Types of Computer Programming Languages
It is difficult to imagine the modern world without programming. We are surrounded by technology and today even your robot vacuum cleaner is programmed in a certain way to perform its functions. And at the heart of any program or software is a certain code, which is called a programming language. If you think that computer programming languages are the product of our century, you are deeply mistaken. The history of their development is much older. At the same time, the diversity of coding languages today forces us to classify them so that it is easier to understand how different programming languages differ and how they can be grouped into certain types.
What Are Coding Languages in Their Essence
First, what is a programming language? Such a term today is called a technical, artificial language that has some properties of the natural one. So, in any of them, there is a vocabulary, syntax and semantics. The programmer must comply with the algorithm, otherwise, the code will turn out to be non-working. The scheme is the same for almost any programming language, even for Fortran, which appeared in the 50s of the last century, and even for React in 2012. At the moment, the computer programming languages list includes more than 8 thousand programming languages, but as with all trends in the world, some of them are becoming a thing of the past, while others arise, develop, and improve.
The coding world often follows the following trends:
- New programming languages appear regularly with a simpler format for creating code (transition to high-level systems).
- Platforms that support cloud technologies, websites and mobile applications are becoming more relevant.
- Variety complicates the study of the material part, and the transition to other languages is sometimes difficult due to differences in mechanics.
The History of Development of Coding Languages
To understand the principle of classification for coding languages, it is also useful to track their development in a kind of road map. So now, in our programming assignment blog, we’ll sink a little in the history of programming languages.
As we have already said, the first programming languages did not appear in the 21st century. Moreover, the creator of the first prototype of algorithms for programming was Ada Lovelace, an American scientist. In 1843, she developed an algorithm that subsequently laid the foundation for the entire principle of programming as a whole. Of course, no computers existed at that time, so Ms Lovelace wrote the program simply on a piece of paper.
And then the flywheel of the development of programming languages gained momentum.
- In 1944, the first real coding language, Zeus, was developed. In addition to clearly defined semantics and syntax, it also had the ability to save code fragments in order to reuse them during routine operations.
- In 1949, the well-known Assembler appeared. It became the first simple, low-level language used to program electronic calculators.
The first HLL also appeared in 1949. It was the Shortcode developed by William Schmitt for the first computers. - In the 50s of the last century, there was a true advent of programming languages. First, an entire family of Autocodes was developed, whose invention gave us the concept of language compilation – that is, translation into machine code. It was followed by Fortran and ALGOL. By the way, Fortran is the oldest language still in use today.
- It is impossible not to mention such a key programming language as Basic, created in 1964. By the way, it was developed by Dartmouth College students Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Familiar names, right?
- But the key to modern programming, C was developed in 1972. That is, he is already half a century old! Many of the currently leading languages are derived from C, including; C#, Java, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, and Python. It was also used/still used by big companies like Google, Facebook, and Apple. By the way, the SQL database language was developed in the same year.
- In 1983, Objective-C was developed, the basis of modern Apple operating systems.
- But the no less famous Python appeared in 1991. Then, when Visual Basic, and then Ruby.
- 1995 gave us Java, a high-level universal language created by James Gosling for the interactive television project. It has cross-platform functionality and consistently ranks among the most popular programming languages in the world. Java can be found everywhere, from computers to smartphones to parking meters. And PHP was developed at the same time.
Since then, C#, Swift, and JavaScript have appeared on the map of programming languages. And the development process is still ongoing.
Types of Modern Coding Languages Used in Programming
Now it’s time to get more information about the types of programming languages. There are several interpretations of the typology of coding languages. So here we go with them.
1. Low and high-level languages (LLL and HLL)
Low-level programming languages add a bit of abstraction to machine codes. This abstraction hides specific machine code instructions behind declarations that are more human-readable. Assembly languages are the lowest level languages next to machine code.
Like lower-level languages, higher levels cover a wide range of abstractions. Some languages, such as Java (which many consider being middle-level programming languages), still give you a lot of control over how the computer manages memory and data. Others, like Ruby and Python, are very abstract. They give you less access to lower-level functions, but the syntax is much easier to read and write.
2. Actuality is also one of the classifications used for distinguishing types of code languages
Due to the changes in technologies used in programming, some languages become outdated. It is obvious that when humanity used 16-bit MS-DOS, Pascal, and Assembler were in favor, but we do not use them now. For 32-bit OS Windows, it was the advent of Delphi, yet we also do not use it now. In some cases, more convenient coding languages just displace their competitors, like it was with JScript and JavaScript.
3. Compiled and interpreting languages
Our programming language types guide won’t be full without that classification. Compiled languages are these which need a special program to transfer the coding text into commands. C, C++, and Pascal are great samples of compiled languages. Interpreted ones use another program called Interpreter. These are JavaScript, Python, PHP, etc. The main difference between compiled languages and interpreted languages is the speed of program execution. It is believed that programs written in compiled languages run faster than those written in interpreted languages. But the process of writing and testing an interpreted program is simpler since there is no need for an intermediate compilation step. When learning, you can get your Python homework done with ease if applying for a skilled programmer’s help.
4. Universal and specialized
That typology requires less explanation. Using universal languages like C++ you can create almost every software. An example of specialized technologies can be used in game development. These are Unity or Lua engines used for games.
5. Algorithmic and data describing languages
Algorithmic languages like Pascal, Java, C#, or C++ are intended for the development of big and complex programs that describe algorithms. Data describing languages like XML, or SQL are used for the description of various types of applications.
6. Object-oriented and structured languages
In structured programming languages, function-based algorithms are sort of in the first place, and data for them can be taken from anywhere. However, the increase in program complexity has resulted in greater chances of introducing bugs into programs. As a result, a new concept of object-oriented programming has emerged, in which the principle of data relevance is put at the forefront. Resuming, Basic, C, or Pascal are structured coding languages, and C++ or Java are object-oriented.
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