What is a programming language. What are programming languages ​​for? Syntax using Lisp as an example

Instructions

To write the text of any computer program, one of the many programming languages ​​is used. All of them are sets of specific commands - operators, as well as descriptions. As a rule, the basis of these commands are, therefore, if you know English, by reading the text of the program you can even understand what the computer will do on this or that command. However, the computer, unlike you, does not know English - in order for it to understand them, the compiler “translates” these commands into machine language. Each programming language has its own compiler.

The first ones, including: ADA, Basic, Algol, Fortran and others, which were popular in the 60-70s, have not been used for a long time, but C++, for example, created in 1983, remains in demand today, many special software products are written in it. Basic, which appeared in 1991, is still in demand; as well as Pascal (Delphi development environment), Java, JavaScript and Ruby, created in 1995. New ones include ActionScript and Nemerle, which appeared in 1998 and 2006, respectively.

The listed programming languages ​​are still relevant, since they are constantly modified, and their new versions are adapted to the needs that exist today. This primarily applies to the C++ language. Despite the fact that in some cases the program code compiled in this language is quite cumbersome, the use of ready-made templates helps to solve this problem, significantly improving the performance of software products.

The Visual Basic development environment, developed by the famous Microsoft, is also used by most programmers, allowing not only to create compact program code in the Basic language, but also to use a convenient built-in designer for the user interface. But to create websites, programmers use the PHP language, which is considered universal and works with any operating system. It is also used as a user interface designer. However, the significant disadvantages of this language include the fact that code written in earlier versions will not be supported by new ones.

Java can also work on any platform, but to write programs in this language you must use the dialect that is intended for this type of software product. The programming languages ​​Pascal and JavaScript are distinguished by their versatility, versatility and simplicity. The first is more often used to create software products for the OS, for example Total Commander and QIP, and the second is used by most modern browsers.

Before you want to learn any programming language, you need to know a little about their history and where they are used.

I present to you a brief overview of 25 famous programming languages. Starting from the most famous to the least popular. The article is made for beginners in the field of programming. You can read about each language and choose the one you like best to study.

Before you start learning programming languages, I recommend that you take a course on .

1. JavaScript

Prototype-oriented scripting programming language. JavaScript was originally created to make web pages “alive.” In the browser, they connect directly to the HTML and, as soon as the page loads, they are immediately executed.

When JavaScript was created, it originally had a different name: “LiveScript.” But then the Java language was very popular, and marketers decided that a similar name would make the new language more popular.

It was planned that JavaScript would be a kind of “little brother” to Java. However, history has its own way, JavaScript has grown a lot, and now it is a completely independent language, with its own specification and has nothing to do with Java.

2. Java


A strongly typed object-oriented programming language. Java applications are typically translated into custom bytecode so they can run on any computer architecture using the Java Virtual Machine.

The advantage of this method of executing programs is the complete independence of the bytecode from the operating system and hardware, which allows you to run Java applications on any device for which a corresponding virtual machine exists. Another important feature of Java technology is its flexible security system, in which program execution is completely controlled by the virtual machine.

The language was originally called Oak and was developed by James Gosling for programming consumer electronic devices. It was later renamed Java and used to write client applications and server software.

3.PHP


It is a common, open-source, general-purpose interpreted language (scripting language). PHP was created specifically for web development and its code can be embedded directly into HTML code. The language's syntax comes from C, Java and Perl, and is easy to learn.

The main purpose of PHP is to provide web developers with the ability to quickly create dynamically generated web pages, but the scope of PHP is not limited to this.

4.Python

A high-level general-purpose programming language aimed at increasing developer productivity, code readability, and web application development. The Python core syntax is minimalist. Code in Python is organized into functions and classes, which can be combined into modules.

5. C#


Object-oriented programming language. Developed in 1998-2001 by a group of engineers led by Anders Hejlsberg at Microsoft as an application development language for the Microsoft .NET Framework. C# belongs to a family of languages ​​with a C-like syntax, of which its syntax is closest to C++ and Java.

