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 What is programming?

 Series of instructions to a computer to accomplish a task

 Instructions must be written in a way the computer can understand

 Programming languages are used to write programs

 Once the code (language) of a program has been written, it must be executed
(run, started).

 You may need to type the name of the program to start it, or use a word like
RUN and the name of the program (in the old days, anyway).

Zafar Iqbal Khan 4 Application of ICT

 Programming Language
• Set of commands that a computer has been
“taught” to understand
• Languages that look like “machine code” (e.g.,
82A8: jsr r5,@#82AE 82AC: sob r0,8296) are used for…
– Writing games
– Writing application programs (like Excel)
• Other languages look like English (“high level,”
e.g., PRINT “HELLO”)
– Logo
– JavaScript
– And many more
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 Programming Language

 A programming language is a set of rules that provides a way of telling a

computer what operations to perform.

 A programming language is a set of rules for communicating an algorithm.

 It provides a linguistic framework for describing computations.

 English is a natural language. It has words, symbols and grammatical rules.

 A programming language also has words, symbols and rules of grammar.

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 Programming Language
 The grammatical rules are called syntax.

 Each programming language has a different set of syntax rules.

 Programming languages have evolved over time as better ways have been

developed to design them.

o First programming languages were developed in the 1950s

o Since then thousands of languages have been developed

 Different programming languages are designed for different types of

programs.
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 What does Programming look like?
 Here are some examples of an instruction to print the
word HI
– Logo PR [HI]
– JavaScript alert(“HI”);
– FORTRAN PRINT “HI”
– BASIC PRINT “HI”
– COBOL DISPLAY ‘HI’.
– C++ printf(“HI”);
– Pascal WRITELN(‘HI’);
– Assembly XPRNT MESSAGE1
Language MESSAGE1 DC ‘HI’

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 Programming Language Generations

• In the beginning… To use a computer, you needed to know how to

program it.
• Today… People no longer need to know how to program in order to
use the computer.
• To see how this was accomplished, lets investigate how programming
languages evolved.
– First Generation - Machine Language (code)
– Second Generation - Assembly Language
– Third Generation - People-Oriented Programming Languages
– Fourth Generation - Non-Procedural Languages
– Fifth Generation - Natural Languages

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 Programming Language Generations
 First Generation
(late 1940s):

Machine-level programming
languages
– Fast and efficient, executed
directly on the CPU
– Consists only of 0s and 1s
– Difficult for humans to read,
write, and debug

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 Programming Language Generations

 First Generation - Machine Language (code)

– Machine language programs were made up of instructions
written in binary code.
• This is the “native” language of the computer.
• Each instruction had two parts: Operation code, Operand
– Operation code (Opcode): The command part of a computer
instruction.
– Operand: The address of a specific location in the computer’s
memory.
• Hardware dependent: Could be performed by only one
type of computer with a particular CPU.

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 Programming Language Generations

 Second Generation
(early 1950s):
– Symbolic assemblers
– Interpreting routines
– Very early compilers

Assembly languages
– Simple mnemonic instructions <opcode> <operands>
– Assembler translates into machine code
– Handcoding in assembly only for low-level needs

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 Programming Language Generations

 Second Generation - Assembly Language

– Assembly language programs are made up of instructions
written in mnemonics.
– Mnemonics: Uses convenient alphabetic abbreviations to
represent operation codes, and abstract symbols to represent
operands.
– Each instruction had two parts: Operation code, Operand
– Hardware dependent.
– Because programs are not written in 1s and 0s, the computer
must first translate the program before it can be executed.

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 Programming Language Generations

 Third Generation
(mid 1950s - present):

High level, general-purpose

– FORTRAN, LISP, COBOL, ALGOL

(Ada, Basic, C, C++, Java, Pascal, Smalltalk, …)

– Easier for humans to read, write, debug

– Compiler translates into machine code before running
– Interpreter translates into machine code at runtime

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 Programming Language Generations

 Third Generation - People-Oriented Programs

– Instructions in these languages are called statements.
• High-level languages: Use statements that resemble
English phrases combined with mathematical terms needed
to express the problem or task being programmed.
• Transportable: NOT-Hardware dependent.
• Because programs are not written in 1s and 0s, the computer
must first translate the program before it can be executed.

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 Programming Language Generations

 Fourth Generation (1970s - ): Non-Procedural Languages

 Programming-like systems aimed at simplifying the programmers task of

imparting instructions to a computer.
 Maple, Mathematica, Postscript, SPSS, SQL

 Many are associated with specific application packages.

