_{thus said The Master Programmer: without the wind, the grass does not move. Without software, hardware is useless.}

Something mysterious is formed, born in the emptiness of silence. Waiting alone and motionless, he is at the same time standing still and still in constant motion. He is the source of all programs. I don't know your name, so I'll call it The Tao of programming.

The Programmer dreams of Tao, and by language his dreams win way.

Your Hands bind the Tao, and by IDE your dreams flow into the machine.

At the heart of the machine, the compiler turns the language into discrete instructions.

The instructions control the rivers of information that escape, fast and flowing, through the data buses and beyond.

If the Tao is grandiose, then the application is grandiose. If the application is grandiose, then the user is pleased. If the user is pleased, the administrator is satisfied, and there is harmony in the world.

The Tao of the schedule flows away and returns in the morning wind.

Sources: 1, 2

The programming language is a set of words and symbols that combined create instructions that are executed by a device(computer, mobile, etc.), basically the language defines the rules(syntax) of how instructions should be assembled.

Compiler / parser is responsible for reading an entry( language code in pure text), detecting all symbols and / or keywords this process is known as lexical analysis, once done the next step is check if the symbols respect the grammar of the language, in case there is no problem the code can be interpreted or an artifact will be generated (file with the instructions converted to machine language).

The IDE is a tool, for editing source code of certain programming language the main features are syntax highlight, auto complement of language instructions. The IDE makes the tip to connect programming language with the compiler / interpreter, an example where this is very evident would be, use C/C++ on windows, the language would be C / C++, the compiler is usually gcc(through cwyng) and IDE eclipse or codeblocks.

In practical and simple terms, it follows:

• programming language is for computing just as language is for humans - it has words, syntax, spelling, etc.
• compiler is a tool that turns your cute code into machine language 00100111010101...
• IDE is like an advanced notepad; it will indicate syntax errors, color your code like a lego to make it easier for you to identify the pieces, it offers project file management and a number of cool features that are worth mentioning when you start using.

A programming language is a standardized method for communicating instructions to a computer. It is a set of syntactic and semantic rules used to define a computer program. It allows a programmer to specify precisely what data a computer will act on, how this data will be stored or transmitted, and what actions should be taken under various circumstances. Ex: C#, VB, Java, Python and etc.

IDE: IDE Integrated Development Environment or Integrated Development Environment, is a computer program that brings together features and tools to support software development in order to streamline this process. We have as an example Visual Studio for .NET, Eclipse and Netbeans for Java and etc.

A compiler is a computer program (or a group of programs) that, from source code written in a compiled language, creates a semantically equivalent but written program in another language, object code. Classically, a compiler translates a program from a textual language easily understood by a human to a machine language, specific to a processor and operating system. Nowadays, however, compilers are common that generate code for a virtual machine that is then interpreted by an interpreter.

It is worth noting that some programming languages do not have a compiler, that is, they are interpreted in time of execution.

IDE

IDE, from the English Integrated Development Environment or Integrated Development Environment, is a computer program, which when installed on your machine, offers various features that help the developer in his programming task. There are paid IDE and open source IDE. No IDE is required to develop a system, just a simple notepad is enough, as it is enough to type the words consistent with the programming language and the system he'll be here soon.

PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE

The programming language(LP) is composed of its own syntax and semantics (formed by rules with letters, digits and symbols endowed with meaning) and a restricted set of norms and aims to give instructions to a machine. They are languages that help programmers write programs more easily and quickly.

Syntax is responsible for defining how programs can assist in conflict resolution within the computer. In addition, they perform other functions such as providing security, translating languages, working on communication and creating files.

Compiler

A compiler is a special program that processes statements written in a specific programming language and turns them into machine language or "code". Typically, a programmer writes language statements in a programming language, one line at a time using a text editor or IDE. When running the compiler first parses all language statements syntactically line after line and then constructs the output code, making sure that statements that refer to other statements are referred to correctly in the final code.

Taking into account that the target are newbies (as well observed by @Eduardo Seixas), try to abstract the following concepts:

What is programming language?

Something like a language used by programmers to communicate with a machine.

What is IDE?

Something like a Medium used by programmers to communicate with a machine.

What is compiler?

Something like a dictionary used by programmers to communicate with a machine.

Summarizing :

To be a program boy it is necessary to communicate with the machine (programming language and IDE), for this communication to occur there can be no errors (compiler), it is all black on white and there is no room for right medium (0 and 1).

To understand, let's make an analogy with Portuguese.

In order to communicate with each other in SOpt we use written Portuguese. In Portuguese (as in any other language), there are two very important concepts, which are also applied in programming languages, they are: syntax and semantics.

Basically, syntax is related to The Shape of words. By "Ezemplo": "there are several program languagesare. Which one to choose?".