The language has static typing, supports polymorphism, operator overloading, delegates, attributes, events, properties, generic types and methods, iterators, anonymous functions with support for closures, LINQ, exceptions, comments in XML format.

6. C++


A compiled, statically typed general-purpose programming language. It is one of the most widely spoken languages ​​in the world. Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Winamp and the Adobe product line were developed using C++. Additionally, some modern games and operating systems have been developed in C++ due to its fast processing and compilation.

7. Ruby


A simple and readable programming language aimed at developing web applications. Designed by Yukihiro Matsumto in 1995. The language has an operating system-independent implementation of multithreading, strict dynamic typing, and a garbage collector.

The main purpose of Ruby is to create simple and at the same time understandable programs, where it is not the speed of the program that is important, but the short development time, clarity and simplicity of the syntax. The language follows the principle of "least surprise": the program should behave as the programmer expects.

8.CSS


Cascading Style Sheets are a formal language for describing the appearance of a document written using a markup language.
It is primarily used as a means of describing and designing the appearance of web pages written using HTML and XHTML markup languages, but can also be applied to any XML documents.

9. C


A compiled, statically typed, general-purpose programming language. The C language was developed by Dennis Ritchie in 1972 at Bell Labs. It is the predecessor of programming languages ​​such as C++, Java, C#, JavaScript and Perl. For this reason, learning this language leads to understanding other languages. The C language is used for developing low-level applications, as it is considered to be closest to hardware.

10. Objective-C


A compiled object-oriented programming language used by Apple Corporation, built on the C language and Smalltalk paradigms. The Objective-C language is a superset of the C language, so C code is fully understandable by the Objective-C compiler. The language is used primarily for Mac OS X (Cocoa) and GNUstep - implementations of the object-oriented OpenStep interface. The language is also used for iOS (Cocoa Touch).

11.Shell


It is not so much a language as it is a command interpreter (command language). Its scripts are used to automate software updates. Contains standard constructs for loops, branching, and function declarations. The UNIX family of operating systems uses SHELL as the standard job control language.

12. R


A programming language for statistical data processing and graphics, as well as a free and open-source computing environment under the GNU project. R is widely used as statistical software for data analysis and has become the de facto standard for statistical programs. R uses a command line interface.

13. Perl


A high-level interpreted dynamic general-purpose programming language. The name of the language is an acronym that stands for Practical Extraction and Report Language - “a practical language for extracting data and writing reports.” The main feature of the language is its rich capabilities for working with text, including working with regular expressions built into the syntax. Currently, it is used for a wide range of tasks, including system administration, web development, network programming, games, bioinformatics, graphical user interface development.

14. Scala


A multi-paradigm programming language designed to be concise and type-safe for easy and fast creation of component-based software, combining the capabilities of functional and object-oriented programming. Scala programs are similar to Java programs in many ways, and can freely interact with Java code.

15. Go


A compiled multi-threaded programming language developed by Google. The Go language was developed as a systems programming language for creating highly efficient programs that run on modern distributed systems and multi-core processors. It can be seen as an attempt to create a replacement for the C language. During development, special attention was paid to ensuring highly efficient compilation. Go programs are compiled into object code and do not require a virtual machine to execute.

16.SQL

Structured Query Language. a formal, non-procedural programming language used to create, modify, and manipulate data in an arbitrary relational database managed by an appropriate database management system. SQL is primarily an information logical language designed to describe, modify, and retrieve data stored in relational databases. Each SQL statement is either a request for data from a database or a call to the database that causes data in the database to change.

17. Haskell


A standardized, pure, functional, general-purpose programming language. It is one of the most common programming languages ​​with support for lazy computing. A distinctive feature of the language is its serious attitude to typing. Haskell is an excellent language for learning and experimenting with complex functional data types.

