Post 1 Programming Languages

    Upon first viewing the website called Scratch, which was provided for our assignment back in Week One, I noticed a lot of unfamiliarity when examining most of the blocks and how to use the user interface (UI). I create and edit 3D models in my free time for a game using a program called Unity, and working with the blocks on the website reminded me of creating and using Booleans in Unity, which allow true and false statements that trigger certain animations when conditions are met. After experimenting with the blocks, I started the blockchain with the event blocks, enabling me to determine when a sequence of animations would play.

    The green flag, which is the start button on the Scratch website, is similar to a compiler for compiled languages. Pressing the green flag evaluates all the blocks and plays them in the order chosen by the creator, resulting in the desired outcome. This also reminded me of the interpreted programming language Python; if I take the Python practice program in section 10.1.4 of our textbook and compare it to the blocks we used on the website, each block serves as an input we select, just like in the practice tool, and it provides an output in the form of an animation.

    I find understanding languages such as Python easier than other programming languages. Compiled languages are most effective for writing code that interacts closely with hardware. Assembly languages are best when developers need to optimize hardware, such as memory. Interpreted languages are most effective for website development due to their flexibility and the ease with which changes can be applied. Query languages are primarily used in data management and retrieval because they offer tools for various types of filtering or sorting with minimal knowledge required. I believe interpreted languages are the most popular due to their common use in developing and maintaining websites.