Coding is another name for programming and refers to the process of writing instructions in a programming language for a computer to process. Syntaxes are the rules and structures followed in coding and are specific to every programming language (Devmountain, 2018). It gives meaning to the words, numbers, and symbols written in the code. The computer uses a language’s syntax to understand code and execute it.
In the same way that human languages have grammatical rules, syntax is similar to a set of grammatical rules for the programming language (Devmountain, 2018). Writing symbols, characters, and words on a file and in the proper syntax is called coding. Although humans can recognize grammar errors or typos and correct them to understand the message, the computer cannot (Devmountain, 2018). Therefore, the syntax should always be exact to enable the processing of the coded information.
I selected python language for the CodeCombat game because it is relatively popular. When I started coding, I found it to be easier than other languages I have encountered before. The CodeCombat game is an exciting way of learning syntax as players have to write code into the exact structure to complete a level. Python has few symbols and characters, making syntactic errors fewer than in Java and C++.
The basic syntax rules I learned include the order of lines followed during code execution; each line requires a specific ending method or symbol, spaces are part of python’s syntax, and syntax errors prevent the execution of code. At my highest level, called fire dancing, I encountered a syntax error related to parenthesis mismatch. The code used a while-true loop to move the hero left and right on the screen. Since I did not identify the mismatched parenthesis, I was unable to proceed with the game. I could not solve this level due to a parenthesis mismatch error that I could not identify in the code below.
Reference
Devmountain. (2018). What is syntax in computer programming? [Video]. Web.