Eltron Programming Language
Eltron Programming Language (EPL and EPL2) is a printer control language used to produce printed paper labels for various Eltron (now Zebra) model printers.
Newer printers support also the Zebra Programming Language (ZPL).
EPL2 is a markup, line-at-a-time language, suitable for printing on media of reduced space, and although it supports bitmaps (and therefore, arbitrary images), its use is usually for labels including barcode information. Contrary to what the official documentation title says, it is not a programming language (no flow-control or even conditionals are supported; variables are supported as numbered content).
Each EPL2 line starts with one or more letters (indicating the command), and may be followed by one or more comma-separated arguments. Commands and arguments are case-sensitive.
Arguments that are numeric or belong to a fixed set of options (see i.e. the reverse argument for A) are inlined, and any string or set of variable values must be surrounded by double-quotes (" - see i.e. the text argument for A).
Programming language
A programming language is a formal constructed language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs to control the behavior of a machine or to express algorithms.
The earliest known programmable machine preceded the invention of the digital computer and is the automatic flute player described in the 9th century by the brothers Musa in Baghdad, at the time a major centre of knowledge. From the early 1800s, "programs" were used to direct the behavior of machines such as Jacquard looms and player pianos. Thousands of different programming languages have been created, mainly in the computer field, and many more still are being created every year. Many programming languages require computation to be specified in an imperative form (i.e., as a sequence of operations to perform), while other languages use other forms of program specification such as the declarative form (i.e. the desired result is specified, not how to achieve it).
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