Computer Programming | What, Why and How FAQ

Computer Programming

Computer Programming is the process of designing, writing, testing, debugging, and maintaining the source code of computer programs.

This source code is written in one or more programming languages.

Running a Program

Converting a human readable program into machine language:

Compilation and execution of code:

Interpretation of a program:

Programming Languages

The term programming language usually refers to high-level languages, such as:

BASIC

C

C++

COBOL

FORTRAN

Ada

Pascal

Each language has a unique set of keywords and a special syntax for organizing program instructions.

Types of programming languages:

Low-level Language

High-level Language

Low-level Language

A Low-level programming language is a programming language that provides little or no abstraction from a computer's instruction set architecture.

Generally, this refers to either machine code or assembly language.

High-level Language

A computer language whose instructions or statements correspond to several machine language instructions, designed to make coding easier.

A High-level programming language is a programming language with strong abstraction from the details of the computer.

As opposed to lower level languages, higher level languages may:

Use natural language elements.

Be easier to use.

Be from the specification of the program.

This makes the process of developing a program simpler and more understandable.

Problem-oriented Languages

A language whose statement resembles the language of the user is called Problem-oriented language.

Procedural Languages

In procedural programming, programs follow a structured set of steps (a procedure).

Non-Procedural Languages 

Visual Basic and Java are called Non-procedural or Event-driven languages.

Instead of writing a series of sequential instructions, a programmer defines the actions that the program must perform when certain events occur.

Scripting Languages

Scripting languages, which can be embedded within HTML, are commonly used to add functionality to a Web page, such as different menu styles or graphic displays or to serve dynamic advertisements.

Object Oriented Programming

OOP is a problem solving approach in which all computations are performed in the context of “objects”.