The above error is easily identified and this is a syntax error. "Ezemplo", "linguajens" and "programassão" are words that do not exist in the Portuguese language.

In a programming language such as Java, the syntax consists of several words, such as if, else, class, while , etc.

Semantics define meaning. It is semantics that gives understanding when you put the words together. Examples:

Tomorrow at park I go. I'm going to the park tomorrow. I'm going to the park tomorrow. I'm going to the park tomorrow.

All these phrases make sense to you, as your brain performs an interpretation process and can understand the meaning.

In Java, some example sentences are:

if (a > 10) {
   System.out.println("a é maior do que 10");     
}

However, if we write the same way:

System.out.println("a é maior do que 10") if (a > 10);

This obviously won't work.

This happens because a programming language will not be translated into machine code by the being human, this will be done by a compiler .

Therefore, a compiler is software that receives as input a text written in a programming language and translates it into another language, commonly called a machine language (the famous Assembly). This is the language that the processor "understands".

For the compilation process to occur without errors, it is necessary to have very well defined rules for syntax and semantics. Therefore, many people suffer from C when one learns to program, since many rules must be followed, such as"; " at the end, open and close keys, etc.

The wrong words and phrases in Portuguese that I wrote above were correctly interpreted, because our brain is much more flexible and adaptable, thus, accepts various errors of syntax and semantics. Anyway, we are beings who have intelligence, after all, who created the compilers? :- ) Already a compiler not, it is extremely rigid and if we do not follow its rules, we won't be able to use it.

IDEs, in turn, are software that makes the programming process smoother, since they can not only identify errors before the compilation process, but also give tips for certain constructions to be made in different ways. Important: an IDE is not essential for us to be able to program. It is perfectly possible to program in C, Java, C#, etc, using any text editor and then call the compiler by passing these files so that they are compiled.

However, IDEs are widely used, as they allow the programmer to focus on solving the problem, on the business itself. The IDE takes care of helping you identify errors and automates many tasks, such as the build process itself. Hardly anyone program without IDE nowadays, because programming has become something very complex, with several layers, several languages, several concepts and aspects distinct.

Personally, I think IDEs are key in day-to-day life, but not for beginners. For beginners IDEs are harmful. I say that, because IDEs make everything look magical. It's so automated that a beginner can't see the complexity behind an IDE. And, who is starting to program, must be exposed to the exact opposite, that is, must program using a text editor and the compiler, to understand in the flesh that not there is magic in computing.

I liked this topic.

In summary:

Programming language: it is the set of rules and conventions that one must follow to write code that will be translated into machine language.

Compiler: is the software that transforms code written in programming language to machine language.

IDE: is a text editor with extra features that help programmers write code correctly and efficiently. Among the features of the most sophisticated IDEs are: indicate typos in real time so that they are easily corrected, autocomplete during typing, hold key and click parts of the code to navigate between different portions of it and between files, debug code advancing line by line, etc.

Relationship between programming language, IDE and compiler:

The programmer writes the code using the programming language in the IDE, this by its instead calls the compiler that turns the code into machine language.

I will add the explanation of some other terms that are also very much asked by beginners:

Weakly typed language:

Are the languages in which the programmer can create variables without previously specifying the type of data that will be stored in them. PHP is a good example of weakly typed language because when creating a variable it is not necessary to define its type, although initializing it with an appropriate value, even if it is not necessary, can be seen as good practice. The interpreter specifies the type based on the contents of the variable. Ex: $variavelstring = ""; $variavelinteiro=0; Note1: the type of the variable changes every time the content changes its type. Note2: saying that the language is "weakly typed" not is the same as saying that the language "has no typing". This second statement is a common mistake that should not be made.

Strongly language typed:

Are the languages in which you need to specify the type of all variables in your declaration. Variables do not need to be initialized immediately, but the definition of their type is required in their declaration. The type of the variables is immutable. As an example of strongly typed language we have Java. Ex: String variavelstring = "Teste"; int numero = 1; Meuobjeto obj;

Note: A common mistake made by java novices is the NullPointerException. This occurs when you try to manipulate an object that does not it has been initialized yet.

Wrong: Meuobjeto obj; obj.toString(); - > NullPointerException.

Right: Meuobjeto obj = new Meuobjeto(); obj.toString();

Interpreted language vs compiled language:

Interpreted language is one that code does not go through compilation and are called scripting language. Ex: Javascript, PHP. Compiled language is one in which code goes through the compilation process, that is, it is transformed into machine code.

Java is interpreted or compiled?

That's a good question. Java is a compiled language, but its code is not compiled for machine code but rather for bytecodes which are interpreted by the JVM (Java Virtual Machine), the java virtual Machine, which is software responsible for executing commands compiled for bytecodes.