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Java TOPIC 01 – PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
LESSON NOTE
PROGRAMMING
LANGUAGE A programming language is a written language designed to
communicate instructions to a computer. COMPUTER PROGRAM A computer program is a sequential list
of statements (commands) that work together to perform a task.
SYNTAX The syntax of a language describes how
different letters, numbers, symbols and spacing are to be combined in order
to form a correct statements and programs. In the
example Turing program above, you can see the statements make use of different
symbols such as double quotes and colons as well as spacing. To understand where and how to use these
symbols is to understand the language’s syntax. MANY DIFFERENT LANGUAGES Over the years, many different programming
languages have been created. Some were
created out of necessity while many others were created as personal projects.
Today’s dominant languages are quite
complex and continue to evolve. Large
groups of professionals work steadily to maintain and update such languages.
A language’s
success depends on its strengths. For
example, C# (pronounced C Sharp) had recently enjoyed increased success as it
was one of the earlier languages to be useful for smartphone app development. It’s popularity
has now dipped a little as other languages have started to be used in
Smartphone App development. At the other
end of the spectrum, Steve Jobs refused to include support for Flash Actionscript on the iPhone claiming that the language was
to intensive on battery life. Since,
Flash’s popularity has gradually decreased and its future is in doubt. MOST POPULAR
LANGUAGES
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