 Query Languages
 Specification Languages
 Systems Engineering
 Report Writers /Generators,
 Application Generators

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 Programming Language Generations

– Query Languages:
• Enables a person to specify exactly what information they require
from the database.
• Usually embedded within database management programs.
– Report Writers:
• Takes information retrieved from databases and formats into
attractive, usable output.
– Application Generators:
• A person can specify a problem, and describe the desired results.
• Included with many micro-computer programs (macros).

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 Programming Language Generations

 Object-Oriented Languages: A language that expresses a computer problem as a

series of objects a system contains, the behaviors of those objects, and how the
objects interact with each other.

Object: Any entity contained within a system.

Examples:
 A window on your screen.
 A list of names you wish to organize.
 An entity that is made up of individual parts.

Some popular examples: C++, Java, Smalltalk, Eiffel.

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 Programming Language Generations

 Fifth Generation (1980s - ): Natural Languages

Solve problems using constraints rather than algorithms, used in Artificial
Intelligence
– Prolog
 Natural-Language: Languages that use ordinary conversation in one’s own
language.
– Research and experimentation toward this goal is being done.
• Intelligent compilers are now being developed to translate natural language
(spoken) programs into structured machine-coded instructions that can be
executed by computers.
• Effortless, error-free natural language programs are still some distance into the
future.

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 A Family Tree of Languages

Fortran LISP
Cobol

BASIC Algol 60 PL/1

Simula ML
C Algol 68
Pascal Scheme
Smalltalk
Ada Dylan
C+ PerlModula 3 Prolog
+ Java
C# Python Ruby
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  Assembled languages:
– Assembler: a program used to translate Assembly language
programs.
– Produces one line of binary code per original program statement.
• The entire program is assembled before the program is sent to
the computer for execution.

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  Compiled languages:
– Compiler: a program used to translate high-level programs.

– Translates the entire program into binary code before anything

is sent to the CPU for execution.

• The translation process for a compiled program:

– First, the Compiler checks the entire program for syntax errors in
the original source code.

– Next, it translates all of the instructions into binary code.

» Two versions of the same program exist: the original source
code version, and the binary code version (object code).

– Last, the CPU attempts execution only after the programmer

requests that the program be executed.
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  Interpreted Languages:
– Interpreter: A program used to translate high-
level programs.
– Translates one line of the program into binary
code at a time:
 An instruction is fetched from the original source code.
 The Interpreter checks the single instruction for errors. (If
an error is found, translation and execution ceases.
Otherwise…)
 The instruction is translated into binary code.
 The binary coded instruction is executed.
 The fetch and execute process repeats for the entire
program.

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Zafar Iqbal Khan 24 Application of ICT
 Language Processors
 A program is a set of instructions for performing a particular task.

 These instructions are just like English words.

 The computer interprets the instructions as 1's and 0's.

 A program can be written in assembly language as well as in high-level

language.

 This written program is called the source program.

 The source program is to be converted to the machine language, which is

called an object program.

 A translator is required for such a translation.

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 Language Processors
 Program translator translates source code of programming language into
machine language-instruction code.

 Generally, computer programs are written in languages like

COBOL, C, BASIC and ASSEMBLY LANGUAGE,
which should be translated into machine language before execution.

 A language processor is a hardware device designed or used to perform tasks, such

as processing program code to machine code.

 Language processors are found in languages such as Fortran and COBOL.

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 Language Processors

 A compiler takes a text file written in a programming language, and converts it into
binary code that a processor can understand: it makes an ".exe" file. You compile
only
once, then always run the "exe" file.

Borland Turbo C is a compiler: you write in C in a text file,

then you compile to get and exe file.

 An interpreter does the same, BUT in real time: each time you run the code, it is
"compiled", line by line: Basic is an interpreter.

 An assembler is similar, in the way that, instead of taking a plain text file, ie in C, it
takes a code written in Assembler Mnemonics, and convert it into binaries.

All "executable" files are in binaries (just 1's and 0's) - maybe viewed in hex (0x12de...)

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[1]. Graham Brown and David Watson, " Information and Communication Technology ” 2013.

[2]. Peter Norton, “Introduction to Computers” 6th International Edition (McGraw Hill)

[3]. Charles S. Parker, " Understanding Computer Today & Tomorrow”, 2000.