UNIT 7

Programming
Languages and
Program
Development
Computer Information Systems
Lecturer: Trisha Aarons

Learning Objectives

Differentiate between machine and

assembly languages

Identify and discuss the purpose of

procedural programming languages

Identify and discuss the characteristics of

these object-oriented programming
languages and program development tools

Learning Objectives

Identify the uses of other programming

languages and program development
tools

Describe various ways to develop Web

pages

Programming Languages

A set of words, abbreviations, and symbols that

enables a programmer to communicate
instructions to a computer.

A programming language is an artificial language

consisting of a vocabulary and a set of rules used
to create instructions for a computer to follow.

Other times, programmers use a program

development tool to create a program.

Programme Development

Programme Development is the process

of creating application programs.

Generations of Programming
Languages

Programming Languages are classified

by levels or generations.

The lower-level languages are

considered to be the oldest.

Programming Languages

All languages need to be converted into a

language understood by the respective
hardware before it can be used by the
system.

This can be done by a compiler or an

interpreter.

Programming Languages

There are hundreds of languages which

exists each having their own rules and
purpose including, scientific, business
solutions or Web development.

There are two types of languages:

Low-level
High-level

Programming Languages
Low-Level Language

A low-level language
is a programming
language that is
machine dependent,
which means it runs
on only one
particular type of
computer.

High-Level Language

A high-level language
is a language that
mimics English and
often machine
independent. These
type of languages
can run on many
different types of
computers and
operating systems.

Low-Level Language

There are two types of low-level

languages.
1. Machine language - which is also
known as the first generation of
programming language.
2.

Assembly language the second

generation of programming languages

Machine Languages

Machine language is the only language

that the computer directly understands.

The program code consists of 0s and 1s.

Disadvantages:
Tedious

to code programs
Time consuming
Program is machine dependent

Example of Machine
Language

Assembly language

It is the second generation of programming

languages.

Includes some names and other symbols to replace

some of the 1s and 0s in machine language.

Resembles machine language

Uses brief abbreviations for program instructions.

Assembly language

Disadvantages:
Can

be difficult to learn
Programmers must convert an assembly
language into machine language before the
computer can execute, or run the program.

Example of
Assembly
Language

High-Level Languages

High-level language is one

that mimics English and
does not require the
programmer to
understand.

Closer to natural
languages

Includes third generation

languages (3GLs) like
FORTRAN, BASIC, COBOL,
C, etc.) and objectoriented languages (Visual
Basic, C#, PYTHON, Java,
etc.)

Procedural programming
languages

Due to the disadvantages of machine and

assembly (low-level) languages led to the
development of procedural languages in the
late 1950s and 1960s.

The programmer writes instructions which

tell the computer what to accomplish and
how to do it.

Procedural language is often called thirdgeneration language (3GL)

Procedural programming
languages

Procedural programming
languages

There are several hundred procedural

languages which exist widely but only a
few of those are used.

The two standardized and most widely

industry used are:
C
COBOL

The C programming language was

developed by Dennis Ritchie in the 1972
at Bell Laboratories.

It was originally designed for writing

system software.

The C programming language today is

used to write many programs.

Snippet of a C program

C language is mostly used for

developing low level applications as it is
considered nearest to the hardware
amongst all languages, baring assembly
language.

C is the first programming course offered

in universities and it paved way for
learning other languages.

COBOL

It stands for COmmon Business-Oriented

Language.

It came about because of a joint effort

between the United States government,
businesses, and major Universities in the
early 1960s

Grace Hopper who was a Naval officer was

the prime developer of COBOL

COBOL

It is designed for business applications.

Easy to read because of the English-like
statements.

COBOL

It is especially useful
for processing
transactions.
Payroll
Billing

Makes extensive use

of modules and
submodules
Being phased out in
many organizations
Evolving (COBOL.NET)

COBOL

Drawback of the COBOL programming

language is that it requires programmers
to explain what the program is doing at
each step.

