Computer Languages

Computer language or programming language is a coded syntax used by computer programmers to communicate with a computer. Computer language establishes a flow of communication between software programs. The language enables a computer user to dictate what commands the computer must perform to process data. These languages can be classified into following categories

 1. Machine language

2. Assembly language

3. High level language

1. Machine language

Machine language is the lowest and most elementary level of programming language and was the first type of programming language to be developed. Machine language or machine code is the native language directly understood by the computer’s central processing unit or CPU. This type of computer language is not easy to understand, as it only uses a binary system, an element of notations containing only a series of numbers consisting of one and zero, to produce commands.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGE
↬Machine language makes fast and efficient use of the computer.	↬All operation codes have to be remembered
↬It requires no translator to translate the code. It is directly understood by the computer.	↬All memory addresses have to be remembered.

2. Assembly Level Language

Assembly language was developed to overcome some of the many inconveniences of machine language. This is another low-level but very important language in which operation codes and operands are given in the form of alphanumeric symbols instead of 0’s and l’s. This language is also very difficult and needs a lot of practice to master it because there is only a little English support in this language. Mostly assembly language is used to help in compiler orientations. The instructions of the assembly language are converted to machine codes by a language translator and then they are executed by the computer.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGE
↬Assembly language is easier to understand and use as compared to machine language.	↬  Like machine language, it is also machine dependent/specific.
↬ It is easy to locate and correct errors.	↬ Since it is machine dependent, the programmer also needs to understand the hardware

3. High Level Language

High Level Languages are user-friendly languages which are similar to English with vocabulary of words and symbols. These are easier to learn and require less time to write. They are problem oriented rather than ‘machine’ based. Program written in a high-level language can be translated into many machine languages and therefore can run on any computer for which there exists an appropriate translator. 

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGE
↬High-level languages are user friendly	ü    ↬ A high-level language has to be translated into the machine language by a translator, which takes up time
↬They are similar to English and use English vocabulary and well-known symbols	ü    ↬ The object code generated by a translator might be inefficient compared to an equivalent assembly language program