Programming Language
"A set of words and symbols used to write computer programs is called programming language."
The programming languages are used to write computer programs. A programming language is a means of communication between a user and the computer.
Types of Programming Languages
There are two types of programming languages:
- Low-level languages
- High-level languages
1. Low-Level Languages
"Low-level languages are near to computer hardware and far from human languages. The low-level languages are divided into the following two main categories:
- Machine Language
- Assembly Language
a) Machine Language
A type of language in which instructions are written in binary form is called machine language. It is the only language that is directly understood by the computer. It is the native language of the computer.
A program written in machine language can be executed by computer very fastly. The computer does not need any translator to understand this language. The programs written in machine language are machine-independent. Every computer has its own machine language.
Machine language is difficult to learn and understand by a human. The process of writing and modifying program in machine language takes a lot of time.
b) Assembly Language
Assembly language is a low-level language. It is one step higher than machine language. In assembly language instructions are replaced with English-like words known as mnemonics. It is pronounced as Ne-Monics.
Programs written in assembly language are easier to write and modify than machine language. Assembly language is mostly used for writing system software. The programs written in assembly language cannot be executed by computer directly. A translator called assembler is used to convert assembly language programs into machine language.
2. High-Level Languages
A type of language that is close to human languages is called high-level language. The instructions in these languages are similar to the English language such as input and print etc. These languages are easy to understand.
A set of rules for writing programs in a high-level language is known as syntax. Each language has its own syntax. The instructions must be written according to the syntax of the language. Any error in the program is identified by the language translator. A program cannot be converted into machine language if it contains any syntax error.
Some examples of high-level languages are as follows:
Python is the fastest-growing general-purpose, high-level programming language with an emphasis on code readability.
JavaScript Featuring asynchronous event handling and crisp syntax, it has found widespread use in the field of web development.
PHP is used by 79% of all the websites whose server-side programming language we know. It is mainly used for developing dynamic and data-heavy websites and applications.
C/C++ is used to write system software and application software
Java is a popular programming language and provides strong features for network programming
Pascal is used for both scientific and business applications.
FORTRAN stands for Formula Translation. It has very powerful mathematical capabilities.
BASIC stands for Beginner All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. It was used mainly by students to use the computer to solve simple problems
COBOL stands for Common Business Oriented Language. It is used to write business applications.
Dart is optimal for programming applications that need to run on multiple platforms, such as Windows and iOS.
Kotlin is used to develop applications for the Android OS.
MATLAB is a proprietary language developed by MathWorks and used for scientific research and numerical computing.
Perl got its start for programming text, which makes it easy to learn and popular for developing a proof of concept.
Ruby is losing traction as compared to other languages, but the Ruby on Rails framework was influential to other, later Web application frameworks for Python, PHP, and JavaScript.
Rust emphasizes high performance and security and is useful for applications where many things are happening concurrently.
Scala, named as a play on scalable language, is compatible with Java and is useful for cloud-based applications.
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