18. Swift


An open, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. Created by Apple primarily for iOS and OS X developers, Swift works with the Cocoa and Cocoa Touch frameworks and is compatible with Apple's core Objective-C codebase. Swift was intended to be an easier-to-read and more error-resistant language than its predecessor, Objective-C. Swift borrows quite a lot from Objective-C, but it is defined not by pointers, but by the types of variables that the compiler processes. Many scripting languages ​​work on a similar principle.

19. Matlab


A high-level interpreted programming language that includes matrix-based data structures, a wide range of features, an integrated development environment, object-oriented capabilities, and interfaces to programs written in other programming languages. Programs written in MATLAB are of two types - functions and scripts. Functions have input and output arguments, as well as their own workspace for storing intermediate calculation results and variables. Scripts use a common workspace. Both scripts and functions are saved as text files and compiled into machine code dynamically.

20. Visual Basic


A programming language and integrated software development environment developed by Microsoft Corporation. The Visual Basic language inherited the spirit, style and syntax of its ancestor - the BASIC language, which has many dialects. At the same time, Visual Basic combines the procedures and elements of object-oriented and component-oriented programming languages.

Visual Basic is also a good tool for quickly developing RAD database applications for Microsoft Windows operating systems. Many ready-made components supplied with the environment are designed to help the programmer immediately begin developing the business logic of the application, without diverting his attention to writing program launch code.

21. Delphi


An imperative, structured, object-oriented programming language with strong static variable typing. The main area of ​​use is writing application software.

Today, along with support for the development of 32 and 64-bit programs for Windows, it is possible to create applications for Apple Mac OS X, as well as for Google Android (directly executed on an ARM processor).

22. Groovy


An object-oriented programming language designed for the Java platform as a complement to the Java language with capabilities from Python, Ruby, and Smalltalk. Groovy uses a Java-like syntax with dynamic compilation of JVM bytecode and works directly with other Java code and libraries. The language can be used in any Java project or as a scripting language.

23. Visual Basic .NET


An object-oriented programming language, which can be considered as the next round of evolution of Visual Basic, implemented on the Microsoft .NET platform. VB.NET is not backward compatible with an earlier version (Visual Basic 6.0). Development of projects of older versions (*.vbp) is possible only after their preliminary conversion to the VB.NET format by a special wizard (Migration Wizard); however, after conversion, significant manual modification of the texts is required.

24.D

A multi-paradigm compiled programming language created by Walter Bright of Digital Mars. D was originally conceived as a reengineering of the C++ language, however, despite the significant influence of C++, it is not a variant of it. The language was also influenced by concepts from the programming languages ​​Python, Ruby, C#, Java, and Eiffel.

25. Assembler


A low-level machine-oriented language with commands that do not always correspond to machine commands, which can provide additional features such as macros; autocode extended by high-level programming language constructs, such as expressions, macros, and means of ensuring program modularity.

Assembly language is a notation system used to represent programs written in machine code in human-readable form. Assembly language allows the programmer to use alphabetical mnemonic operation codes, assign symbolic names to computer registers and memory at his discretion, and also set addressing schemes that are convenient for himself. In addition, it allows the use of different number systems to represent numeric constants and makes it possible to label program lines with symbolic names so that they can be referenced.

I did not take all the languages ​​because... they are not so much in demand among professional programmers. My task is completed, now all you have to do is choose the appropriate language and conquer it. Good luck to you in your endeavors.

Recoursia users often wonder which programming language is worth learning. We have prepared a short guide for those who are deciding on their first programming language. We'd like to point out that it's not meant to be comprehensive - it's just a very quick look at what developers are doing today, and which programming language may or may not be the first.

One of the fairly popular Web programming languages, which, however, in the Belarusian labor market is not always able to provide its native speaker with a top-paying job. Ruby courses are hardly worth studying to master the first programming language, because with a high degree of probability the search for an employer will be delayed, since vacancies for junoirs in Ruby appear quite rarely.

