Structure of Programming Language

PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE
 A vocabulary and set of grammatical rules for instructing a computer to perform specific tasks.
 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.

LEVEL OF PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES

 Level of language is decided as the degree of easiness for machine/processor is to understand it.
 The levels of programming languages are categorized by Low-Level, Middle-Level and High-Level Languages.

1. LOW – LEVEL OR MACHINE LANGUAGES

 Low-level language is a programming language that is more arcane and difficult to understand.
 This refers to either machine code or assembly language.
 The fundamental language of the computer’s processor.

Characteristics of Low-Level Languages:

1. Direct memory management.
2. Little-to-no abstraction from the hardware.
3. Register access.
4. Superb performance.

Common Example of Low-Level Languages:

1. Assembly Language
 Assembly language is a low-level programming language used to interface with computer
hardware.
2. Machine Language
 Machine language is a collection of binary digits or bits that the computer reads and interprets.
 Machine language is the only language a computer is capable of understanding.
 Consists of combination of 1’s and 0’s that represent True and False value called BINARY.

2. MIDDLE – LEVEL LANGUAGES

 A mid-level language is consists of both assembly instructions and machine level language.
 Middle level language means to support both high level language and low level language.

Characteristics of Mid-Level Languages:

1. Static typing.
2. Extremely commonplace (mid-level languages are by far the most widely used).
3. Virtual machines.
4. Easy to reason about program flow.

Common Example of Mid-Level Languages:

1. C Language – C is called a middle level language since it is a higher language than something like
assembly, which communicates to the computer through operations that directly manipulate data and
uses machine code.

3. HIGH – LEVEL LANGUAGES

 A high-level programming language is a programming language with strong abstraction from the details
of the computer.
 High-Level Languages are very close to human readable/speakable languages.
 High-level languages are the logical semantic evolution of mid-level languages.
 High-level languages permit faster development of large programs.

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 Structure of Programming Language
Characteristics of High-Level Languages:
1. Clear syntaxes, adequate to human cognition.
2. Easily understandable.
3. Object Oriented.
4. They compile once and can be run in several machines and different OS.

Common Example of High-Level Languages:

1. C++ (C Plus-Plus)
 C++ is an intermediate-level language with object-oriented programming features, originally
designed to enhance the C language.
 C++ powers major software like Firefox, Winamp and Adobe programs. It's used to develop
systems software, application software, high-performance server and client applications and
video games.
2. C# (C Sharp)
 Combining principles from C and C++, C# is a general-purpose language used to develop
software for Microsoft and Windows platforms.
3. Java
 Java is a class-based, object-oriented programming language developed by Sun Microsystems.
 It's one of the most in-demand programming languages, a standard for enterprise software,
web-based content, games and mobile apps, as well as the Android operating system.
4. JavaScript
 JavaScript is a client and server-side scripting language developed by Netscape that derives
much of its syntax from C.
 It can be used across multiple web browsers and is considered essential for developing
interactive or animated web functions.
5. Visual Basic / Visual Basic.NET
 Visual Basic is the third generation event-driven programming language and Integrated
Development Environment (I.D.E). It was developed by Microsoft.
6. PHP (Hypertext Pre-Processor)
 PHP (Hypertext Processor) is a free, server-side scripting language designed for dynamic
websites and app development.
 It can be directly embedded into an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) source document
rather than an external file, which has made it a popular programming language for web
developers.
7. Python
 Python is a high-level, server-side scripting language for websites and mobile apps.
 It's considered a fairly easy language for beginners due to its readability and compact syntax,
meaning developers can use fewer lines of code to express a concept than they would in other
languages.
8. Ruby
 A dynamic, object-oriented scripting language for developing websites and mobile apps.
 Ruby was designed to be simple and easy to write.
9. Perl
 Perl is very nicely and beautifully built programming language.
 Some features are dynamic, general purpose, high-level programming language.
10. Objective – C
 Objective-C is a general-purpose, object-oriented programming language used by the Apple
operating system.
 It powers Apple's OS X and iOS, as well as its Application Programming Interface (API), and can
be used to create iPhone apps, which has generated a huge demand for this once-outmoded
programming language.

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 Structure of Programming Language
REASONS FOR STUDYING CONCEPTS OF PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE
 Increased capacity to express ideas.
 Improved background for choosing appropriate languages.
 Increased ability to learn new languages.
 Better understanding of the significance of implementation.
 Increased ability to design new languages.
 Overall advancement of computing.

PROGRAMMING DOMAINS
1. Scientific Applications – an application that simulates real – world activities using mathematics. Real – world
objects are turned into mathematical models and their actions are simulated by executing the formulas.
2. Business Applications – an application built based on the requirements from the business users.
3. Artificial Intelligence – the branch of computer science concerned with making computers behave like humans.
4. Systems Programming – the activity of programming systems software.
 System Software – computer software designed to operate and control the computer hardware, and to
provide a platform for running application software.
5. Scripting Languages – a language that is interpreted by another program at runtime. Program that can interpret
and automate the execution of task that could alternatively be executed one-by-one by a human operator.
 Script – a small non – compiled program written for a scripting language
6. Special – Purpose Languages – a program language that was designed for a special function. A programming
language designed to solve a particular type of problem.

LANGUAGE EVALUATION CRITERIA

1. Readability – one of the most important criteria for judging a programming language is the ease with which
programs can be read and understood.
2. Writability – writability is a measure of how easily a language can be used to create programs for a chosen
problem domain.
3. Reliability – a program is said to be reliable if it performs to its specifications under all conditions.
4. Cost – the ultimate total cost of a programming language is a function of many of its characteristics.

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