Introduction to Computing

Asma Shaheen
 Five generations of
programming languages
A programming Language is a set of rules
that tells the computer what operations to
do?
Programmers use these languages to create
softwares.
There are five generations of programming
languages ranging from low level to high
level.
 First Generation Language
The lowest level of language is the machine
language.
 Basic language of computer.
 Represents data in 0s and 1s.
 Machine programs vary from computer to
computer so machine dependent.
 These binary digits are not convenient for
people for read and write.
 First Generation Language
 Believe it or not, people did work with
these digits.
 Sighs of relief when the 2nd generation of
language came.
 2nd
generation: Assembly
Language
Assembly language is a low level
programming that allows a user to write a
program using abbreviations or more easily
remembered words instead of numbers.
 For example The latter MP could be used
to used to represent the instruction Multiple
and STO to represent STORE
 2 nd
generation: Assembly
Language
 Easy to write instructions in assembly
language
 Fast working
 Still it was not easy to learn and it is so
tedious that mistakes are frequent
 Machine dependent
 3 Generation: High Level
rd

Languages
 A high level language resembles some
human languages such as English.
 A high level language allows users to write
in a familiar notation rather than numbers or
abbreviations
 Not machine dependent
 Examples are FORTRAN,BASIC,Pascal,C
 3 Generation: High Level
rd

Languages
Assembly language needs an assembler as a
language translator.
 The translator for high level languages
depending upon the language either a
complier or an interpreter
 3 Generation: High Level
rd

Languages
 Compilers:
 A compilers is a language translator that
converts the entire program of a high level
language into machine language before the
computer executes the program.
 The Programming instructions of a high
level are called the source code.
 3rd Generation: High Level
Languages
 The compilers translates it into machine
language , which in this case is called the object
code.
 Object code can be saved.
 COBOL,FORTRAN, Pascal.C
 Interpreter:
 An interpreter is a language translator that converts each
high level language statements into machine language and
executes it immediately, statement by statement
 No object code is saved.
 Slow
 3 Generation: High Level
rd

Languages
 Third generations languages are called
procedural languages
 Programs follows Procedures or series of
instructions.
 Detailed knowledge of language.
 4th Generation of language
 A very high level language is often called a
4GL for 4th generation languages.
 These are much user oriented and allows to
develop programs with fewer commands
compared with 3rd generation languages.
 Also called rapid application development
tools
 Non procedural language
 4th Generation of language
Programmers and users can write programs
that need only tell the computer what they
want done not all the procedures for doing
it.
 Saves time
 4GL consists of Report generators,query
languages, DBMS, Java, Visual C etc
 5 Generation:Natural
th

Languages.
 NL are of two types. The first are ordinary
human language English,Spanish and so on.
 The 2nd are programming language that use
language to give people a more natural
connection with computer.
 Some of the query languages mentioned in
4GL try to be even closer.
 5 Generation:Natural
th

Languages.
 Natural languages are part of of the field of
study called AI
 Develop machines to emulate human like
qualities such as learning, reasoning etc.
 Eliza
 Abbreviations

 FORTRON: Formula translator

 COBOL: Common Business Oriented Language
 BASIC: Beginner’s All purpose Symbolic Instruction Code
 LISP: List Processor
 PROLOG: Programming Logic
 HTML: Hypertext markup language.
 XML: Extensible markup language
 VRML: Virtual reality modeling language