Chapter 2
Programming Languages
1
Programming Languages
Topics
• Definition of Program, Computer Programming, and
Computer Programmer.
• Generations of Programming Language
• Types of Programming Language
2
Programming Languages
Computer Program
• A program is a set of instructions following the rules
of the chosen language.
• Without programs, computers are useless.
• A program is like a recipe.
• It contains a list of ingredients (called variables) and
a list of directions (called statements) that tell the
computer what to do with the variables.
3
Programming Languages
Programming Language
• A vocabulary and set of grammatical rules (syntax)
for instructing a computer to perform specific tasks.
• Programming languages can be used to create
computer programs.
• The term programming language usually refers to
high-level languages, such as BASIC, C, C++,
COBOL, FORTRAN, Ada, and Pascal.
4
Programming Languages
Programming Language
• You eventually need to convert your program into
machine language so that the computer can
understand it.
• There are two ways to do this:
– Compile the program
– Interpret the program
5
Programming Languages
Programming Language
• Compile is to transform a program written in a high-
level programming language from source code into
object code.
• This can be done by using a tool called compiler.
• A compiler reads the whole source code and
translates it into a complete machine code program
to perform the required tasks which is output as a
new file.
6
Programming Languages
Programming Language
• Interpreter is a program that executes
instructions
written in a high-level language.
• An interpreter reads the source code one instruction
or line at a time, converts this line into machine code
and executes it.
7
Programming Languages
Computer Programming
• Computer programming is the process of writing,
testing, debugging/troubleshooting, and maintaining
the source code of computer programs.
• This source code is written in a
programming
language like C++, JAVA, Perl etc.
8
Programming Languages
Computer Programmer
• A programmer is someone who writes
computer
program.
• Computer programmers write, test, and maintain
programs or software that tell the computer what to
do.
9
Programming Languages
What Skills are Required to Become a
Programmer?
• Programming - Writing computer programs
for various purposes.
• Writing - Communicating effectively with others
in
writing as indicated by the needs of the audience.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written
sentences and paragraphs in work-related
• documents.
Critical - Using logic and analysis to
Thinkingthe strengths and weaknesses of different
identify
approaches.
10
Programming Languages
What Skills are Required to Become a
Programmer?
• Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of electric
circuit boards, processors, chips, and computer
hardware and software, including applications and
programming.
• Mathematics - Knowledge of numbers, their
operations, and interrelationships including
arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and
their applications.
• Oral - The ability to communicate
information
Expression and ideas in speaking so others will
understand.
11
Programming Languages
What Skills are Required to Become a
Programmer?
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and
understand information and ideas presented through
spoken words and sentences.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate
information and ideas in writing so others will
understand.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and
understand information and ideas presented in
writing.
12
Programming Languages
What Skills are Required to Become a
Programmer?
• Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general
rules to specific problems to come up with logical
answers. It involves deciding if an answer makes
sense.
• Information Organization - Finding ways to
structure or classify multiple pieces of information.
13
Programming Languages
Generations of Programming Language
• The first generation languages, or 1GL, are
low-
level languages that are machine language.
• The second generation languages, or 2GL, are
also low-level languages that generally consist of
assembly languages.
• The third generation languages, or 3GL, are high-
level languages such as C.
14
Programming Languages
Generations of Programming Language
• The fourth generation or 4GL, are
languages, statements similar
languages in athat
statements human
consist
language.
of Fourth generation
languages are commonly used in database to
programming and scripts.
• The fifth generation languages, or 5GL, are
programming languages that contain visual tools to
help develop a program. A good example of a fifth
generation language is Visual Basic.
15
Programming Languages
Types of Programming Language
• There are three types of programming language:
– Machine language (Low-level language)
– Assembly language (Low-level language)
– High-level language
• Low-level languages are closer to the language used
by a computer, while high-level languages are closer
to human languages.
16
Programming Languages
Machine Language
• Machine language is a collection of binary digits
or
bits that the computer reads and interprets.
• Machine languages are the only
languages understood by computers.
• While easily understood by computers, machine
languages are almost impossible for humans to use
because they consist entirely of numbers.
17
Programming Languages
Machine Language
Machine Language
169 1 160 0 153 0 128 153 0 129 153 130 153 0 131
200 208 241 96
High level
language
5 FOR I=1 TO
1000: PRINT
"A";: NEXT I
18
Programming Languages
Machine Language
Example:
• Let us say that an electric toothbrush has a processor
and main memory.
• The processor can rotate the bristles left and
right,
and can check the on/off switch.
