Every great journey begins with a single step, and in the world of coding, that first step is often writing a simple program that displays two famous words: “Hello, World!”
It may look simple, but this tiny line of text has a big story behind it.
What Does “Hello, World!” Mean?
“Hello, World!” is the first program most people write when learning a new programming language. Its purpose is simple — to show that your code works and that your computer is set up correctly to run programs.
It’s like a friendly handshake between you and your computer, saying, “Hey, I’m ready to create something new!”
A Bit of History
The phrase “Hello, World!” was first popularized in 1972 by Brian Kernighan, one of the creators of the C programming language. It appeared in the classic programming book The C Programming Language, which helped millions of developers start their coding journey.
Since then, this phrase has become a tradition. No matter which language you learn — Python, Java, C++, or JavaScript — the first lesson is almost always writing a “Hello, World!” program.