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What Is Programming//Hacking? What's The Hype About? How Can One Get Started With Programming/Hacking? (#84)

 



What Is Programming? What Is Hacking? What's the Hype About?

In recent years of rapid digital development, programming has become one of the most in-demand skills out there — similar to how digital marketing has grown in popularity as the world shifts increasingly online.

Here's what we'll cover:

  1. What is programming and hacking, and how do they differ?
  2. How can you get started with programming?
  3. What's the hype actually about?
  4. The different types of hackers

What Is Programming? What Is Hacking? How Do They Differ?

Computer programming is the act of instructing a computer to perform a task, communicated through programming languages — essentially, the computer's own set of "languages."

Hacking, in its broadest sense, means gaining unauthorized access to a computer, account, or system — cracking a password, breaking into someone's device, and so on. To be clear: doing this without someone's consent is illegal, and this article doesn't support or encourage violating anyone's privacy or breaking the law.

The key distinction: programming and hacking are not the same thing. Writing and building an app is programming — it's not hacking. Hacking specifically refers to breaking into systems, which is a different (and, done without authorization, illegal) activity.

Worth knowing: not all hacking is malicious. Skilled hackers who use their abilities to protect systems — finding and fixing vulnerabilities before bad actors can exploit them — are known as White Hat Hackers, and this work is both legal and in high demand within cybersecurity.

Getting started with hacking (ethically) still requires the same foundation as programming — you'll need to learn programming languages and core computer science fundamentals first.

How Can You Get Started With Programming?

A few foundational areas worth focusing on:

1. Basic computer knowledge. Familiarity with command-line basics, general networking concepts, and how computers work at a fundamental level.

2. Operating systems. Learn to install and configure them. If cybersecurity interests you specifically, getting comfortable with Linux is genuinely valuable, since it's widely used in that space.

3. Programming languages. This is the core skill. Python is one of the most popular and beginner-friendly languages to start with.

A more accurate breakdown of language types:

  • Compiled languages (like C, C++) are translated into machine code before the program runs.
  • Interpreted languages (like Python, JavaScript, R) are executed line-by-line at runtime by an interpreter, without a separate compilation step.
  • Java is a bit of a hybrid — it's compiled into an intermediate form called bytecode, which then runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), combining elements of both approaches.
  • "Scripting languages" is an informal term often used for certain interpreted languages (like JavaScript or Python) commonly used for automating tasks or adding interactivity to a website.
  • CSS, by contrast, isn't a programming or scripting language at all — it's a styling language, used to control how a webpage looks (layout, colors, fonts), with no computational logic of its own.
  • HTML is a markup language, used to structure the actual content of a webpage — also not a programming language in the traditional sense.

Focus on learning one language well before branching out to others. Nearly everything you need to learn programming today is available for free — YouTube, dedicated courses, and community resources are all solid starting points. Two channels worth checking out: NetworkChuck and freeCodeCamp.org, both well-regarded for beginner-friendly content, including free introductory courses on Linux.

Bonus tip: keep Stack Overflow and GitHub handy — both are genuinely essential resources once you start writing real code.

Once you've got a language down, focus on building your coding logic — practice by building small, beginner-friendly projects, and really try to understand why things work, not just that they work.

Fair warning: learning to code is genuinely difficult at first, and errors are a constant, normal part of the process — that's true for every programmer, not just beginners. Push through the early frustration; it does get easier.

What's the Hype About?

Much like digital marketing, this boils down to the world's rapid shift from offline to online. That shift means a growing need for programmers to build new apps and software, and for cybersecurity professionals (often White Hat Hackers) to protect user data and fix vulnerabilities. Companies pay well for these skills, precisely because the demand is real and growing.

Types of Hackers

There are three broadly recognized categories:

1. White Hat Hackers

Hackers who find and fix security vulnerabilities to protect systems and data from malicious actors. This work is legal, provided it's done with proper authorization (and unethical/unauthorized use of these skills, even by a "white hat," is still illegal).

2. Grey Hat Hackers

Hackers who don't necessarily have malicious intent, but still access systems without proper authorization — sometimes just out of curiosity. Even without harmful intent, this is still illegal, and can carry real legal consequences.

3. Black Hat Hackers

Hackers who break into systems with clear malicious intent — stealing data, financial information, or causing damage. This is unambiguously illegal, and White Hat Hackers' core job is largely about defending against exactly this kind of activity.

Hopefully this gives you a clear, accurate starting point on what programming and hacking actually involve, and how to get started the right way. Thanks for reading.

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