Types of Programming Languages (Complete List with Examples)

Types of Programming Languages: In today’s era where computers are the basic necessity of every company and industry to grow.

The need for programmers and software developers is also increasing.

As you know that different programming languages have their own specialty and features.

So, In order to become a skilled programmer, you should have a basic understanding of the different types of Programming Languages available.

So, you can choose your favorite Programming Language accordingly.

In this article, we are going to take a look at the different categories of Programming Languages with Examples.

Here is the complete list of different types of Programming Languages available:

Low-Level Programming Languages

Low-Level Programming Languages are very close to the machine and are also known as Computer-Friendly Languages.

These are the Programming Languages with very less or no abstraction at all.

Low-Level Programming Languages are the hardest languages to understand by programmers and need a really good knowledge of Computer Architecture and it’s working.

There are 2 types of Low-Level Programming Languages available, which are discussed below:

1. Machine Language

Machine Language is also known as the First Generation Programming Language (1GL).

If you already know the working of Computer, then you can easily understand the working of Machine Language as well.

When you will take a deep look inside your computer, you will see nothing but just a series of transistors, which are used for holding and releasing a charge.

In simple words, a Computer is a cluster of millions and millions of switches, which can be either turned ON or OFF at a very high rate.

These two states (ON and OFF) can also be defined as 1 and 0 which is called Binary Code.

A computer just understands the language of 0s and 1s (Binary Code).

Since Machine Language doesn’t need a Compiler, Interpreter, or any type of program to convert its code. So, it is the fastest Programming Language.

However, working with Machine Language is not an easy task. As you need a good understanding of the architecture of the CPU and its working.

Here is a simple example of Machine Language or Binary Code – 00000001 00010000 00000100 01000000.

2. Assembly Language

Assembly Language is also known as Second Generation Programming Language (2GL).

It is another Low-Level Programming Language and the second closest language to the Computer.

Assembly Language is slower as compared to the Machine Language. However, it is very fast when compared to High-Level Programming Languages (like – C, C++, Java).

Unlike Machine Language, the Assembly Language need a program (called Assembler) to convert its Assembly Code to Machine Code.

Programming in Assembly Language is comparatively much easier as compared to working with Machine Language.

High-Level Programming Languages

High-Level Programming Languages are also known as humans or programmers-friendly languages.

Here, the level of abstraction is much higher as compared to Low-Level Languages.

In order to run a program written in a high-level language, we need a compiler or interpreter, which will convert the code written in High-Level Language to the Low-Level Language (Assembly Code > Machine Code).

Since High-Level Programming Languages are very easy to understand and work with.

So, almost all programmers use High-Level Programming Languages for writing the code or creating a program.

There are 6 types of High-Level Programming Languages available, which are discussed below:

1. Procedural-Oriented Programming Language

Procedural-Oriented Programming is also known as Third Generation Programming Language (3GL).

It is one of the primitive and important paradigms in the Programming Industry.

In Procedural-Oriented Programming, instead of focusing on data, we majorly focus on the procedure of the program.

The main goal of Procedural-Oriented Programming is to solve a problem.

So, data is the second priority in Procedural-Oriented Programming, as a result, this Programming Paradigm is comparatively less secure.

In Procedural Oriented Programming, we create a number of statements in order to solve any problem. It uses a Top-Down approach in order to solve any problem.

However, it is very important to maintain the order of every step or statement. Therefore, we make use of functions in Procedural-Oriented Programming.

Procedural-Oriented Programming is a much unrealistic approach to solve a problem as compared to other Programming Paradigm.

Examples of Procedural-Oriented Programming Language: Basic, Fortran, C, Pascal, and COBOL.

2. Object-Oriented Programming Language

It is one of the most important Programming Paradigm in which we make use of Classes and Objects for creating a program.

Object-Oriented Programming is the most realistic programming approach for solving Real-World problems.

Here, every problem is viewed as an entity or object, by which the designing of the program becomes more simple and easy.

Some of the basic concepts of Object-Oriented Programming are Object, Class, Inheritance, Abstraction, Polymorphism, and Encapsulation.

Examples of Object-Oriented Programming Language: Java, Python, C++, C#, JavaScript, and PHP.

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3. Functional Programming Language

Functional Programming is a style of programming, where functions are treated and used just like variables. Therefore, Functional Programming Language is also known as the First-Class Function.

In Functional Programming, the data is immutable, which means that once the data is created, it cannot be changed and we have to create a separate variable instead of changing the old one.

Another goal of Functional Programming is to keep the Data separate from the Function.

Examples of Functional Programming Language: Haskell, Scala, Python, Clojure, and Swift.

4. Problem-Oriented Programming Language

Problem-Oriented Programming Language is also known as Fourth Generation Programming Language (4GL) or Result Oriented Programming Language.

Here, you can directly insert or retrieve the result or data without caring about the procedural or getting into the actual complexity of the program.

It is usually used for managing the Databases. Here, the priority is given to the data only.

Examples of Problem-Oriented Programming Language: Fortran, COBOL, Pascal, and GPSS.

5. Scripting Programming Language

Scripting Language is the Programing Language which is used for performing automation or repetitive task with the help of scripts.

Unlike, other Programming Languages, Scripting Languages are Run-Time Programming Languages.

Web Automation or Web Scripting is one of the applications of Scripting Language.

You can also automate your daily task on a computer, with the help of Shell Script or Bash Script, which is another most popular example of Scripting Language.

Examples of Scripting Programming Language: Bash, JavaScript, Shell, Python, and Perl.

6. Artificial Intelligence Programming Language

Artificial Intelligence Programming Language is also known as Fifth Generation Programming Language (5GL) or Natural Language.

In Fifth Generation Programming Languages, the code will be written in the form of normal sentences, as we use in normal communication with others.

So, unlike other Programming Languages, here we don’t need any logic or algorithm to create a program.

So, even a non-programmer will also be able to tell a computer what to do and the computer will perform all the tasks on its own.

However, Artificial Intelligence Language is still in its development phase and a lot of research is still going on in its development.

Hope you like the article on different Types of Programming Languages. We also have an article on top Programming Languages to learn which you must take a look at.