Just five to seven years ago, Delphi was the standard first programming language - of course, because the Pascal language, which is the predecessor of Delphi, was invented to teach schoolchildren and students programming. But for real life, Delphi is already very poorly suited, since programming in it pays noticeably below average, and you will not find new large projects in this language. Therefore recommend

Today, everyone who aspires to get into IT asks the question - what programming language to learn? Everyone is looking for a universal answer that will predetermine a dizzying career. Yes, before the invention of the Internet and the advent of mobile platforms, it was possible to master one language, write a program in it and be in demand as a developer. Today, the reality is such that even juniors are faced with a huge list of requirements, including knowledge of several languages.

Judge for yourself: for web development it would be nice to know PHP, JavaScript, Python, Ruby, as well as HTML and CSS; in the mobile field - Swift, Objective-C, Java, C#. You don’t even have to start with the list of languages ​​for creating desktop applications - in fact, all of them will be useful. That is why we took upon ourselves the responsibility to name 5 programming languages ​​that you need to learn at least briefly in order to be called a programmer today.

Python

Python is perhaps the simplest programming language on our list. There is a minimum of service symbols, dynamic typing, and the most understandable syntax. And if you didn’t understand much from the last sentence, this is a reason to start learning with Python.

Despite its visual simplicity, this language is one of the most powerful. With its help, you can work with text and build neural networks with equal ease. Look:

Def fib_recursion(i) : if i > 1 : return fib_recursion(i- 1 ) + fib_recursion(i- 2 ) return i for i in range(10 ) : print i, fib_recursion(i)

In this code, we created our own function to calculate the Fibonacci sequence, and then displayed it on the screen. Only 6 lines were required to describe a fairly complex mathematical operation.

It is worth mentioning that at the moment there are two current versions: Python 2 and Python 3. It is better for you to take the latter as a basis, since support for Python 2, and therefore active development on it, will stop very soon.

By the way, for those who decide to learn Python, we have prepared.

JavaScript

The next must-have language is JavaScript; a browser is enough to work with it. The syntax here is much more complicated: service symbols and constructions with different brackets appear, function names do not always reveal the essence of the action, and even the simplest code has a structured appearance. Let's take a look at the rewritten code with the Fibonacci function:

Function fib_recursion(n) ( return n< 1 ? 0 : n < = 2 ? 1 : fib_recursion(n - 1 ) + fib_recursion(n - 2 ) ; } console. log(fib_recursion(10 ) ) ;

The amount of code has remained virtually unchanged, but readability has decreased. After learning Python, you will easily understand how the return structure works and appreciate the convenience of this particular way of writing.

Additionally, the JavaScript ecosystem is richer than Python. It offers an abundance of development environments, code editors, frameworks, and libraries. This is another step towards understanding how “adult” programming works.

In general, JavaScript is slightly inferior to Python in terms of the range of tasks it can solve, but its capabilities are “deeper.” Knowledge of this language will be useful when developing programs on any platform.

C#

If you haven’t decided on a language, it means you haven’t yet decided what attracts you: web, mobile or desktop applications. Then your solution is C#, a universal tool for all areas of development. To create desktop applications, you will need Visual Studio (the Community version is free). For the mobile world, install Xamarian, and for the web, ASP.NET is useful.

Let's take a look at our C# code:

static void Main(string args) ( int number = 10 ; fib_recursion(number) ; ) static void fib_recursion(int n, int a = 0 , int b = 1 ) ( if (n = = 0 ) return ; Console. WriteLine( a) ; fib_recursion(- - n, b, b+ a) ; )

The code has again become slightly more complicated - this is due to the use of the static keyword. At this stage, you will become familiar with the proper use of memory, data scopes, and become fully immersed in OOP. Well, if you didn’t have time to get acquainted with JavaScript.

Swift

Let's get to the most interesting part - languages, the impeccable knowledge of which will help you get into the field of mobile development. Swift isn't entirely universal: it hasn't completely supplanted Objective-C in Apple apps yet, but its prospects are bright.

