Programming VS Coding VS Development

Programming VS Coding VS Development – What's the Difference?
What is Programming?
Programming is logic. Programming is thinking. Programming is making decisions, or
telling the computer what decisions to make under different circumstances. Once
you've clicked the red button, you can program a computer/browser to access data
and make a network request.
Here is a grossly simplified example of a program:

If an email supplied by a user isn’t following the conventional format (i.e it misses the ‘@’
and ‘.com’), display an error message. Else, take the email and check if it already exists in
the database. If it already exists, display a customized message to the user. Else, store the
email in the database and display a success message.
This is simple logic and has nothing to do with code (yet). Of course, the more
complex the application, the more thinking you need to do.
Programming makes use of your critical thinking skills and ability to solve logical
problems. It all about thinking up and creating the network of possible decisions a
computer or browser should make (also known as algorithms).
In fact, you can do programming in English because it has nothing to do with any
particular language.
If coding is the act of writing instructions for a computer to follow, what then is
programming?
Many developers view programming as a more advanced term than coding, and a lot
of others use both words interchangeably.
Programming still involves writing instructions for the computer to follow, but now
data structures and algorithms are important. Some coding languages such as
HTML, CSS, and Markdown don't use algorithms and data structures, while others
such as JavaScript, Python, Java, and C++ use them heavily.
This brings up a distinction that many developers make. In the web development
industry, many developers don't consider HTML to be a "programming language" in
a strict sense, because it doesn't perform any logic. It just determines the structure of
a website.
On the other hand, languages like JavaScript, Python, C++, and Java, are all
"official" programming languages because they handle complex functionalities and
interactivity.
Some developers refer to anyone who codes in just HTML and CSS as a coder, and
those who code in JavaScript, Java, C++, and other programming languages as
programmers.
So you could say that all programmers are coders, but not all coders are
programmers. But not everyone feels this way, so it's important to do your own
research and learn the skills before you take a side :)
This brings us to the second term: coding.
What is Coding?
I will call coding a subset of programming. Coding encompasses the following topics
and activities:
 Programming languages
 A language's syntax and how it differs from other language's syntax
 Code arrangement
 Code optimization
 Debugging
 Writing and running tests
 Creating and using libraries and frameworks
And so on.
‘ You can be a programmer without being a coder, but you cannot be a coder without
being a programmer. ‘
While a programmer simply has to think and build a logical framework of decisions
for the application, a coder has to implement that logic with a particular programming
language in a standard, efficient way.
A coder has to become familiar with code syntax and be up-to-date with newer and
recommend ways of writing code.
A coder has to be good at technical tasks like testing, debugging, and so on.
Code is simply the language a machine understands. To implement an application,

you have to take the set of instructions created by a programmer and make it
understandable by the machine. That is the act of coding.
Using the same example of email validation and storage, let's implement that logic in
JavaScript code:
Now we have coded that programming logic for a web browser to execute.
In other words, we have programmed the browser engine to make decisions. This
wouldn't have been possible without writing code.
Not all types of code can be used to code programs/instructions. An example of such
code is HTML.
Conclusion
Programming is all about conceiving a network of logical patterns that defines
the behaviour of your application.
Coding involves implementing the set of instructions in a form that a machine
understands and in a way that is optimal.
Development is about delivering a proper product and maintaining it.
Development encompasses the processes of creating a complete package to
the pleasure and satisfaction of end users.
What is Software Development?
So now you might be wondering, what is software development? According
to Wikipedia, software development is:
"the process of conceiving, specifying, designing, programming, documenting,
testing, and bug fixing involved in creating and maintaining applications, frameworks,
or other software components.
Software development is a process of writing and maintaining the source code, but in
a broader sense, it includes all that is involved between the conception of the desired
software through to the final manifestation of the software, sometimes in a planned
and structured process.
Therefore, software development may include research, new development,
prototyping, modification, reuse, re-engineering, maintenance, or any other activities
that result in software products."
As you can see from the above extensive definition, development is bigger than just
programming and coding. It’s all about creating a solution to a real life problem by
building an application which solves that problem, maintaining that application,
marketing it, researching mays to optimize it, and so on.
Development has to take into consideration the end user, DevOps (a portmanteau of
“development” and “operations”), team management, and many other things.
A developer analyzes everything that is required to create a proposed application

and also oversees that development process.
A great example of a software developer would be a technical startup founder. They

conceive an application as a software product which will be a valuable service to
people in real life. They undertake the process of bringing that conception to life,
including the actual programming and coding of the application. Then they oversee
the maintenance of the application. They might even fund research to improve the
performance and efficiency of their company's service and so on. Development is the
full package.

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Programming VS Coding VS Development – What's the Difference?

Here is a grossly simplified example of a program:

This brings us to the second term: coding.

Code is simply the language a machine understands. To implement an application,

A developer analyzes everything that is required to create a proposed application

A great example of a software developer would be a technical startup founder. They

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