What Is Programming Language? Know Popular Programming Languages

11 min readApr 27, 2022

Table of content:

What is Language?
What is Programming Language?
Types of Programming Language
List of Top Programming Language

The programming language can be described as a language that programmers can use to create scripts, software programs, or other types of instructions that computers can run.

While many languages have similarities, each has its individual language syntax. Once a programmer has mastered the rules and syntax, they can write a code program’s source code using the text editor or an IDE. Then, the programmers usually will compile the code into a machine-readable language that can be read by computers. The scripting languages which do not need the use of a compiler, make use of the interpreter to run the script. So before knowing about programming language let’s understand what is a language?

What is Language?

A language is a form of communication employed to exchange ideas, ideas and opinions, and thoughts with one another. For instance, if you are trying to instruct someone the language of another, you must have an understanding language that can be understood by both people who communicate.

We all know that to talk with someone is to use a specific language. Similarly, to connect with computer systems, programmers require a language, which is known as a programming language.

What is Programming Language?

Programming languages are a collection of instructions, commands, along with additional syntax that is used to build the program and share the syntax with markup languages. The languages that programmers employ to write code are referred to as “high-level languages.” The code is compiled into the form of a “low-level language,” which is directly recognized by the hardware on computers.

The programming language can be described as a programming language that is utilized by programmers (developers) for communicating with computers. It is a set of instructions that are written in any language ( C, C++, Java, Python) to accomplish a particular task.

The programming language is mostly employed to create desktop applications, websites as well as mobile applications.

The History of Programming

Many historians think Ada Lovelace was the first to publish a computer program around the middle of the 19th century. She was a mathematician, who translated Luigi Federico Menabrea’s work regarding The Analytical Engine.

The translation was a result of Ada has added extensive notes and developed an algorithm for formulating Bernoulli numbers for the Analytical Engine.

The mathematician’s work by Alonzo Church and the Turing machine was among the initial computer code introductions.

The 1920s saw the first computers were invented that were followed by the first programming languages. In the following century when technology and machines developed and develop, so did the range of languages used in programming.

Types of Programming Language

Basically, there are three types of programming language, they are:

Low-level Programming Language
High-level Programming Language
Middle-level Programming Language

1. Low-level Programming Language

Low-level languages are dependent on machines (0s as well as 1s) programming language. The processor can run low-level programs directly, without the need for an interpreter or compiler, which means that programming programs that are written using low-level languages are extremely fast to run.

Languages at the low level are further subdivided into two distinct parts -

i. Machine Language

Machine language is a kind of programming language that is low-level. It’s also known by its other names, such as “object code” or machine code. Machine language is simpler to understand because it is typically presented as binary or in hexadecimal (base 16) form. It doesn’t need an interpreter to translate the program because computers can are able to directly interpret machine language software.

The benefit of using machine language is the fact that it enables the programmer to execute programs quicker than the more advanced programming language.

ii. Assembly Language

Assembly language (ASM) is also a low-level programming language specifically designed specifically for processors. It is an instruction in the form of a symbolic and understandable format for humans. It employs an assembler in order to transform the assembly language into machine language.

The advantage of using an assembly program is that it uses lesser memory and less time to execute a program.

2. High-level programming language

The High-level Programming Language (HLL) has been designed to assist in creating user-friendly software applications or websites. The software language needs a compiler, or interpreter to convert the program to the machine programming language (execute it).

The primary benefit of high-level languages is that it’s simple to learn and write in, as well as maintain.

High-level programming languages include Python, Java, JavaScript, PHP, C#, C++, Objective C, Cobol, Perl, Pascal, LISP, FORTRAN (algorithmic language), and Swift programming language.

A high-level language can be further divided into three components of

i. Procedural Language for Oriented Programming

Procedural Oriented Programming (POP) language comes from structured programming and is based on the notion of a procedure call. It breaks a program down into smaller processes, also known as “routines” or “functions.

The Procedural Oriented programming languages or procedural language are utilized by software developers to write a program. This is accomplished using a program editor such as IDE, Adobe Dreamweaver, or Microsoft Visual Studio.