• The machine instructions are one byte long,
and correspond to the following machine operations:
19
Programming Languages
Machine Language
Machine Instruction Machine Operation
0000 0000 Stop
0000 0001 Rotate bristles left
0000 0010 Rotate bristles right
0000 0100 Go back to start of program
0000 1000 Skip next instruction if switch is off
20
Programming Languages
Assembly Language
• A program written in assembly language consists of a
series of instructions mnemonics that correspond to
a stream of executable instructions, when translated
by an assembler, that can be loaded into memory
and executed.
• Assembly languages use keywords and symbols,
much like English, to form a programming language
but at the same time introduce a new problem.
21
Programming Languages
Assembly Language
• The problem is that the computer doesn't understand
the assembly code, so we need a way to convert it
to machine code, which the computer does
understand.
• Assembly language programs are translated into
machine language by a program called an
assembler.
22
Programming Languages
Assembly Language
• Example:
– Machine language :
10110000 01100001
– Assembly language :
mov a1, #061h
– Meaning:
Move the hexadecimal value 61 (97 decimal) into
the processor register named "a1".
23
Programming Languages
High Level Language
• High-level languages allow us to write computer
code using instructions resembling everyday spoken
language (for example: print, if, while) which are
then translated into machine language to be
executed.
• Programs written in a high-level language need to
be translated into machine language before they
can be executed.
• Some programming languages use a compiler to
perform this translation and others use an
interpreter.
24
Programming Languages
High-Level Language
• Examples of High-level Language:
• ADA
• C
• C++
• JAVA
• BASIC
• COBOL
• PASCAL
• PHYTON
25
Programming Languages
Comparisson
Machine Language Assembly Language High-level Languages
Time to execute Since it is the basic A program called an A program called a
language of the ‘assembler’ is required compiler or
computer, it does not to convert the interpreter is
require any program required to convert
translation, and hence into machine the program into
ensures better language. Thus, it machine language.
machine efficiency. takes longer to Thus, it takes more
This means the execute than a time for a computer
programs run machine language to execute.
faster. program.
Time to develop Needs a lot of skill, Simpler to use than Easiest to use. Takes
as instructions are machine less time to develop
very lengthy and language, though programs and, hence,
complex. Thus, it instruction codes ensures better
takes more time to must be program efficiency.
program. memorized. It
takes
less time to develop
programs as
compared to machine
language.
26
Programming Languages
BASIC
• Short for Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic
Instruction Code.
• Developed in the 1950s for teaching University
students to program and provided with every self-
respecting personal computer in the 1980s,
• BASIC has been the first programming language for
many programmers.
• It is also the foundation for Visual Basic.
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Programming Languages
BASIC
Example:
PRINT "Hello world!"
28
Programming Languages
Visual Basic
• A programming language and environment
developed by Microsoft.
• Based on the BASIC language, Visual Basic was one
of the first products to provide a graphical
programming environment and a paint metaphor for
developing user interfaces.
29
Programming Languages
Visual Basic
Example:
MsgBox "Hello, World!“
30
Programming Languages
C
• Developed by Dennis Ritchie at Bell Labs in the mid
1970s.
• C is much closer to assembly language than are
most other high-level languages.
• The first major program written in C was the UNIX
operating system.
• The low-level nature of C, however, can make the
language difficult to use for some types of
applications.
31
Programming Languages
C
Example:
#include <stdio.h>
int main(void)
{
printf("hello, world\n");
return 0;
}
32
Programming Languages
C++
• A high-level programming language developed by
Bjarne Stroustrup at Bell Labs.
• C++ adds object-oriented features to its predecessor,
C.
• C++ is one of the most popular programming
language for graphical applications, such as those
that run in Windows and Macintosh
environments.
33
Programming Languages
C++
Example:
#include <iostream>
int main()
{
std::cout << "Hello World!" << std::endl;
return 0;
}
34
Programming Languages
Pascal
• A high-level programming language developed by
Niklaus Wirth in the late 1960s.
• The language is named after Blaise Pascal, a
seventeenth-century French mathematician who
constructed one of the first mechanical adding
machines.
• It is a popular teaching language.
35
Programming Languages
Pascal
Example:
Program
HelloWorld(output); begin
writeLn('Hello,
World!')
end.
36
Programming Languages
Java
• A high-level programming language developed by
Sun Microsystems.
• Java was originally called OAK, and was designed for
handheld devices and set-top boxes.
• Oak was unsuccessful so in 1995 Sun changed the
name to Java and modified the language to take
advantage of the burgeoning World Wide Web.
• Java is a general purpose programming language
with a number of features that make the
language well suited for use on the World Wide
Web.
37
Programming Languages
Java
Example:
/* * Outputs "Hello, World!" and then exits */
public class HelloWorld {
public static void main(String[] args)
{ System.out.println("Hello, World!");
}
}
38
Programming Languages
Choosing a Programming Language
Before you decide on what language to use, you should
consider the following:
• your server platform
• the server software you run
• your budget
• previous experience in programming
• the database you have chosen for your backend
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