Classification of programming languages

Question 1

What is low level - (Generation 1)?

Answer 1

Machine code

Question 2

What is Machine code?

Answer 2

Machine code is the set of binary instructions that are used by the CPU to perform a task. Machine code is processor dependent.

Question 3

What is low level - (Generation 2)

Answer 3

• Assembly language

Question 4

What is Assembly language?

Answer 4

Assembly language is a low-level programming language which is processor-dependent; each instruction is one machine operation.

Question 5

What is High level language?

Answer 5

High-level language is a computer programming language based on natural language or mathematical notation.

Question 6

What are examples of high level language?

Answer 6

Examples: C#, Python, Java

Question 7

What is declarative language?

Answer 7

Declarative high-level languages are also based on natural language and are used to declare the necessary information to produce the required result.

Question 8

What are examples of declarative language?

Answer 8

Examples: SQL, CSS, Prolog

Question 9

What are procedural languages?

Answer 9

These languages, sometimes known as procedural languages, make use of subroutines and functions to aid readability and hence maintainability.

Question 10

How do High level languages include imperative languages?

Answer 10

High-level languages include imperative languages, which is where the program statements or instructions are executed in a sequence or order as defined by the programmer.

Question 11

How are low level languages imperative?

Answer 11

Low-level languages are imperative as all instructions are executed in a set sequence; each statement in an imperative high level is translated into numerous machine code statements prior to the execution of the code

Question 12

What are the advantages of low level language compared to high level languages?

Answer 12

• Programming in low-level code can create faster and more efficient code as the programmer controls the performance level of the created code; with high-level programming there is a reliance on the compiler to create optimised code.
• Low-level language code is memory efficient due to the lack of abstraction in the code when compared to high level languages.

Question 13

What are the disadvantages of low level language compared to high level languages?

Answer 13

• It is difficult to learn to program in low-level languages whereas high-level languages have more support and training options.
• High-level code can be self-documenting which makes it more understandable and so aids program maintenance and debugging.
• Machine-code and assembly programs are specific to a limited range of processors whereas high-level code can be compiled to run on a wide range of processors.