The benefit that comes with the POP program is that it allows programmers to track easily the flow of their program and also code that is reusable in many areas of the program.

Example: C, FORTRAN (algorithmic language), Basic, Pascal, etc.

ii. Object-Oriented programming language

Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) language is an underlying language that is based on objects. It is a software language, applications are separated into parts known as objects. It’s used to implement real-world concepts such as inheritance, polymorphism abstraction, etc . in the program in order to make the program reuseable, efficient and user-friendly.

The primary benefit of using an object-oriented program is the fact that OOP is more efficient and less time-consuming to implement, maintain modifications, and also as to debug.

Example: C++, Java, Python, C#, etc.

iii. Natural language

Natural language is part of human language like English, Russian, German and Japanese. It is utilized by computers to learn how to manipulate and interpret human languages. It is utilized by programmers to complete tasks like automatic summarization, translation, Named Entity Recognition (NER) relationship extraction, as well as subject segmentation.

The primary benefit inherent to natural languages is the fact that they allow users to ask questions on any field and respond in a matter of seconds.

3. Middle-level programming language

The middle-level programming language is a middle-level programming language that lies in between low-level programming languages and high-level programming languages. It is also referred to as the intermediate programming language, also known as a pseudo-language.

The advantages of a middle-level programming language are that it can be used to implement high-level programming features and is an extremely user-friendly language and is closely linked to human and machine language.

Example: C, C++ C++, language

List of Some Programming Language

We all know that the programming language can make our lives easier. Nowadays, all industries (like healthcare, education and banks, cars, and many more ) entirely depend on this programming language.

There are numerous programming languages utilized by industries. So, to begin your journey as a software developer or software engineer, you should find your suitable language. Lets checkout some of the programming languages:

1. Golang

Create reliable, fast, and effective software on a large scale. Go programming language has been developed as an open-source project designed to help programmers become more efficient. Go is expressive, succinct, and clean. It is also efficient. It is a modern programming language which is used for software development (Android and IOS)

Its concurrency features make it simple to create programs that get the most benefit from multicore and networked devices and its unique type system allows for flexibility and modular programming. Go is quick to compile into machine code but offers the advantages of garbage collection as well as the benefit of reflection at run-time. Modern Language with a speedy statically typed and compiled language that is like a dynamically-typed interpreter language.

Advantages of Golang

The Go programming language is an open-source language that is supported by Google
Easy to master and easy to begin with
A robust standard library, as well as built-in concurrency
An expanding ecosystem of communities, partners, and tools

2. C

C is a well-known easy, flexible, and simple general-purpose programming language for computers. Dennis M Ritchie develops it in 1972 for AT&T. The language is a mix of both low-level programming language, as also a high-level programming language. It is utilized to design applications such as Text editors, compilers Network devices, many more.

Advantages of C

C language is simple to master.
It’s quick and efficient, it is mobile, easy to expand as well is a powerful and flexible programming language.
It’s used to do complicated calculations and operations, like MATLAB.
It uses dynamic memory allocation that allocates memory in real-time.

3. Python

Python is one of the commonly utilized programming languages that are user-friendly and easy to use. It is open-source and a simple to master programming language that was created in the early 1990s. It is a functional programming language most commonly employed to develop machine learning, Artificial intelligence, game development, Big Data, GUI-based desktop applications, as well as Robotics. The only drawback is it is not suitable for mobile application development.

Advantages of Python

Python is simple to read, simple to comprehend, and simple to write.
It is compatible with other languages of programming such as C, C++, and Java.
Python executes code line-by-line making it easy for the programmer the mistake that was made in the code.
Python is a platform-independent language, meaning you can write your code once and execute it everywhere.

4. C++

C++ is one of the thousands of programming languages we employ to create software. C++ programming language was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup in the year 1980. It’s akin to the C programming language, however, it adds extra features like object-oriented programming, type-checking, etc. C++ is one of the popular language used for creating applications like desktop apps, video games and even operating system.

