bismillah into programable devices

alex: where did we leave off? i taught you what the term coding means, right?

yusuf: sure, why not put it like that.

alex: while there is still a lot to learn, how about we go step by step and not make it too hard for me to enter the world of coding. you know what i am asking myself?

yusuf: actually, nobody in the world cares about what you thought, what you are thinking, and what you will think. i am still wondering why you do not understand this very simple fact?

alex: i was asking myself, let’s say, one day i will inshallah be able to code. then, what can i use it for? and yusuf, stop it right there. i do not want you to answer that question directly. i do not mean my future, making money, and all that stuff. i mean, which devices can i use to inject my code into?

yusuf: you injecting code into a machine? no, no, you misunderstood something here. you cannot inject any code into any machine. but yes, in general, there are quite a few devices out there that humans could run code on.

alex: do you want a kiss from my shoe?

yusuf: is this your way of telling me that you get rejected by all the females you try to approach? you learned that statement through this experience. is it still hard for you when females tell you, alex, you would be better off with their shoes?

alex and yusuf watch each other and start to laugh

yusuf: about which devices do you already know that you can let them execute your code?

alex: from our last conversation i at least know that i can write code on my pc and it will do my desired stuff.

yusuf: keep your desires to yourself, and yes. usually, when people say the word pc, they are referring to windows. i really dislike windows.

alex: what are the alternatives? ahh, sure, apple’s mac.

yusuf: i also do not like the company apple. besides windows and apple, there is also my favorite, linux. maybe you have seen a penguin in the context of operating systems.

alex: so things like windows are called operating systems. wait, my apple mobile phone has an app store. your stupid android mobile phone also has an app store.

yusuf: in our world of android, we call it playstore. we call it like that because of the fun we have with it.

alex: so we have laptops, mobile phones, yes, sure, tablets, and what more?

yusuf: your stupid apple watch you are wearing. it also has apps, which are nothing else than some lines of code.

alex: so smartwatches in general. oh yes, one more thing, xbox and playstation. these consoles are also just code running, right?

yusuf: true, all these game consoles have their own operating system, and in order to show these images, they are running some code. the input through consoles, getting grass to move, hearing sound effects, and you name it - it is all managed through some underlying lines of code.

alex: impressive. can you think of any more?

javed: now at this time alex and yusuf were at home by yusuf. yusuf started to talk to his smart listener

yusuf: hey, president, alex is here. please make a joke about him.

alex: no jokes about me. president, make jokes about the living joke, yusuf. this device of yours, isn’t that also coded up?

yusuf: yes, it also has its own operating system, its hardware components, and the software does a lot of the magic. by the way, software is just another term for code.

alex: so, smart home devices like amazon echo, google home, and some other less known devices can also be coded.

yusuf: ahh, have you heard about raspberry pi?

alex: no, should i have heard about it?

yusuf: it is a mini pc. it does not have much power, but still, you can do a lot of things with it. for example, you can connect some lamps to it and then make them shine.

alex: lamps?

yusuf: lamps in this case stands for one electronic gadget. you can connect it with a lot of sensors and then control them. camera, temperature measurement, moisture measurement, and so on.

alex: i see, maybe i can get access to it from my home and get it connect to a loudspeaker here in your room. then, when you are sleeping, i could turn it on at max volume.

yusuf: yes, this is one example of what you actually could do with this raspberry pi. however, usually people with working brains use raspberry pis and thus they would not come to such stupid ideas.

alex: the smart tv in my room also has its own app store.

yusuf: yes, all code. moving robot arms, other moving robots, drones, and also cars. they have a lot of code in them. or let me put it this way, a lot of these things have hardware that needs software to fulfill some functionalities. these functionalities are given through code.

mashallah, let’s recap

alex: yusuf, i know you like to recap, but can i do it?

yusuf: everybody else could do it, i do not think you can do it. but please, feel free to try.

alex: already in 2024, the number of devices that have software, that is, lines of code in them, is impressive. whether it be a tv, a smart fridge, a machine used for building construction purposes, machines used for mobility like cars, or the obvious devices like a pc or a smartphone, the list of codable devices is quite long.

yusuf: it seems like i was wrong and you indeed could give a proper summary. anyhow, because of what you said, it would really be a tragedy not to know at least some bits about coding, right?

alex: you are never right. but yes, i think i inshallah should really put some effort into understanding more about tech.