Trevor Page
September 28, 2012 at 11:24 am

Hi There,

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I don’t actually have much experience with Java UI, as I feel like it’s a bit of a wasted effort to learn, as modern
Java applications these days are either Mobile Apps or Web Apps (which don’t use Java UI technologies such as
Swing/AWT)

I did write a post about Java UI where I reference some training materials here

mohammed
October 5, 2012 at 4:35 pm

I WANT TO WRTE JAVAPROGRAM , I HOPE THIS WILL HELP, I NEED MORE INFORMATION TO
RUN JAVA UNDER WINDOWS

Trevor Page
October 6, 2012 at 3:02 pm

This is a great tutorial to help you setup Java so it can run in windows.

http://howtoprogramwithjava.com/the-5-basic-concepts-of-any-programming-language-concept-5/

barkat
October 21, 2012 at 7:38 am

i want learn java&other language pleas help me

Trevor Page
October 22, 2012 at 7:19 am

That’s what this blog is all about. This will teach you Java. My eBook is also a great resource for learning
Java: http://javapdf.org.

JOSIP
November 12, 2012 at 12:53 pm

zdravo potrebna mi je java runtime na mobitelu htc hd mini,zelim je skinuti kako bih mogao gledati filmove
preko interneta,ali nikako da je skinem,pa mozete li mi pomoci ikako?

Trevor Page
November 13, 2012 at 11:59 am

I don’t actually have any experience with installing the java runtime environment on a mobile device.
The only mobile programming stuff I could point you to, is Android development resources. But as you didn’t
post in English, I can only guess at what your exact problem is. So, if you do have an android operating system
on your phone, and you’re looking to create an application to help you to watch movies on the internet, then
I’m sure you could create an application to do so on your phone using an Android app.

But again, I’m not positive on what it is you need.

jerry
November 16, 2012 at 2:21 am

The first time I downloaded your podcast and listened to it, the first thing i did upon opening my ipod was
to download all the remaining episodes and check your website as well. Keep it up Trevor! =)

Trevor Page
November 16, 2012 at 11:08 am

Happy to be of service Jerry, enjoy your learning and feel free to ask any questions here if you get stuck

Elyot
November 24, 2012 at 6:31 am

this is de best tutorial i’ve ever read. Good job

Trevor Page
November 24, 2012 at 9:44 am

Thanks Elyot, I think a lot of the other readers here would agree with you, and there’s plenty more
available here! I hope you learn tons!

mukesh
December 9, 2012 at 6:13 am

very usefull website

THANKS

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arfa
December 16, 2012 at 7:34 am

how can we run java program in program always occur error

Trevor Page
December 16, 2012 at 12:44 pm

You’ll have to re-phrase your question and be more specific, I don’t understand what you’re asking.

parast
January 4, 2013 at 4:27 pm

Hi,

I have to write a program which draw contour plot(level curves) for every f(x,y) = z but i do not know how to
determine x and y to draw the curves?

Thank in advance

Trevor Page
January 4, 2013 at 7:56 pm

Sorry, I really don’t understand what you need to accomplish, do you have more details than just that?

kazim ali korejo
January 13, 2013 at 3:48 pm

hello I,m new. so plz tell me about scop of java?

Trevor Page
January 13, 2013 at 10:03 pm

Can you elaborate a little about what you mean by the scope of Java? Do you mean, where is Java used?
If so, then Java is used in web applications, mobile phones (android and blackberry) as well as desktop
applications.

lucia
January 13, 2013 at 11:00 pm

hi… this is my first time to see or visite,, it’s nice to read coz i leard something about this topic but what i
want is example.

shital
January 16, 2013 at 4:54 am

i want the program on how to make connetion between java and database like sql or ms access with what
are setting made before actual code is wriiten. i want small snap short pictures of those setting . can you give me
small project like simple hotel management system , with different window , coding and picks of setting .

Trevor Page
January 16, 2013 at 7:42 am

I think what you’re asking for is the way to setup a database server on your computer, if that’s true then
watch this 15 minute video I made about just that topic: http://youtu.be/DQUlyZAuJww

desta
January 21, 2013 at 2:56 pm

I WANNA TO WRITE CODE IN JSP THAT CAL CULATES THE WEEKLY CLASS SCHEDULE ..

OR IN VB.NET PLEASE ………….

Trevor Page
January 21, 2013 at 6:53 pm

WHY ARE YOU YELLING AT ME!!!! AHHHHHHHH.

I really can’t help you there unless you give me some more information. “Calculates the weekly class schedule”
means nothing to me unfortuantely.

simple
January 23, 2013 at 1:27 am

hello…. i need a help…

1. I want to learn how to connect NETBEAN ant XAMPP …

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2. can u help me how to create web site….

mini
January 30, 2013 at 10:53 am

Hi

m very hapi that u hav explain it in very

easy way…n can u explain me y we use try ;

Catch; and finally block in java…..plez help me

Trevor Page
January 30, 2013 at 11:07 am

Hey Mini,

I have two resources for you to check out, one is a blog post I created that explains this concept:
howtoprogramwithjava.com/exceptions-in-java/

I also have a Podcast episode where I talk about exceptions, perhaps that is worth a listen as well:
howtoprogramwithjava.com/podcast-episode-13-exceptions/

yohima
February 3, 2013 at 12:29 pm

u hav good information please could you provide me with information about void and class methods

Trevor Page
February 5, 2013 at 10:26 am

Here’s some great information about void and Class methods in Java:
http://howtoprogramwithjava.com/what-is-a-method-in-java/

About Java
February 11, 2013 at 7:28 am

im beginner to java programming language.. awesome tutorial.. thanks for sharing..

Marilyn
February 12, 2013 at 10:48 am

Trevor – I just learned about this site listening to your interview with Pat Flynn. I’m a former college
professor (and really an “ex” programmer since I now mostly hire others to do it) who helps people commercialize
technology. And mostly I just wanted to tell you that you are, indeed, a natural at teaching! Or maybe it’s just that I
like using the same style – starting with those things that apply across disciplines. You are an inspiration on how to
set up a website for teaching. Well done!

Trevor Page
February 12, 2013 at 10:54 am

Marilyn,

I’m completely humbled by your comment. It’s one thing for me to think that I’m a decent teacher, and it’s
another to have other programming enthusiasts say that I’m a decent teacher… but it’s an entirely different
thing (in my opinion) to have a former College professor tell me I’m a natural.

My sincere thanks for taking the time to leave that comment, it means a lot to me!

Take care Marilyn

khalid almalki
February 23, 2013 at 1:23 pm

excellent site i’m really lucky man when i found this site everything is perfect

Mr.blue
March 21, 2013 at 3:24 am

could you provide us some clear example programs about data abstraction,throw and catch .

CO MME NT S ON T HIS ENT R Y A R E C LO SE D .

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