Deborah R. Fowler

Introduction to Programming

Posted Aug 29 2018 Updated May 26 2023 Updated July 22 2026 restyled
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About Programming Overview

Programming in general is a task that should be enjoyed by many/all, however due to social stigma sometimes gets a bad rap.

What is programming? Creating a solution that can be expressed in a language that a computer can follow.

Programming in essence is problem solving! This is a core strength to Visual Effects, and programming is an exercise that can build those muscles.

If you enjoy puzzles, finding solutions, and most importantly to me — seeing the results! (Computer Graphics) you are in the right place.

If you have never studied a programming language, there are an abundance of resources both video/book/documentation form.

Key Concepts VSFX 160

Key concepts that we study in VSFX 160:

  • variables — to store/put information in — not explicitly typed like C++ but implicitly ie. try type(3)
  • truth statements — to select which code to execute
  • looping — this is a concept that will make your life easier, repetition should be done by a computer, not you
  • functions — repeating chunks of code and working modularly
  • I/O — whether from console or from a file, input and output
  • lists — a way to keep information more efficiently
  • classes/objects — a way to store information that is customizable
  • OOP — structuring your programs in an object oriented way

These are general concepts and we will be using these in python to start. Once you have a solid grasp of these concepts it becomes very easy to learn any other programming language.

Disclaimer programming != math != proceduralism — these are three distinct concepts, although they play nice together, they are not the same thing!

Coding, Scripting & Programming Terminology

What is coding, scripting and programming in our context? These terms are at times used loosely and it is more of a theoretical question.

  • Coding — creating a language specific syntax to a problem solution (algorithm). A program consists of code.
    • Algorithm is a solution to a problem in a set of steps to produce an intended result
  • Program — a program is code that is complete and can be run. Programming is the process of writing programs by taking an algorithm and encoding it into a notation (programming language) so that it can be executed by a computer.
  • Scripting — smaller programs in interpreted languages like Python. Note that python is a programming language that is also used for scripting.
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