Concept of Programming Languages and Their Types
In this article, we will delve deep into the concept of Programming Languages and Their Types. Programming is the process of writing programs (set of instructions), which are the details of computation or an algorithm to be executed.
A computer programming language is a tool used for making computer programs (also called software). It requires a computer to accomplish some sort of computation or to run an algorithm. It may also manipulate external devices such as a scanner, printer, light pen, and disk drive. For additional insights into programming and coding, consider exploring our featured article “Basic introduction to coding and programming”.
Types of Programming Languages
There are various categories and types of programming languages.
1. Software Language
2. Web Languages
1. Software Language
Software language is used for making executable programs. Software language can be used to make anything from basic console programs to operating systems. Software languages can create very complex and powerful programs. There are many software languages, but a few of them are listed below.
C Language
C is an innovative programming language capable of creating advanced applications. C was developed at Bell Labs in the 1970s by Dennis Ritchie for system programming language, but later, it proved itself capable of developing several software applications ranging from Engineering programs, business programs and games.
By design, C provides constructs that map efficiently to typical machine instructions. Therefore it has found lasting use in applications that had formerly been coded in assembly language, including operating systems, as well as various application software for computers ranging from supercomputers to embedded systems. The most popular operating system, UNIX was written in C.
C++
C++ (pronounced as C plus plus) is a derived language of the C, developed by Bjarne Stroustrup, starting in 1979 at Bell Labs. The only difference between the two languages is that C++ is object-oriented while C is purely function-oriented. C++ comes with all features of the C language.
In addition to this, it supports OOP (Object Oriented Programming) concepts such as objects, classes, inheritance, and user-defined data types. The fascinating features of C++ are templates, namespace, polymorphism, encapsulation, virtual and friend functions, templates, namespaces, and pointers.
C++ is one of the most popular languages primarily utilized for the operating systems, application software, drivers, client-server applications, and embedded firmware.
Visual Basic
Visual Basic is a GUI programming language based on BASIC (Beginner All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code), developed by Microsoft Corporation. Visual Basic is a popular language for creating Windows-based applications.
Java
Java was developed by Sun Microsystem. It is a flexible and robust language that can create applets, software applications, and graphical applications. Java is purely object-oriented programming language. Everything except primitive data types is an object. Java does not support pointers because they cause memory-related severe issues.
2. Web Languages
Web languages such as HTML, XML, JAVASCRIPT, VBScript, PHP, and Java are used to create and edit pages on the web.
HTML
HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. It is the foundation of the World Wide Web and is used to design the various aspects of a webpage by using different tags and attributes. Even though HTML is the core language of the web, it is still static. Therefore, it cannot build dynamic web pages or applications.
XML
XML is short for Extensible Markup Language developed by the W3C. XML is different from HTML in the sense that XML allows for user-defined tags and allows the transformation of data between applications.
JavaScript
Netscape developed JavaScript and is used for dynamic and interactive content to be added on the web pages. By using JavaScript, one can communicate with HTML, create dynamic websites, create animation, calculators, form validation, and much more.
PHP
PHP stands for Hypertext Preprocessor, primarily written in C by Rasmus Lerdorf. It is an open-source and general-purpose scripting language used for web and web-based application development. It is a fast, flexible, pragmatic, and popular language suited for everything from blogs to the most advanced websites.
Conclusion
To recap, programming is the process of writing programs by using specific languages called programming languages. There are numerous programming languages such as C, C++, C#, Visual Basic, and Java. Web languages such as HTML, XML, JAVASCRIPT, VBScript, PHP, and Java are used to create and edit pages on the web.
The programming languages C and C++ are primarily used for creating operating system software. The compelling features of C++ such OOPs, templates, namespace, polymorphism, encapsulation, virtual and friend functions, templates, namespaces, and pointers make it different from C.
Visual Basic is a GUI programming language based on BASIC while Java is purely object-oriented programming. In Java, everything except primitive data types is an object.
HTML is the foundation of the World Wide Web and XML allows user-defined tags and allows the transformation of data. JavaScript is used for dynamic and interactive content. PHP is used for web and web-based application development.
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