Kate Shoup - Coding Careers in the Military

Lots of computer coders work for the military.

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All About Military Coding Jobs

A computer coderalso called a computer programmer or a software developeris someone who designs and builds computer programs to follow a certain set of tasks. Today there are millions of computer programs designed to do all sorts of things. Another word for computer program is software. Computer coding used to be a special skill that few people knew how to do. Today it is as important to learn as reading, writing, or math.

HOW COMPUTER PROGRAMS ARE BUILT

Until the 1970s, computer coders used thick pieces of paper called punch cards to build computer programs. First the coder wrote out the programs data and instructions. Then, for each piece of data or program instruction, the coder punched a set pattern of holes into a punch card. A program might require hundreds or even thousands of these cards in order for it to work. The complete set of cards for a program was called the source deck.

After the coder completed the source deck for a program, it was fed into a special machine called a compiler. The compiler translated the data and program instructions into a special language that a computer could read. This is called machine language. The result was a new stack of cards with holes punched through them. This was called the program deck. This was the actual program. To perform the task that the program was built to complete, a computer operator inserted the program deck into a computer, which processed the cards.

Coders write computer code by typing programming commands into a text file. This is an example of computer code.

Today, coders no longer use punch cards to build programs, but many of the ideas and terms that helped create the first computer programs are still used. Programmers use one of several programming languages to type program instructions into a computer text file. These instructions are called the source code. Next, coders run their source code through a special computer program called a compiler. As with the compiler machines of old, modern compilers translate the source code into a machine language that a computer can read, called object code. (Some source code is designed to skip this step. This code is said to be interpreted.) This object code consists of a series of zeroes and ones, whose order dictates how the program will behave.

There are thousands of programming languages, each with their own characteristics. Some of these are called lowlevel languages. Low-level languages are similar to machine language. As such, these languages are harder for humans to read and learn. Other languages are called high-level languages. High-level languages have a set structure and often use words found in human languages. They might also automate certain programming functions. This makes them easier to learn and use.

Grace Hopper: Computer Pioneer

Here, Grace Hopper writes a program on punch tape, which will then be fed into a calculating machine.

A US Navy officer named Grace Hopper invented the first computer language in 1953. The language was called Common Business-Or iented Language (COBOL). It was more similar to English than the machine language used by computers. This made it easier for computer coders to learn. Hopper also came up with the term bug after a moth got sucked into a computer she was working on and caused the system to crash.

Hopper was born in 1906 in New York City. In 1934, she earned a PhD in mathematics from Yale University. She taught mathematics at Vassar College. During World War II, Hopper joined the US Navy Reserves. She was assigned the role of computer programmer and learned how to code.

After the war, Hopper continued to serve in the Navy Reserves. She also accepted a job at a computer company called the Eckert-Mauchly Computer Corporation (EMCC). In those days, computers didnt look like they do now. They took up whole rooms! While working at EMCC, Hopper invented COBOL. She also helped build the first computer available for sale to the public. It was called the UNIVAC I.

Hopper retired from the Navy Reserves in 1946. However, the Navy recalled her to active duty the next year. Hopper remained in the Navy until 1986. She achieved the rank of rear admiral. After Hoppers death in 1992, the US Navy named a ship after her: the USS Hopper. Hopper also received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Hopper was a real computer pioneer!

Programming languages have other characteristics. Some are general-purpose, while others are meant for a specific use; some are imperative (that is, containing a sequence of specific operations to perform in order to gain a desired outcome), while some are declarative (meaning they specify the desired result but not the steps needed to achieve it); and so on.