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Language Of Computer And Its Types
What is a Computer Language? And Its Types
Every country and state possesses its own distinct language, and it is through this language that people are able to understand one another. In precisely the same manner, a computer also has its own language—a language it comprehends, uses to perform calculations, and employs to generate results. A programming language is the language of computers, designed by computer experts specifically for the purpose of developing applications on a computer system. Much like traditional languages, programming languages possess their own grammar, comprising elements such as characters, words, sentences, and so forth.
TYPES OF PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
There are many programming languages. We understand some of them, while others are understood only by computers. The languages that are understood solely by computers are generally referred to as Low-Level Languages, whereas the languages that we can understand are called High-Level Languages.
LOW LEVEL LANGUAGE
Languages that do not employ any translator to convert their instructions into machine code are referred to as low-level languages; in other words, the code of a low-level language does not require translation of any kind. Machine language and Assembly language are two examples of such languages. However, utilizing them in programming is extremely difficult. To use them effectively, a deep understanding of computer hardware is essential. This is very time-consuming, and the probability of errors is extremely high. Their execution is faster than that of high-level languages. They are of two types.
- Machine Language
- Assembly Language
1 Machine Language
A computer system interprets only numerical signals, which consist of binary digits—specifically 1s and 0s. Consequently, instructions are provided to a computer exclusively in binary code (1s and 0s), and such instructions are referred to as Machine Language. Machine-level language is straightforward for the machine to process but presents significant difficulty for the programmer. Furthermore, the maintenance of programs written in machine language is extremely challenging, primarily due to the high probability of errors occurring. Since machine language operates differently on every distinct computer system, code written for one computer cannot be executed on another.
2 Assembly Language
In Assembly language, instructions are given in the form of English words—such as NOV, ADD, SUB, etc.—and this is…”mnemonic code”.It is said that Assembly language is easier to understand compared to Machine language. However, as we know, a computer is an electronic device that understands only binary code; therefore, any program written in Assembly language must be translated into Machine-level language. A translator that translates Assembly language into Machine language is called an Assembler.
Data is stored in computer registers, and since every computer possesses its own unique set of registers, programs written in Assembly language are not portable. This implies that, for a different computer system, we are required to translate the program all over again.
HIGH LEVEL LANGUAGE
(High-level languages) are designed with user convenience in mind; this implies that these languages are machine-independent. Since the code in these languages resembles English, they are easy to write and understand. They require a translator to convert programs written in a high-level language into machine code. Examples of languages falling into this category include FORTRAN, BASIC, COBOL, PASCAL, C, C++, JAVA, Visual Basic, Visual Basic .NET, HTML, Sun Studio, etc. These languages are broadly classified into two generations.
THIRD GENERATION LANGUAGE
Third Generation Languages were the first languages to liberate programmers from having to write programs in machine and assembly languages. Third-generation languages were machine-independent; therefore, there was no need to understand the machine’s architecture in order to write programs. Furthermore, programs became portable, allowing them—along with their compilers and interpreters—to be copied from one computer to another. Some of the most popular third-generation languages include FORTRAN, BASIC, COBOL, PASCAL, C, C++, and others.
FOURTH GENERATION LANGUAGE
A Fourth-Generation Language is easier to use than a Third-Generation Language. Generally, Fourth-Generation Languages feature a visual environment, whereas Third-Generation Languages utilized a textual environment. In a textual environment, programmers use English words to construct source code. A single-line statement in a Fourth-Generation Language is equivalent to an eight-line statement in a Third-Generation Language.In a visual environment, programmers use toolbars to drag and drop items such as buttons, labels, and text boxes. A key feature of this approach is the IDE (Integrated Development Environment), which supports the application’s compiler and runtime. Microsoft Visual Studio and Java Studio are two examples of this.
(Advantages):
1 Fourth-generation languages are easy to learn, and developing software in them is simple.
2 Fourth-generation languages feature a graphical interface alongside a textual interface.
3 Options are available to programmers in fourth-generation languages, as their number is quite large.
4 In fourth-generation languages, programming occupies less space because a single line of this generation’s language is equivalent to multiple lines of languages from previous generations.
5 The availability of fourth-generation languages is not difficult.
(Disadvantages):
1 Fourth-generation languages can only run on high-configuration computers.
2 Languages of this generation require less specialized expertise. This means that, due to the ease of programming, even novices are able to develop software. Consequently, the importance of experts diminishes.
3 This generation features a wide range of programming languages, making it difficult to decide which ones to use and which ones to set aside.