The fourth version of Swift was released in 2017: it contains many improvements for working with strings, collections; reliability has increased and much more. This is no longer a “raw” language, but a classic representative of the top of the TIOBE rating with systematic development. With Swift, you can create apps for all Apple products: macOS, watchOS, iOS, and any new system if it comes out.

Let's look at the Fibonacci sequence code:

Func fib_recursion(num1: Int, num2: Int, steps: Int) ( if steps > 0 ( let newNum = num1 + num2 fib_recursion(num2, num2: newNum, steps: steps- 1 ) ) else ( print(" result = \ (num2) " ) ) ) fib_recursion(0 , num2: 1 , steps: 10 )

Java

For more than two decades, this language has been on the list of the most popular, and this already means something. Today it is mainly associated with Android application development - but this is only a small part of its capabilities. With Java, you can create graphical widgets for the web or write desktop applications - the principle of platform and device independence in Java is alive and well.

In addition, Java is an excellent language to fully understand programming: all OOP principles are implemented here, work with memory and peripherals is organized, and you can practice functional programming.

And this is what the Java code of our sequence looks like in the simplest imperative case:

Public class MainClass ( public static long fib_recursion(long number) ( if ((number = = 0 ) | | (number = = 1 ) ) return number; else return fib_recursion(number - 1 ) + fib_recursion(number - 2 ) ; ) public static void main (String args) ( for (int counter = 0 ; counter< = 10 ; counter+ + ) System. out. printf(" Fibonacci of %d is: %d \n " , counter, fib_recursion(counter) ) ; } }

This may seem like a lot of space, but it's really nothing more than basic constructs to make the code understandable and reliable.

For those who want to start quickly mastering Java, our teacher Sergei Iryupin has prepared a series of introductory articles, which we are gradually publishing on the blog:

Conclusion

A number of useful languages ​​like PHP, C++ or Ruby could be added to the list. Or several functional ones for general development: Lisp, Haskell, Clojure. However, you will definitely get to this point. But first, choose a specialization, sign up for GeekBrains courses and master the five must-know languages ​​described.

UPD. If you want to know how the situation with programming languages ​​has changed in the second half of 2019, we have prepared about it.

Programming for Beginners

To begin with, I would like to say that anyone can operate a computer and create programs. You don't need incredible intelligence or a degree in math to create computer programs. All you need is a desire to figure something out and patience so as not to quit.

The ability to write programs is the same skill as the ability to swim, dance or juggle. Some people actually do it much better than others, but anyone can achieve certain results with proper practice. It is for this reason that children become programming aces at an early age. Children are not necessarily geniuses; they are simply inclined to learn new things and are not afraid to make mistakes.

Even though computers seem like very complex electronic monsters, relax. Very few people know exactly how search engines work, which allow you to quickly find the information you need on the Internet, and some people have not even figured out how to drive a car. Likewise, almost anyone can learn to create programs without having to go into detail about exactly how a computer works.

Generally speaking, a program tells the computer how to solve a particular problem. Because the world is full of problems, the number of programs that people can write is endless.

However, in order to tell the computer how to solve one huge problem, you usually have to tell the computer how to solve a whole series of small problems that make up the big problem.
In fact, programming is not at all difficult and is not something mysterious or supernatural. If you can write step-by-step instructions that will allow a person to find your house, you can write a computer program.

The hardest part of programming is identifying the small problems that make up the problem you need to solve. Since computers are completely stupid, you have to tell them how to do everything.

If you think that creating a program is more fun than using it, you have everything you need to create computer programs. If you want to learn how to write computer programs, you need the following three qualities.

Pursuit. If you want something bad enough, you'll get it (but if you do something illegal, you risk spending a lot of time in jail). If you want to learn how to program, your desire will definitely help you, no matter how many obstacles stand in your way.