Advantages of C++

C++ is a lightweight, portable structure programming language.
It can support OOPs options such as Abstraction Inheritance, Encapsulation, and Abstraction.
It is a high-level abstraction that is suitable for programming with a low-level language. It’s also better suited for use for general purposes.
C++ is more compatible with the C language and you can create variety of applications.

5. C#

C# ( pronounced as C sharp) is a new general-purpose, object-oriented, and general-purpose programming language that is used in conjunction to create XML web services running on the .NET platform. It was developed to increase the efficiency of web-based applications. It is easier to learn for users with enough experience with the most common programming languages, such as C, C++, or Java.

Advantages of C#

C# is a modern simple, safe to learn, fast, and open source programming language that can be coupled with Windows.
Maintenance of C# (C sharp) is lower than that of the C++ program language.
C# is a pure object-oriented programming language.
C# comes with a robust memory backup function. This helps it to avoid the issue of leakage in memory.

6. JavaScript

JavaScript JavaScript is a type of scripting language that can be used on both the client-side and server-side. It was developed by the 1990s to be used the 1990s for the Netscape Navigator web browser. It allows programmers to incorporate complicated features that make websites live. It assists programmers in creating dynamic websites as well as mobile applications, servers and games, animated graphics, and more. It is considered as the most suitable language for mobile application development.

Advantages of JavaScript

JavaScript allows us to add interaction and behavior to websites.
It is a method to reduce the time it takes to load on the server.
It is able to build attractive, dynamic websites as well as rich user interfaces.
JavaScript is a basic, flexible, and light programming language.
JavaScript along with its syntax is simple to comprehend.
Wide variety of applications can be created by JS.

7. R

Presently, R programming is one of the most well-known programming languages, which is utilized in data analysis, scientific research, machine learning, as well as statistical computation. It is developed in 1993 by Ross Ihaka and Robert Gentleman. It assists both data scientists and marketers in efficiently analyzing, presenting, and presenting data.

Advantages of R

R programmers provide a wide range of assistance to Data Wrangling.
It has an intuitive interface.
It can be used on any platform including Windows, Linux, and Mac.
It is open-source, independent of platforms.

8. Ruby

Ruby is an open source, general-purpose completely object-oriented, pure programming language that was released by the company in 1993. It is employed for front-end and back-end web development. It was developed to create CGI (Common Gateway Interface) scripts.

Advantages of Ruby

Ruby has support for a variety of GUI (Graphical User Interface) tools, such as GTK as well as OpenGL.
It’s used to build both web-based and intranet applications.
Ruby code is written Ruby is very small and contains smaller lines.

9. Java

Java is a simple and platform-independent. It is secure, reliable and architecture-neutral high-level programming language which is developed by Sun Microsystems in 1995. In the present, Java is owned by Oracle. It is employed to create bank retail and information technology android big data web, research community and desktop apps. It is a front-end language also which is used to create applications.

Advantages of Java

Java is simple to learn, write, compile and debug in comparison to other programming languages.
It lets you execute the exact program across different platforms.
Java is a highly secure programming language due to the fact that in Java there is no notion that explicit points.
It can perform several tasks at once.

10. PHP

PHP is a shorthand in for Hypertext Preprocessor. It is an open source, powerful server-side scripting language that is primarily used to build static and dynamic websites. It was developed in 1994 by Rasmus Laird in the year 1994. It is one of the most popular programming language. Within the php software, we are able to code HTML, CSS as well as JavaScript codes. To save PHP files, the extension file .php is utilized.

Advantages of PHP

PHP is an easier-to-use and secure programming language.
It is able to support the most powerful online libraries.
It is compatible with different operating systems, including Windows, Linux, and Mac.
It is extremely compatible with cloud-based services.

Summing up…

There are many areas of programming that you can explore including mobile development, app development, web game development, systems engineering, backend developer, front-end developer, etc. Certain fields require formal education, while other fields are available to self-taught programmers and you just need to select your programming language.

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