Types of Programming Language

Low Level Language

• First-generation language is the lowest level computer language. Information is conveyed to the computer by the programmeras binary instructions
• Binary instructions are the equivalent of the on/off signals used by computers to carry out operations. The language consists of zeros and ones.

Advantages

Ø  Fast and efficient

Ø  Machine oriented

Ø  No translation required

     Disadvantages

Ø  Not portable

Ø  Not programmer friendly

Assembly Language

Assembly or assembler language was the second generation of computer language. By the late 1950s, this language had become popular. Assembly language consists of letters of the alphabet. This makes programming much easier than trying to program a series of zeros and ones. As an added programming assist, assembly language makes use of mnemonics, or memory aids, which are easier for the human programmer to recall than are numerical codes.

Assembler

An assembler is a program that takes basic computer instructions and converts them into a pattern of bits that the computer's processor can use to perform its basic operations. Some people call these instructions assembler language and others use the term assembly language In other words An assembler is a computer program for translating assembly language — essentially, a mnemonic representation of machine language — into object code. A cross assembler (see cross compiler) produces code for one processor, but runs on another.

As well as translating assembly instruction mnemonics into opcodes, assemblers provide the ability to use symbolic names for memory locations (saving tedious calculations and manually updating addresses when a program is slightly modified), and macro facilities for performing textual substitution — typically used to encode common short sequences of instructions to run inline instead of in a subroutine.

High Level Language

The introduction of the compiler in 1952 spurred the development of third-generation computer languages. These languages enable a programmer to create program files using commands that are similar to spoken English. Third-level computer languages have become the major means of communication between the digital computer and its user. By 1957, the International Business Machine Corporation (IBM) had created a language called FORTRAN (FORmula TRANslater). This language was designed for scientific work involving complicated mathematical formulas. It became the first high-level programming language (or "source code") to be used by many computer users.

Within the next few years, refinements gave rise to ALGOL (ALGOrithmic Language) and COBOL (COmmon Business Oriented Language). COBOL is noteworthy because it improved the record keeping and data management ability of businesses, which stimulated business expansion.

Advantages

Ø  Portable or machine independent

Ø  Programmer-friendly

Disadvantages

Ø  Not as efficient as low-level languages

Ø  Need to be translated

Examples : C, C++, Java, FORTRAN, Visual Basic, and Delphi.