Curiosity. A healthy dose of curiosity can fuel your desire to experiment and continue to improve your programming skills even after reading this book. Curiosity will make learning programming less boring and more interesting. And if you are interested, you will definitely study and remember more information than any completely uninterested person (for example, your boss).
Imagination. Creating computer programs is a skill, but imagination can help make that skill more refined and focused. A novice programmer with a fair amount of imagination will always create much more interesting and useful programs than a great programmer without imagination. If you don't know what to do with your programming skills, your talent will simply die without imagination.

Drive, curiosity, and imagination are the three most important qualities every programmer should have. If you have them, you only have to worry about the little things: what programming language to learn (for example, C++), what's up with math, etc.

Among many programming languages, you can always find exactly the language that is suitable for solving a given problem. When a new type of problem arises, people create new languages.

Of course, a computer actually understands only one language, made up of ones and zeros, called machine language. Typically a program written in machine language looks something like this:

0010 1010 0001 1101

UN 1100 1010 1111

0101 IT 1101 0101

1101 1111 0010 1001

Further, it is very important for what purpose the language is chosen - for teaching programming or for solving a specific application problem. In the first case, the language should be easy to understand, strict and, if possible, free of pitfalls. In the second, it is a complex, but effective and expressive tool for a professional who knows what he wants.

Now I would like to explain to you that a programming language (Basic, Pascal) should be distinguished from its implementation, which is usually presented as part of a programming environment (Quick Basic, Virtual Pascal) - a set of tools for editing source texts, generating executable code, debugging, managing projects, etc. The syntax and semantics of a programming language are fixed in the language standard. Each programming environment provides its own interpreter or compiler for this language, which often allows the use of constructs that are not fixed in the standard.

Let's look at the main and popular programming languages

Assembler This is the brightest representative of low-level languages, the set of concepts of which is based on hardware implementation. This is an automation tool for programming directly in processor codes. Machine commands are described in the form of mnemonic operations, which makes it possible to achieve fairly high code modifiability. Since the set of commands on different processors is different, there is no need to talk about compatibility. The use of assembler is advisable in cases where it is necessary to interact directly with the hardware, or to obtain greater efficiency for some part of the program due to greater control over code generation.

COBOL— A high-level programming language developed in the late 1950s. association CADASIL to solve commercial and economic problems. It features advanced tools for working with files. Since commands in programs written in this language actively use regular English vocabulary and syntax, Cobol is considered one of the simplest programming languages. Currently used to solve economic, information and other problems.

Fortran— A high-level programming language developed by IBM in 1956 to describe algorithms for solving computational problems. Belongs to the category of procedurally oriented languages. The most common versions of this language are Fortran IV, Fortran 77 and Fortran 90. It is used on all classes of computers. Its latest version is also used on computers with parallel architecture.

Ada— A high-level programming language, oriented for use in real-time systems and intended for automating tasks of managing processes and/or devices, for example, in on-board (ship, aviation, etc.) computers. Developed at the initiative of the US Department of Defense in the 1980s. Named after the English mathematician Ada Augusta Byron (Lovelace), who lived from 1815 to 1851.

BASIC(Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) Born in the 60s in America. BASIC was intended to be a simple language for quick learning. BASIC has become the de facto standard for microcomputers precisely because of its ease of both learning and implementation. However, to achieve this quality, a number of decisions were made (lack of typing, line numbering and non-structural GOTO, etc.), which negatively affect the style of programming students. In addition, the lack of expressive means has led to the emergence of a huge number of dialects of the language that are incompatible with each other. Modern, specialized versions of BASIC (such as Visual Basic), despite the acquired “structure,” still have the same shortcomings, first of all, negligence in relation to types and descriptions. Suitable for use at the initial stage of training, as an automation tool (in cases where it is built into the corresponding systems) or as a tool for quickly creating applications.

