It’s here, it’s there, it’s everywhere: Coding is all around you!

Well hey there, coders and parents! Here at The Code Zone, we love nothing more than giving you all a glimpse into just how important learning how to code is – other than maybe playing video games! And so today, we’re going to be talking about the ways that coding sneaks its way into things we use every day, to really get an idea of how much we rely on it. Prepare to have your mind boggled, baffled, and I dare say even bamboozled, as we pull back the curtain on everyday coding!

Let’s take a walk through the house on your average Monday morning in October. The days are getting longer, and so after you draw back the curtains you’ll probably still need to turn on the lights – so you walk over to the light switch, flick it, and BAM! You’ve just used coding.

Wait – what? A light switch uses coding?

Well… sort of. Although there’s no computer inside every switch in your house, a light switch – or a switch of any kind – demonstrates a key idea that forms the basis of all coding. It’s simple, and you use it in all sorts of things… why, it’s On and Off, of course! In coding, this is called ‘Boolean Logic’ and we often replace the words On and Off with ‘True’ and ‘False’. A lightbulb is the perfect way of demonstrating this idea: when you turn it on, it’s True, and when you turn it off, it’s False. And a light switch is just a way of changing it from one to the other! Not only that, but True-False logic is how Binary code works too (the code that looks like ones and zeros) – just replace True and False with 1 and 0! Who would have thought the foundations of coding could be found in a simple light switch?!

Well, that was probably a fluke, right?

Let’s continue our journey. Let’s go downstairs, open up the fridge to grab some milk for your cereal and… you’ve used coding again. That’s right, there’s coding in your fridge! Unfortunately, it’s not edible, and is instead hidden inside the machine and working to ensure that everything stays nice and cool. Of course, if you’re super lucky you may even own a Smart Fridge, which in fact probably has a small honest-to-goodness computer in it! But if you don’t, you’re still benefitting from coding (unless your fridge is REALLY old) – though in this case, it comes in the form of something called an ‘embedded system’ which is designed to be hidden away and perform the same code all the time, with little variation. In the case of a fridge, the embedded system monitors the temperature at all times, and using lines of code it sends out very basic signals to the mechanical parts of the fridge, that adjust to keep the inside cold. Cool!

Fine, I suppose there’s coding in the fridge… and so let’s put the milk back and instead have some toast! Haha, I bet you weren’t expecting that- wait, what do you mean there’s coding in the toaster?!

That’s right – in the modern day even the simple toaster has code in it! Again it takes the form of an embedded system, though like before there’s a fair chance your toaster is a bit more modern and perhaps has a couple of settings for different types of bread or different lengths of toasting. Well, the toast fairy isn’t making that happen – it’s coding! Inside the toaster, there is a device that is coded to detect which buttons you press and how long you set it to run for. The code in simple terms would look a bit like this: ‘Check which button is pressed. If ‘Brown Bread’ is pressed, check how many seconds Brown Bread needs, then toast for that long. But if ‘White Bread’ is pressed, toast it for however long White Bread needs.’ – The system would also send signals to turn the toaster on and off when needed, just like the light switch from earlier. It’s very simple, but it’s vital! I’m sure anyone who has tried to eat burnt toast will agree…

This is starting to get ridiculous. I’m assuming I can’t wash my clothes in the washing machine without coding too!

Sorry, you can’t! A washing machine, like all appliances in the modern age, tends to have settings, which all have to be connected to specialist computers that through coding allow the machine to function in different ways. In fact, the bigger the machine, the more complex and computer-like they get; a washing machine has a decent chance of being coded with the C++ language (which is used all the time in programming), or in the case of really smart ones, even Python (which is the language our members learn in their Modders clubs!!!).

Grrr… I need to watch some TV to get all this coding out of my head.

You’re not going to like what I’m about to tell you…

AHH! Well then I’m going to get dressed. If you’re such a smarty pants, tell me how putting on clothes involves coding!

Well, you’re right, that really has nothing to do with coding. But how did you buy those clothes?

With my card, at a till in the shops of course! Wait…

Yep! That credit card and those tills would be useless if someone hadn’t coded them to work correctly. Even if you lived your life completely separate to the programming industry and learning code, you’d still rely on it in practically every aspect of your life!

And that’s why it’s so incredibly important for children to learn coding – if they can understand how it works, they have a distinct advantage over all those around them in countless fields and areas of life, and can solve problems that others can’t. It’s like being able to see through walls, to understand the mechanisms hidden inside the devices we rely on, and that are all around us. We’re passionate about teaching in a fun and understandable way the concepts your children need to thrive in the future – so next time you open up the fridge, maybe it’ll remind you to hop onto The Code Zone after breakfast and get coding!!

Take care, and we’ll see you guys next time!