Application programming is a good place to start programming if you like to create substantial programs. For example, you could create a simple game app. Application programming is more difficult at first, but it can be much more powerful in the right hands. While web development knowledge can only be used to create programs that run in the web browser, applications run directly on the computer. Also, mobile development (which will be discussed later) is closely related to application programming. Many of the same techniques apply, you just need to know slightly different libraries.

However, there are drawbacks, mainly in the level of difficulty. Web development has a much lower learning curve. You can start building websites very quickly. However, the same cannot be said for application programming. Even a simple game requires a lot of knowledge. For example, a game may require OpenGL to draw the game’s graphics on the screen. To do that, you need knowledge of the OpenGL library and how it works. You will need to integrate the graphics part of your game with the game mechanics code. In-game sound integration is another library. And the 3D graphics get even more complex.

However, this is not to say that all application programming is extremely difficult. The apps are written for a variety of fields other than gaming. However, instead of thinking in graphs, you generally need to know about algorithms and data structures. A checkbook application would need a database to store the accounts and transactions, for example. A text editor needs to work with files and different content encodings.

If you want to code mobile apps, learning app programming is a great place to start. The two main mobile platforms are iOS and Android. iOS uses a programming language called Objective-C, which is related to C++. Android uses the Java language. Both C++ and Java are important and closely related programming languages ​​used to build apps, so learning how to program apps will give you a huge head start if you want to get started working on mobile devices. And it’s not just the libraries, but the methods that are similar. While web development is oriented around the web browser, mobile development is built for what is essentially a stripped down computer.

In general, application programming can be difficult at times, but it’s very rewarding when you can see the program you coded on your own. Once you understand computer science concepts, you can create almost anything.