CH 1 Lesson 3 - Computer Languages

Weakly Typed Languages

By contrast, a weakly typed or un-typed language allows more flexibility when managing your data. You can reserve space and give a name to some data without really specifying the exact nature of the data in advance.

Visual C#

C# ((pronounced "C-sharp") was developed by Microsoft in order to compete with Java and take advantage of lessons learned during the evolution of earlier languages. C#, like Java, is an object-oriented language with a large library of pre-built objects to make programming easier. The libraries tend to be more Windows-specific, allowing programmers to fully utilize the power of the Windows operating system. C# was first released 2002 and has gained popularity for a wide range of applications.

ChenML

Chemical Markup Language is used to represent chemistry concepts such as molecules and reactions

Compiling

Compiling is the process of turning human-readable source code into native machine language.

High-Level Interpreted

High level languages may also be interpreted, which means the source code itself is transferred between computer systems and turned into machine language by an interpreter program.

High-Level Compiled

High level languages use more human-readable source code and can be compiled or converted into machine code for multiple operating systems and platforms. Only the compiled machine code is distributed to target computers to run. The program may not use the fastest possible instructions for the target computer, but it's easier to write code using powerful languages statements and development environments.

HTML

Hyper-Text Markup Language is used to control and format the display of information in web pages

Java

In the early 1990s, a company called Sun Microsystems created a new programming language called "Java". Java was created from the ground up as a purely object-oriented language. The Java language was easier to use than C++ in many respects, which made it instantly popular with new programmers.

Low-Level Machine Code

Machine language is composed of the actual bits and bytes (the 1's and 0's) that CPUs actually understand. Each combination of bits tells the CPU to perform a different operation. Machine language is specific to one type of computer platform.

Strongly Typed Languages

Many languages, especially those that are compiled like C/C++, Java, and C#, are strongly typed languages.

C

One of the first programming languages for Windows programs was the "C" language. This language has been around for many decades and was used almost exclusively in the early years of Windows programming. The C language is very powerful, but lacks some of the modern niceties of later languages.

Low-Level Assembly

One step above machine language, Assembly allows programmers to write individual CPU-level instructions using short character sequences that can be directly translated into machine language. Assembly language is specific to one type of computer platform. You can write very fast code in low-level languages, but it's hard to take advantage of the nice features and libraries that a high-level language provides.

Interpreted

Other languages are interpreted, which mean the source code itself is sent to the target computer.

Prototyping

Prototype programs are used as "proof-of-concept" demonstrations. This means that when a company has an idea for a new program, instead of dedicating a lot of time and resources to creating the full program with a complicated language, they will create a quick version with Visual Basic.

Scripted

Similar to high-level interpreted languages, scripted languages are distributed in source form, but they are designed to run within and control another piece of software. JavaScript, for example, is a scripting language that runs in a web browser and controls how the browser displays content on a web page.

SPICE

Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis (SPICE) language is used to represent and analyze electronic circuits

C++

The C++ language (also called "C with Classes"), adds some object-oriented concepts to the original C language. These concepts allow programmers to create and re-use large libraries of common code. Object-oriented programming reduces the need to re-create code for common methods like displaying a window on the screen.

Translated

The Java language uses a hybrid or translated approach. The high-level source code is compiled down to an intermediate format that is sent to each computer.

MATLAB

The Matrix Laboratory language is used for a variety of mathematical calculations and tasks

Visual C++

The Microsoft Visual Studio C++ Integrated Development Environment (IDE) provides a graphical way to design screens in an application. It also provides a large library of pre-built classes called the Microsoft Foundation Classes (MFC) to make working with most aspects of Windows programming easier.

Visual Basic

The Visual Basic programming language grew out of the wildly popular BASIC language. The original BASIC programming language was created to allow non-programming students to write simple programs for their computers. Visual Basic is a Windows version of this popular language. One of the best benefits of this language is that it is an extremely simple language to learn.

Interpreter

When the program is run a program called an interpreter will translate the source code to machine code at runtime.