Programming Languages By Stefan Kyriacou

Procedural Language Procedural (also known as imperative language) language is a programming language that works on a step by step basis (a procedure) kind of like a chain reaction. It relies on well organized procedures, functions or sub-routines in a program’s architecture by specifying all the steps the computer must take to reach a certain output. It contains a systematic order of statements, functions and commands to complete a computational task.

Object-Oriented Programming Object-oriented languages define not only the data type of a data structure, but the types of operations that can be applied to the data structure. This means the data structure becomes it’s own entity (like an object) that includes both data and functions. It also allows you to create relationships between one object and another so for instance, one object could inherit characteristics from another object. An advantage over procedural programming is that you can create a whole module that will not need to be changed when a new type of object is added; you could create a new object that inherits many of it’s features from existing objects which means object-oriented programs are easier to modify.

Visual Programming languages A visual programming language is a language which allows you to create a program in which you interact with it graphically rather than through text. This can mean the use of flow charts instead of using a procedural language or it could be just the use of special arrangements of text and graphic symbols. The difference between a visual programming language (vpl) and a visually transformed programming language (vtpl) is that a vtpl is a visual translation of a language which would be interacted with through the use of text by default whereas with a vpl it may use visual expressions which may be difficult to translate into text due to the fact that there is no obvious text equivalent.

Script and Markup Languages Markup languages are designed to process text for presentation. The language would use code for formatting both the layout and style within a text file. There are three general categories of electronic markup: Presentational markup The kind of markup used by traditional word-processing systems: binary codes embedded in document text so that the editor see’s mainly what would be seen in the outputted version. Procedural markup Markup is embedded in text and provides instructions for programs that are to process the text. It is expected that the processor will run through the text from beginning to end, following the instructions as encountered. Text with such markup is often edited with the markup visible and directly manipulated by the programmer. Descriptive markup Markup is used to label parts of the document rather than to provide specific instructions as to how they should be processed, this means the labels aren’t being read by the processor and instead are just visual guidance to the person reading the text.