What is Programming Language?

Programming language is the way to instruct the computer to perform some particular operation.  Programming languages are used to develop softwares. Programming languages are basically categorized into two types: –

  • Low Level Language.
  • High Level Language

1. Low Level Language

A low level language is that programming language which can be directly understood by the computer. Low level language is further categorized into two types:

a. Machine Language:

Machine language is represented in the form of 0 and 1. It is also known as binary language.

b. Assembly Language:

Assembly language instructions are represented by predefined symbols known as mnemonic codes. Mnemonic codes are easier to understand as compared to machine language.

2. High Level Language

A low level language is that programming language which is easily understood by the programmer.

Examples of high level languages are C, C++, Java etc. High level languages are of two types

  • Procedural Programming Language
  • Object Oriented Programming Language



a. Procedural Programming Language

In procedural programming, the instructions are written in sequence one after another and they get executed in top down manner in the same sequence in which they are written.

The focus is always on doing work. Data is given less focus. Data is also not secure as it is available to all the functions in the program. Some procedural languages are COBOL, FORTRAN, and C.



b. Object Oriented Programming Language(OOPS)

In object oriented programming language, the more focus is given to the data. In object oriented programming language, data and functions are combined into a single unit known as an object.

Some object-oriented languages are C++, Java and VB.NET.

Lesson tags: introduction to programming, programming language, types of programming language, what is programming language
Back to: C Programming Language