Programming languages

The Programming languages in use fall into three general categories in terms of their similarity (сходство) to ordinary English: machine languages, symbolic languages, and automatic coding languages. In terms of their importance for computer utilization, the machine languages are the most basic, for the computers can use them directly. But symbolic and automatic coding languages are more convenient for the programmer use because they are more similar to English.

A high-level language is a language in which each instruction or statement (оператор) corresponds to several machine code instructions. A low-level language is a language in which each instruction has a single corresponding machine code equivalent. High-level languages allow users to write in a notation (запись, нотация) with which they are familiar, e.g., FORTRAN in mathematical notation, COBOL in English. So, high-level languages are oriented to the problem, while low-level languages are oriented to the machine code of a computer.

FORTRAN is an acronym for FORmula TRANslation. It is a problem oriented high-level programming language for scientific and mathematical use, in which the source program is written using a combination of algebraic formulae and English statements of a standard but reliable form. It was the first high-level programming language. It was developed in 1954, and was designed to easily express mathematical formulae for computer processing

PL/1 was introduced in 1964. It was developed as a general-purpose programming language, incorporating features from both COBOL and FORTRAN. PL/1 is used primarily on large mainframes. PL/1 stands for Programming Language 1.

Among the more important features of PL/1 are the following: (1) The language is modular in structure. This means that the user needs only master the set of facilities necessary for his programming needs. (2) The language has a 'default' feature by which every error is given a valid interpretation, thus minimizing the effects of programming errors. (3) The language structure is 'free form'. No special documents are needed for coding, since the significance of each statement depends on its own format and not on its position within a fixed framework (основа). PL/1 is much less sensitive to the peculiarities of the hardware than the machine language. This makes it possible to use the same program on different types of computers.

ALGOL was developed as an international language for the expression of the algorithms between individuals, as well as a programming language. It was introduced in the early 1960s and gained popularity in Europe more than in the United States.

ALGOL is an acronym for ALGOrithmic Language. It is a problem oriented high-level programming language for mathematical and scientific use, in which the source program provides a means of defining algorithms as a series of statements and declarations having a general resemblance to algebraic formulae and English sentences. ALGOL was originally known as IAL or International Algebraic Language.

COBOL is an acronym for Common Business Oriented Language. It is internationally accepted programming language developed for general commercial use. COBOL is a problem oriented high-level language in which the source program is written using statements in English.

COBOL is relatively simple to learn, and programs can be quickly written and tested; programmers can easily understand programs not written by themselves; programs can be used on other machines.

BASIC was developed in 1965 and stands for Beginners ALL-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. It is a programming language designed for solving mathematical and business problems. BASIC was originally developed as an interactive language for time-sharing on large mainframes. It is widely used on all sizes of computers and has become extremely popular on microprocessors.

BASIC is considered to be one of the easiest programming language to learn. BASIC is now used almost universally. There is no one BASIC language, but something like 90 different versions or dialects.

PASCAL is a general-purpose high-level programming language. It is named after the famous mathematician, Blaise Pascal.

Pascal was proposed and defined in 1971, and gained popularity in universities and colleges in Europe and the United States. It was later revised and appeared as standard PASCAL in 1975. Its principal features are on teaching programming and on the efficient implementation (реализация) of the language.

ADA is a high-level programming language. It is a PASCAL-based language, but much more comprehensive (понятный) than PASCAL, being designed for both commercial and scientific problems. ADA is a compiler language which can be compiled in separate segments.

ADA was named after Augusta Ada Byron (1815-1852), daughter of the English poet, Lord Byron.

С is a high-level structured programming language. It is a compiler language too which is noted for its ability to handle conditions (условие) that normally would have to be written in an Assembly Language. Some operating systems are written in C.

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Language	Developed	Function	Characteristic
FORTRAN	1954	mathematical and scientific purpose	combines features of COBOL and ALGOL
…	…	…	…