A programming language is a subset of computer languages. It is a type of language that is designed and standardized (as opposed to natural languages) for conveying instructions to computers (or other devices with a processor). Programming languages can be used to create programs intended to control computers or describe algorithms for others to understand.
Today, there are many programming languages in the world, and there is no “best language” since each programming language serves a specific purpose and contributes to technology at different times. You might learn C, C++, C#, or Java at school. However, that is not enough, as languages evolve over time, and as an experienced software engineer, you must be able to learn new languages easily.
Types of Programming Languages
Programming languages can be categorized into several models. Each language can belong to multiple types.
- High-level Languages – Low-level Languages
- Declarative Programming – Imperative Programming – Procedural Programming
- General-purpose Programming – Domain-specific Programming
- Object-oriented Programming – Concurrent Programming
- Command Languages – Compiled Languages – Interpreted Languages
Note: There are many other models that can be used to classify programming languages. Here, we only list the most common and prominent models.
How Many Programming Languages Are There?
As computer science continues to evolve, many programming languages have been created to cater to different fields. Here, Quantrimang.com has only listed a few dozen names, while there are still hundreds of other languages out there that have not been mentioned. You can visit the Hello World Collection (helloworldcollection.de) to expand your horizons with demos of how to write “Hello World” in 591 different programming languages. It’s quite fascinating!
Do you want to know what the first programming language in the world was? And who the creator of the most popular languages today is? How can programming be done safely? All of this will be summarized in the infographic below.
