Common Concepts in Modern Programming Languages

Different programming languages have different features and design philosophies, but there are a few widely-used constructs and abstractions. As there can be hundreds or even thousands of programming languages at present, it is very unlikely that programming language designers just "happen to come up with the same ideas", and there must be a reason why things like variables, if-else statements and functions exist in almost every programming language.

In this section, we will take a look at some of the most broadly-applicable concepts in modern programming languages and explain the reasons behind their ubiquity.

This section contains significantly more material than others, so I have split it into multiple documents.

By going through this section, you will be introduced to the basics of writing code, and there will be a lot of mini coding labs that gets your hands dirty. Additionally, you will think about the design choices made in different programming languages by answering some questions. After learning this section, you will not only be able to code, but also gain a good understanding of why programming languages are designed in the way they are.

It is important to consult AI and the internet when learning this sections, as I will not explain things like how to install Python, how to use text editors, and so on.

Enough chatter, let's dive into the first topic: variables.