Programming Languages to Give an Introduction to Term Paper

Programming Languages

To give an introduction to programming languages, we can state that a language that explains the modification and control of another program that already exist is called a Program language. These Program Languages are usually built upon a single or many other programming languages and are actually a portion of the prototyping environment. This opinion was fabricated because an environment is actually a mechanism that would aid a programmer in coming up with a working program, which also includes the job of preparing a source text. But at the same time, there is no restraint that an environment will be restricted to only work with raw source text. Some systems also have a technique through which various processes can be communicated with the help of a single channel. To put this into action what would be required is the fact that this particular portion of the system is made up of source codes in various languages; build scripts, link directives and also operating system calls. But ironically, since one single programming language cannot include the program language, hence such a language would be called an epilanguage. (Bergin, and Gibson, 1996).

The reason behind having numerous programming languages is the fact that we have multiplicity of requirements. A system programmer may require a different program from that of an artificial intelligence researcher. And at the same time, other people have different requirements from their programs like biochemist, political scientist, manufacturers etc. In order to be able to meet all these diverse needs, programmers have come up with varied programming languages which are suited to each of the individuals requirement and it is because of this that we use varied languages now, which are specialized and meet the demands of a particular streamline of individuals. The main aim behind these languages being evolved is the fact that, these languages are tried to be made more human and computer friendly, gradually it is expected that the level of abstraction shall rise. The basic fact behind developing new programming languages is that a single language is not sufficient for all the programming domains. Hence to bridge this gap most programmers come up with new styles of programs that are fundamentally based in different programming models and a lot of these languages are being re modeled and re implemented, though using the same semantics of their older version. (MacLennan, 1999)

This brings us to back to our question as to why do we not have a standard language. To get into the technicality of the question, in order to design a programming language, we need to make it compatible to structured programming and this is just not possible with a single language. The reason behind this being that the " shell approach" or the " everything in all" or even the concept of the " core approach " i.e. The "extensible language" is not enough to be able to meet the high demand of the current approach. So to rectify this, a third solution- one that involves language systems with Hierarchy is being come up with. But even such a program would only help in establishing the desirable relationship between the language levels and the need for a single language cannot be fulfilled with this.

Another reason behind this is the fact that though we may learn something today, a day later something new comes up with and hence a new different language. But a positive point that is noticed that though there is no constant programming language, but the new ones that are come up with are much simpler and easier to understand and comprehend. Each language has a unique feature attached to it, and hence the language that we will ultimately choose shall depend upon our requirement. So it ultimately just comes down to the fact that first we decide upon our requirements and then pick up the appropriate language. To take for example, if we are just looking at making fast money, then we can probably go in for Java. But in case we just want to learn something simple and easy then we can go in for, Visual Basic or VB script, as they are simple but powerful. Similarly there are a lot of languages that are designed specially to suit the individuals' needs. A few other examples would be, that to opt for Perl if we want to indulge in server side stuff. For games or other operating system programs, C++ is our best bet. (Sebesta, 1996).Most software developers depending on their skill and their task at hand select their language, as one language is never known to satisfy all the requirements and the needs of the developers. This is the main reason behind not having a single programming language and also the fact that all the programming languages may give the computer programmer a solution to the program but to use these various programs at one time in a single program is a magnanimous task. This is because each of these programs have different compilers, programming models, syntax, and other factors, and hence one may not be compatible with another and also certain other factors that influence ultimately make it pretty un viable to be used for a particular task. (MacLennan, 1999)

The possibility of coming up and sticking to one language is also very difficult as the requirements fulfilled by one program may not be fulfilled by another and using these varied programs together is also not the right solution. To take for example, if we need to perform a complicated replacement on the contents of a file, the software to choose would be Perl, Awk or Sed. But maybe ironically, the logic of our application would probably be in Forth, and in such a situation it becomes a very tedious task to try and link the Perl or other program to that of the Forth program. To fulfill this a lot of language amalgamation technologies have been performed but the end result usually is the fact that such solutions are usually incompetent and always end up in application architecture that are usually distorted and difficult to maintain.

A lot of customers do not even think twice to consider a lot of programming effects that they come across in daily life but at the same time most executives or programmers put in a great deal of effort while coming up with their programs. This is because software is imperative to the various products and services that we offer and also the programming languages that we use to write the particular software is what will ultimately decide as to our success or failure.

The main features of a good programming language would be the fact that it actually allows the programmers to be able to put forth their ideas without much effort. It should be able to give the programmer a perfect way to make modifications to the structure of the system. (Bergin, and Gibson, 1996). Also this is important so that the software development organization effectiveness is maintained with a programming language and also by having a more unambiguous structure, we would not only be of help to the engineers but also it would be easy to display the software tools and the various display programs. It is the structure that would ultimately determine as to what would actually help to keep new releases to continue flowing. Though this structure is not actually known to its users but this is what helps in maintainability, extensibility, scalability, and portability and also it make simpler debugging and testing. If this were not properly done then the program would be of no use. Ironically, all programming languages are not self sufficient to run on their platforms without external help from other software that would aid them in being used as the single programming language.

To get into specific a single language can never be sufficient for all our purpose, this being because to be optimal for a task at hand in a specific system and to be the best use for a number of programmers, every language should be specially made for each of them. And specialization obviously rules out the chances of being able to have one single language to be used by all. Hence if we do not get into specialization, then we will have to be stuck with generality and inefficiency. Also efficiency and generality along with itself include the cost of being complex.

Therefore, comes the need of having both a special purpose language and a general-purpose language. There fore, this leads us to the conclusion that it is important that a language be effective enough to be used in a multilingual environment. But also there are other parts to be taken into consideration, being the fact that the culture that is actually prone to that particular programming language is actually more significant to the quality of work produced than the language's features on the whole. Hence in such.....