Programming Language
A language used to give instructions to computers. During the 1960s and 1970s, a huge variety of programming languages were developed, most of which are no longer in wide use. Moreover, a substantial amount of programming is now done with special program development tools (e.g., Visual Basic), or in programming languages that pertain to specific pieces of software (e.g., Maple) rather than by simply writing instructions in a general-purpose language.
The following is a rough classification of programming languages. Most of these languages are treated in separate articles in this book.
1. General-purpose languages for large, complex programs: PL/I, C, C++, Pascal, Modula-2, Ada, Java, C#.
2. General-purpose languages for smaller programs: BASIC, Visual Basic, Pascal, Python.
3. Mathematical calculation, science, and engineering: FORTRAN, APL, Maple, and the general-purpose languages named above.
4. Business data processing: COBOL, RPG. Where microcomputers are involved, BASIC, C, and languages associated with specific database products are also widely used.
5. Artificial intelligence and programs of extreme logical complexity: Lisp and Prolog.
6. String handling and scripting: SNOBOL, REXX, Awk, Perl, Python, VBSCRIPT, JavaScript. Another useful classification is based on the way the program is organized.
1. Sequential languages treat the program as a series of steps, with an occasional GOTO statement as a way of breaking out of the sequence. In this category are FORTRAN, BASIC, and COBOL.
⠀ Dictionary of computer and Internet terms / Douglas A. Downing, Michael A. Covington, Melody Mauldin Covington. — 10th ed. – 561 c. – 388