A frequent complaint of those whose knowledge of IT is limited is that there seems to be an intimidating quantity of esoteric terminology that only the most hard-core geek can understand.

That may be a little exaggeration, but there are some areas - such as coding - where matters could be made easier, a point Microsoft has recognised, ZDnet reports. 

It has pledged to make it easier to carry out coding “in plain English” by simplifying the task for users of the Power Fx and GPT-3 Artificial Intelligence model. The integration of the OpenAI GPT-3 technology into Microsoft’s own apps will be a first, and the firm wants users to be able to code them more easily.

Microsoft will do this by equipping the integration to use natural-language input and “programming by example” when developing with PowerApps. These new features will first be seen in the US next month.

While the kind of programming involved with these apps will still be complex for a child learning how to code, the acknowledgement by Microsoft of the need to make coding more accessible and easily understood may help pave the way for the industry as a whole to recognise the importance of widening the number of people for whom coding is a regular and normal activity.

At the same time, it may be surprising to see just what fields coding for children might lead to. For example, an Indian firm called Byju is offering the chance for children in several countries, including the UK, to learn coding for cryptocurrencies.

While many adults still scratch their head and wonder how such unofficial money can cause so much excitement, kids aged as young as six could get involved in coding - even before they get their own bank accounts dealing in pounds and pence.

Even something as complex and head-scratching as cryptocurrencies can, it seems, be easily brought within the reach of coding-savvy youngsters.