GENERATIONS OF PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE
A low-level programming language is a programming language that provides little or no abstraction from computer’s microprocessor.
A high-level programming language is a programming language that is more abstract, easier to use, and more portable across platforms.
LEVELS OF PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE
FIRST GENERATION OF PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE
The first generation of programming language, or 1GL, is machine language. Machine language is a set of instructions and data that a computer's central processing unit can execute directly.
Machine language statements are written in binary code, and each statement corresponds to one machine action.
SECOND GENERATION PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE
The second generation programming language, or 2GL, is assembly language. Assembly language is the human-readable notation for the machine language used to control specific computer operations.
An assembly language programmer writes instructions using symbolic instruction codes that are meaningful abbreviations or mnemonics.
An assembler is a program that translates assembly language into machine language.
Since assembly language consist of human-readable abbreviations, the assembler must first convert assembly language into machine-readable language before the computer can readily understand its instructions.
THIRD GENERATION PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE
The third generation of programming language, 3GL, or procedural language uses a series of English-like words, that are closer to human language,
to write instructions.
High-level programming languages make complex programming simpler and
easier to read, write and maintain.Programs written in a high-level programming language must be translated into machine language by a compiler or interpreter.
PASCAL, FORTRAN, BASIC, COBOL, C and C++ are examples of third
generation programming languages.
FOURTH GENERATION PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE
The fourth generation programming language or non-procedural language, often abbreviated as 4GL, enables users to access data in a database.
A very high-level programming language is often referred to as goal-oriented programming language because it is usually limited to a very specific
application and it might use syntax that is never used in other programming languages.
SQL, NOMAD and FOCUS are examples of fourth generation programming languages.
FIFTH GENERATION PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE
The fifth generation programming language or visual programming
language, is also known as natural language.
Provides a visual or graphical interface, called a visual programming
environment, for creating source codes.
Fifth generation programming allows people to interact with computers without needing any specialised knowledge.
People can talk to computers and the voice recognition systems can convert
spoken sounds into written words, but these systems do not understand what they are writing; they simply take dictation.
Prolog and Mercury are the best known fifth-generation languages.