Pascal Developed by the famous theorist N. Wirth based on the ideas of ALGOL-68, Pascal was intended primarily for teaching programming. Built on the “necessary and sufficient” principle, it has strict type control, constructs for describing arbitrary data structures, and a small but sufficient set of structured programming operators. Unfortunately, the flip side of simplicity and rigor is the cumbersomeness of descriptions of language constructs. The most famous implementation - Turbo/Borland Pascal - despite the differences from the Pascal standard, is an environment and a set of libraries that have turned the educational language into an industrial system for developing programs in the MS-DOS environment.

C and C++ The C language is based on the requirements of a system programmer: full and efficient access to all computer resources, high-level programming tools, program portability between different platforms and operating systems. C++, while maintaining compatibility with C, introduces object-oriented programming capabilities by expressing the idea of ​​a class (object) as a user-defined type. Thanks to these qualities, C/C++ has taken the position of a universal language for any task. But its use may become ineffective where it is necessary to obtain a ready-to-use result in the shortest possible time, or where the procedural approach itself becomes unprofitable.

Delphi- this is not a successor to Borland Pascal / Borland C, its niche is i.e. rapid application creation (Rapid Application Developing, RAD). Such tools allow you to quickly create a working program from ready-made components, without wasting a lot of effort on trifles. A special place in such systems is occupied by the ability to work with databases.

Lisp— An algorithmic language developed in 1960 by J. McCarthy and intended for manipulating lists of data elements. It is used primarily in US university laboratories to solve problems related to artificial intelligence. In Europe, they prefer to use Prolog for work on artificial intelligence.

Prologue— A high-level declarative programming language designed for the development of artificial intelligence systems and programs. Belongs to the category of fifth generation languages. It was developed in 1971 at the University of Marseille (France), and is one of the widely used and constantly developing languages. Its latest version is Prolog 6.0

LOGO— A high-level programming language developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology around 1970 for the purpose of teaching mathematical concepts. It is also used in schools and by PC users when writing programs for creating drawings on a monitor screen and controlling a pen plotter.

Java As a prime example of specialization, the Java language emerged in response to the need for an ideally portable language in which programs could run efficiently on the WWW client side. Due to the specific environment, Java can be a good choice for a system built on Internet/Intranet technology.

ALGOL— A high-level programming language focused on describing algorithms for solving computational problems. It was created in 1958 by specialists from Western European countries for scientific research. The ALGOL-60 version of this language was adopted by the International Conference in Paris (1960) and was widely used on 2nd generation computers. Version ALGOL-68, developed by a group of specialists from the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) in 1968, received the status of an international universal programming language focused on solving not only computational but also information problems. Although Algol is currently practically not used, it served as the basis or had a significant influence on the development of more modern languages, for example, Ada, Pascal, etc.

There is no best language. If you want to become a professional programmer, you will need to learn one of the high-level programming languages ​​(the most popular programming language is C++) as well as one of the database programming languages ​​(for example, SQL). Once you learn the C++ programming language, you can't go wrong. Knowing this language, you can always find a job in any programming company.
Despite the great popularity of the C++ programming language, other languages ​​are also often used. Many older computers still run programs written in the COBOL programming language. Therefore, we need programmers who can improve these programs and also write new ones. Very often, large companies pay such programmers high salaries.
If you're going to be working on your own, it's best to learn how to create your own database programs. To do this, you will need to learn programming languages ​​such as SQL or VBA, which are used in Microsoft Access. In order to create Web pages, you need to know HTML, as well as some knowledge of Java, JavaScript, VBScript and other Internet programming languages. The most necessary programming language will be one that will allow you to solve the tasks assigned to you easily and quickly. This could be a programming language such as C++, BASIC, Java, SQL, or assembly language.

In conclusion, we note that from a professional point of view, it is not so important in what language and in what environment the programmer works, but how he performs his work. Hardware and operating systems are changing. New problems arise from a variety of subject areas. They become a thing of the past and new languages ​​appear. But people remain - those who write and those for whom new programs are written and whose quality requirements remain the same regardless of these changes.
So we looked at the basics of programming and the main programming languages.

I wish you good luck in mastering programming!