What is High-Level Language ?

High level is a programming language such as C, FORTRAN, or PASCAL that enables a programmer to write programs that are more or less independent of particular type of computer. Such languages are considered high-level because they are closer to human languages and further from machine languages.
                               High level languages further simplified programming tasks by reducing the number of computer operation details that had to be specified. High level languages like COBOL, PASCAL, FORTRAN, and C are more abstract, easier to use, and more portable across platforms, as compared to low level languages. Instead of dealing with registers, memory address and call stacks, a programmer can concentrate more on the logic to solve the problem with help of variables, arrays or Boolean expressions. For example consider the following assembly language code :

LOAD A
ADD B
STORE C
Using FORTRAN, the above code can be represented as :/
C = A+B

The above high level language code is executed by translating it into the corresponding machine language code with the help of compiler or interpreter.

High-level languages can be classified into the following three categories :

• Procedure-oriented languages ( third generation )
• Problem-oriented languages ( fourth generation )
• Natural languages ( fifth generation )

1. Procedure-oriented Languages 

High-level languages designed to solve general purpose problems are called "procedural languages " or third "generation languages". These include BASIC, COBOL, FORTRAN, C, C++,  and JAVA, which are designed to express the logic and procedure of a problem.

                                                The third generation programming languages are considered as domain-specific programming languages because they are designed to develop software applications for a specific field. For example, the third generation programming language, COBOL, was designed to solve a large number of platform specific to the business field.

   2. Problem-oriented Languages

Problem-oriented languages are used to solve specific problems and are known as "fourth-generation languages". These include query languages, Report Generators and Application Generators which have simple, English-like syntax rules. Fourth-generation languages have reduced programming efforts and overall cost of software development.

                                 These languages typically used in the WYSIWYG ( What You See Is What You Get ) environment to facilitate faster and convenient application development. Visual Studio is one such environment that encompasses a number of programming tools as well multiple programming languages support to ensure flexibility to the programmer during application development.

   3. Natural Language

Natural languages are designed to make a computer to behave like an expert and solve problems. The programmer just needs to specify the problem and the constraints for problem-solving. Natural languages such as LISP and PROLOG are mainly used to develop artificial intelligence and expert systems. These languages are widely known as fifth generation languages.

                                                       The programming languages of this generation allow the users to communicate with the computer system in a simple and easy manner. Programmers can use normal English words while interacting with the computer system.



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