Computer Programming: The Evolution Of Programming Language

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Introduction A computer program is designed to solve a specific problem following the execution of the program instructions. However, you should know that a computer does not solve problems the way we do. Human beings make use of reasoning, intelligence and intuition to solve problems, while computers solve problems according to instructions given by the programmers. The set of instructions given by programmers is termed as Programming Language. In the earlier days, two methods were used fed the instructions to the computers. a. First method: At the start of the computer, computer had to be wired on control panels and plugged into the machine. b. Second method: Computer had to read from punched cards in different steps of the job processing.…show more content…
You will also learn about the different types of procedural languages and Object-oriented languages. 1.2.1 Evolution of Programming Languages A programming language is designed to communicate instructions to the computer. These languages are used to create programs that define algorithms or specific logic. Programming languages have evolved over the last 50-60 years and new languages have been emerging very steadily. Currently, there are around 2500 languages approximately solving different types of problems. Programming languages have gone through many different stages and evolved significantly over the last few decades. Historical Background Jacquard looms and Charles Babbage's Difference Engine can be considered as the first programming language, which included simple instructions for describing the actions that these machines should perform. Programming Languages have evolved since then and the below table 1.2.1 provides more details about the evolution. Year Languages 1951- 55 Experimental use of expression compilers 1956- 60 FORTRAN, COBOL, LISP, Algol 60 1961- 65 APL notation, ALGOL 60 (revised), SNOBOL,…show more content…
Understanding the Problem The programmer should understand the problem thoroughly in terms of requirements, i.e. what is the input, type of function and output operations to be performed. 2. Define the Corresponding Output and Flows Once the programmer understands the problem he needs to determine and define the corresponding output expected from the program. He also need to take care of any particular flow, which the program needs to follow during the execution. This ensures that, when the program is complete the programmer can verify it to ensure that it matches with the expected output and also follows a particular flow as per the expectations. 3. Define or Design the Logic which will Create the Corresponding Output Once the output and the corresponding flow is defined the programmer should try to define the logic, which needs to be built in the program to solve the problem. This may include some specific steps and conditions that need to be implemented and tested during the actual program implementation. Pseudo Code is one of the approaches that the programmer follow in order to define the corresponding steps in English. 4. Implement the

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