Object Oriented
Programming

Object oriented programming is a popular

programming technique based on data
being conceptualized as objects.

Objects are items that can contain both data

and the procedures that read or manipulate
that data.

An object represents a real person, place,

event or transaction.

Object Oriented
Programming

An object is defined by its features and

behaviour.

Multiple objects can be assembled into one

program, or one object can be nested (contained)
within another to create a solution for a specific
problem.

Objects are created rather than sequences of

instructions. This language can be 3GL, 4GL, 5GL.

Object Oriented
Programming

An object-oriented programming (OOP) language

allows programmers the ability to reuse and modify existing
objects

Programs that are developed using objectoriented programming have several advantages:
Can be reused in many systems
Designed for repeated use
Become stable over time
Programmers can create applications faster
because they design programs using existing
objects.

Object Oriented
Programming

OOP is also event-driven.

An event is an action to which the program
responds.
Examples of events include pressing a key
on the keyboard, typing a value in a text
box or moving the mouse, clicking a button
or evening speaking an instruction.
An event-driven program checks for and
responds to events.

Object Oriented
Programming

Some programming languages are event

driven but are not complete OOP
Languages.

Other programming languages such as:

Java
C#
F#
C++
And

the lastest versions of Visual Basic are

complete OOP languages.

Object Oriented
Programming

Object oriented programming languages

and program development tools work well in
RAD (Rapid Application Development)
environments.

RAD is a method of developing software, in

which a programmer writes and implements
a program in segments instead of waiting
until the entire program is completed.

They use built in components (no need to

write codes for boxes, form etc.)

Object Oriented
Programming

Most object oriented program

development tools are IDEs (Integrated
development environment).

An IDE includes tools for building

graphical user interfaces.

Java

Java is an object-oriented programming

language developed by Sun
Microsystems
The Just-in-time (JIT) compiler to convert
the bytecode into machine-dependent
code

Programming Languages and

Program Development Tools

The Microsoft .NET Framework allows

almost any type of program to run on
the Internet or an internal business
network, as well as computers and
mobile devices

Programming Languages and

Program Development Tools

C++ is an extension of the C

programming language

Additional features for working with objects,

classes, events, and other object-oriented
concepts

C# is based on C++ and was developed

by Microsoft

Programming Languages and

Program Development Tools

39

Programming Languages and

Program Development Tools

Programming Languages and

Program Development Tools

PowerBuilder is a powerful program

development RAD tool

Best suited for Web-based, .NET, and largescale enterprise object-oriented applications

Non-procedural programming
languages

A 4GL (fourth-generation language) is a

nonprocedural language that enables
users and programmers to access data
in a database

One popular 4GL is SQL

Programming Languages and

Program Development Tools

Classic programming languages include:

Programming Languages and

Program Development Tools

An application generator is a program

that creates source code or machine code
from a specification of the required
functionality

Often bundled as part of a DBMS

Programming Languages and

Program Development Tools

A macro is a series of statements that

instructs an application how to complete
a task

You usually create the macro in one of

two ways:
Record the macro with a macro
recorder
Write the macro

Various ways to develop Web

pages

The designers of Web pages are known

as Web developers.

These Web developers use various

techniques to create web pages through
the use of different languages including:
HTML and XHTML
XML and WML

Web Page Development

HTML is a special
formatting language
that programmers use
to format documents
for display on the Web

XHTML is a markup
language that allows
Web sites to be
displayed more easily
on mobile devices

Web Page Development

47

Web browsers can execute short programs

to add interactive elements to Web pages

To send and receive information between

your computer and a Web server, these
programs use the CGI (common gateway
interface)

Web Page Development

48

Programmers write scripts, applets, servlets,

or ActiveX controls using a variety of
languages

Web Page Development

49

Web page authoring software can create

sophisticated Web pages that include
images, video, audio, animation, and other
effects

End of Lecture