Unit 2. Programmers

I. Read the following words:

programmer, scientist, possess, amongst, continue, subtle, occupations, algorithm, engine, innovation, corporate, certificate, licensing, varies, convert, series, purpose midrange, whereas, engineering, environment, appropriate, Java, generic, purchase, communicate, video, various, determine, directly, expert, practitioner.

II. Before you read the text try to answer these questions:

1. What are the requirements for being a programmer?

2. What specific skills should a person have to become a programmer?

3. Who was the first programmer?

III. Read and translate the following text. Programmers

A programmer is a person who writes computer software. The term «programmer» can refer to a software developer, computer scientist and software analyst. However, the representatives of these professions typically possess engineering skills, beyond programming. For this reason, the term programmer is sometimes considered to be an oversimplification of these professions. This has sparked much debate amongst developers, analysts, computer scientists and programmers who continue to be puzzled at the subtle differences in these occupations.

In the course of programming history, the name of Ada Lovelace is one of the most famous. She expressed an algorithm intended for implementation on Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine, in October 1842. The first programmers’ team was ENIAC group which consisted of Kay McNulty, Betty Jennings, Betty Snyder, Marlyn Wescoff, Fran Bilas and Ruth Lichterman.

Programmers write, test, debug and maintain the detailed instructions which the computer must follow to perform its functions. Many technical innovations in programming (advanced computing technologies, new sophisticated languages and programming tools) have redefined the role of a programmer and elevated much of tedious work.

Programmers can work in different establishments, including corporate information technology departments, big software companies and small service firms. Also, professionals work as contractors for consulting companies at client' sites. Licensing is not typically required to work as a programmer but IT specialists should have these professional certificates. Their activity depends on the type of business they are writing programs for. Simple programs can be written in several hours while programs that use complex mathematical formulas may require more than a year of work. Programs are written according to the specifications determined primarily by senior programmers and system analysts. Once the design completed, a programmer should convert it into a logical series of instructions the computer will follow. The programmer codes these instructions in one of programming languages. The choice of the language depends on the purpose of the program. COBOL, for example, is commonly used for business applications which are run on mainframes and midrange computers, whereas FORTRAN can be used in science and engineering. C++ is widely used for both scientific and business applications; Java, C# and PHP are popular programming languages for Web and business applications. Because of many languages are similar they are easy to learn. In practice, programmers are often referred to by the language they use (Java programmers), by the type of the function they perform or environment which they work in (database programmers, mainframe programmers or Web developers).

Programmers test a program by running it and looking for bugs. Once the bugs identified, the programmer makes the appropriate corrections. This process is called testing and debugging and it is an important part of a programmer's job. Updating, repairing, modifying and expanding existing programs is called maintenance.

Computer programmers are often grouped into two broad types: application programmers and systems programmers. Application programmers write programs to handle a specific job (tracking the inventory within an organization), revise existing packaged software or customize generic applications which are frequently purchased from independent software vendors. Systems programmers, in contrast, write programs to maintain and control systems software (operating systems and database management systems). These IT specialists make changes in the instructions that determine how networks, workstations and CPUs of the system handle various tasks they have been given and how they communicate with different peripheral equipment.

Software development companies’ programmers may work directly with experts in various fields to create software ranging from computer and video games to educational software, programs for desktop publishing and financial planning. In small organizations program analysts are responsible for both systems analysis and actual programming work.

A webmaster or a web developer, is a person responsible not only for developing, marketing and maintaining a website, but also managing and administrating it. Webmasters ensure that the web servers, hardware and software operate properly, design the website, generate and revise web pages and reply users’ comments. Webmasters are practitioners of web communication, thus they know scripting languages, such as PHP, Perl and Java script. They should know how to configure web servers and work as a server administrator.

A system administrator or «sysadmin», is a person hired by a company to maintain and operate computer systems and networks. System administrators usually deal with installing, supporting and maintaining servers or other computer systems. Other duties may include scripting or light programming, supervising and training computer operators. System administrator must demonstrate technical skills and responsibility. It is not usually within their duties to design or write new applications software. However, sysadmins must understand the behaviour of software in order to deploy it and troubleshoot problems and generally know several programming languages used for scripting.

IV. Answer the following questions:

1. What is a programmer?

2. In what areas can programmers work?

3. What programming languages are mentioned in the text?

4. How can a program be tested?

5. What are duties of a system administrator?

6. What are the responsibilities of a webmaster?

7. What scripting languages should a webmaster know?

V. Decide whether the following statements are true or false. It they are false, correct them.

1. The first programming team was ENIAC group.

2. Many technical innovations in programming have not redefined the role of a programmer.

3. Applications programmers write programs to handle a specific job.

4. A webmaster is a person responsible only for developing and maintaining a website.

5. COBOL is commonly used for business applications.

VI. Which words in the text have the same meaning as:

can be applied, keep on, aimed at, crew, operate, needed, rely on, aim, ought to, for instance, wide, search, simple.

VII. Choose the correct word:

1. Most people can easily learn a _____ language and become programmers.

a)debugging b)programming c)binary

2. You can use a mouse or keyboard to _____ data into the computer.

a)output b)input c)process

3. Some children _____very badly when they can not have something they want.

a)process b)solve c)behave

4. Computers _____ programming language into machine language.

a)use b)develop c)translate

5. A computer can _____ large amounts of data at very high speeds.

a)process b)result c)complete

6. _____ is any result a computer displays on a screen or prints by means of a printer.

a)input b)errors c)output

VIII. Define the following terms:

programmer, software, analyst, debug, code, instruction, mainframe, bug, update, modify, network, webpage, maintenance, output.

IX. What do the following abbreviations stand for?

COBOL, FPRTRAN, PHP, IT, CPU, PC, DBMS.

X. Choose an area of IT that you are interested in and write 10-15 sentences about it.