Programming is everywhere! It is in our websites, our apps and programs we use, and even the operating systems our machines run on! But what is programming exactly?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Programming<\/span><\/i> is a language for computers, it is a set of phrases and syntaxes and rules put together to give an instruction on how a computer\/program operates. Like instructions on how to do quite literally, <\/span>everything<\/span><\/i>! And like the many languages we have here on the planet, there is a myriad of programming languages<\/strong><\/em><\/a> used for many different purposes.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n JUMP TO: History |<\/a> Programming in the Makerspace <\/a>| Where do I Start?<\/a> | Further Exploration<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The earliest known \u201cautomation\u201d can be traced back to Hero of Alexandria, a mathematician who invested a rudimentary vending machine for temples to disperse water, as well as some automatons. Many of these were simple and more analog, powered by gears and pulleys and using physics rather than computational logic.<\/span> (The Greeks were the first on record to study pneumatics!)<\/p>\n\n\n An illustration of one of Hero’s vending machines by Bennet Woodcroft from his book, The Pneumatics of Hero of Alexandria<\/em>, now in Public Domain.<\/small><\/p>\n\n\n\n Automatons have been made in the centuries following, mostly made as entertainment for those who could afford it, curiosities rather than practical devices, like t<\/a><\/strong><\/span>his automaton monk<\/strong><\/a> (built by a watch maker) was made in 1560<\/em>! And this Dulcimer player<\/strong><\/a> (made in 1784 for Marie Antoinette) can play 8 different songs! Or one of the most famous automatons, The Silver Swan, was made in 1773.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHistory<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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