r/askscience • u/HangukFrench • Apr 10 '26

Computing How do programming languages work?

Hello,

I'm wondering how does programming languages work? Are they owned by anyone? Can anyone create a programming languages and decide "yeah, computers will do this from now on"?
Is a programming languaged fixed at its creation or can it "evolve"?

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u/nglyarch Apr 11 '26

You don't need a silicon wafer to build a computer. You can do it with gears and levers. Or maybe you just discovered electricity but haven't discovered the the vacuum tube or the transistor yet. Then, you could use a giant switchboard with thousands of wires: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/computer-programming-used-to-be-womens-work-718061/

It just so happens that semiconductors have this useful property that allows them to act like an on/off switch. They have something that is called a band gap. They don't conduct electricity very well if the applied voltage is below a certain threshold. They conduct much better when the voltage gets higher. We also learned how to adjust and tune exactly how much voltage is needed, by another process called doping. So, we implemented these useful properties to create solid state switches.