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PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
A computer programming language is a language used to write computer programs, which
involve a computer performing some kind of computation or algorithm and possibly control
external devices such as printers, disk drives, robots, and so on. Programming languages can
be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine, to express algorithms
precisely, or as a mode of human communication.

Many programming languages have some form of written specification of their syntax (form)
and semantics (meaning). Some languages are defined by a specification document. For
example, the C programming language is specified by an ISO Standard. Other languages,
such as Perl, have a dominant implementation that is used as a reference.

The earliest programming languages predate the invention of the computer, and 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, with many
more being created every year. Most programming languages describe computation in an
imperative style, i.e., as a sequence of commands, although some languages, such as those
that support functional programming or logic programming, use alternative forms of
description.

There are two types of computer languages.They are:-

HIGH LEVEL
LANGUAGES
A high-level programming language is a
programming language which uses natural
language elements, be easier to use, or be
more portable across platforms. Such
languages hide the details of CPU
operations such as memory access models
and management of scope.This greater
abstraction and hiding of details is
generally intended to make the language
user-friendly.

LOW LEVEL
LANGUAGES
A low-level language does not need a
compiler or interpreter to run; the
processor for which the language was
written is able to run the code without
these. This results in faster processing.

A programming language is an artificial language designed to express computations that can be

performed by a machine, particularly a computer.
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HIGH- LEVEL LANGUAGES

JAVA
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems
(which is now a subsidiary of Oracle Corporation) and released in 1995 as a core component
of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C+
+ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities. Java applications are typically
compiled to bytecode (class file) that can run on any Java Virtual Machine (JVM) regardless
of computer architecture. Java is a general-purpose, concurrent, class-based, object-oriented
language that is specifically designed to have as few implementation dependencies as
possible. It is intended to let application developers "write once, run anywhere". Java is
currently one of the most popular programming languages in use, and is widely used from
application software to web applications.

The original and reference implementation Java compilers, virtual machines, and class
libraries were developed by Sun from 1995. As of May 2007, in compliance with the
specifications of the Java Community Process, Sun relicensed most of its Java technologies
under the GNU General Public License. Others have also developed alternative
implementations of these Sun technologies, such as the GNU Compiler for Java, GNU
Classpath, and Dalvik.

C
C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed in 1972 by Dennis
Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system.[4]

Although C was designed for implementing system software, it is also widely used for
developing portable application software.

C is one of the most popular programming languages of all time and there are very few
computer architectures for which a C compiler does not exist. C has greatly influenced many
other popular programming languages, most notably C++, which began as an extension to C.
A programming language is an artificial language designed to express computations that can be
performed by a machine, particularly a computer.
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C++
C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose
programming language. It is regarded as a "middle-level" language, as it comprises a
combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne
Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell Labs as an enhancement to the C language and originally
named C with Classes. It was renamed C++ in 1983.

As one of the most popular programming languages ever created, C++ is widely used in the
software industry. Some of its application domains include systems software, application
software, device drivers, embedded software, high-performance server and client
applications, and entertainment software such as video games.

PASCAL
Pascal is an influential imperative and procedural programming language, designed in 1968/9
and published in 1970 by Niklaus Wirth as a small and efficient language intended to
encourage good programming practices using structured programming and data structuring.
It was based on the ALGOL programming language, named in honor of the French
mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal.

FORTRAN
Fortran derived from IBM Mathematical Formula Translating System is a general-purpose,
procedural, imperative programming language that is especially suited to numeric
computation and scientific computing. Originally developed by IBM at their campus in south
San Jose, California in the 1950s for scientific and engineering applications.

A programming language is an artificial language designed to express computations that can be

performed by a machine, particularly a computer.
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BASIC
In computer programming, BASIC stands for Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction
Code and is from a family of high-level programming languages. The original BASIC was
designed in 1964 by John George Kemeny and Thomas Eugene Kurtz at Dartmouth College
in New Hampshire, USA to provide computer access to non-science students. At the time,
nearly all use of computers required writing custom software, which was something only
scientists and mathematicians tended to be able to do. The language and its variants became
widespread on microcomputers in the late 1970s and 1980s. BASIC remains popular to this
day in a handful of highly modified dialects and new languages influenced by BASIC such as
Microsoft Visual Basic. As of 2006, 59% of developers for the .NET platform used Visual
Basic .NET as their only language.

The eight design principles of BASIC were:

1. Be easy for beginners to use.

2. Be a general-purpose programming language.
3. Allow advanced features to be added for experts (while keeping the language simple
for beginners).
4. Be interactive.
5. Provide clear and friendly error messages.
6. Respond quickly for small programs.
7. Not to require an understanding of computer hardware.
8. Shield the user from the operating system.

COBOL
COBOL is one of the oldest programming languages. Its name is an acronym for COmmon
Business-Oriented Language, defining its primary domain in business, finance, and
administrative systems for companies and governments.The COBOL 2002 standard includes
support for object-oriented programming and other modern language features. Appeared in
1959 COBOL was Designed by Grace Hopper, William Selden, Gertrude Tierney, Howard Bromberg,
Howard Discount, Vernon Reeves, Jean E. Sammet.

A programming language is an artificial language designed to express computations that can be

performed by a machine, particularly a computer.
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Low-level Languages

Machine Language
Machine code or machine language is a system of instructions and data executed directly by
a computer's central processing unit. Machine code may be regarded as a primitive (and
cumbersome) programming language or as the lowest-level representation of a compiled
and/or assembled computer program. Programs in interpreted languages are not
represented by machine code however, although their interpreter (which may be seen as a
processor executing the higher level program) often is. Machine code is sometimes called
native code when referring to platform-dependent parts of language features or libraries.
Machine code should not be confused with so called "bytecode", which is executed by an
interpreter.

Assembly Language
An assembly language is a low-level programming language for computers, microprocessors,
microcontrollers, and other integrated circuits. It implements a symbolic representation of the
binary machine codes and other constants needed to program a given CPU architecture. This
representation is usually defined by the hardware manufacturer, and is based on instructions,
processor registers, memory locations, and other language features. An assembly language is
thus specific to a certain physical computer architecture..

A utility program called an assembler is used to translate assembly language statements into
the target computer's machine code. The assembler performs a translation from statements
into machine instructions and data. This is in contrast with high-level languages, in which a
single statement generally results in many machine instructions.

A programming language is an artificial language designed to express computations that can be

performed by a machine, particularly a computer.