Introduction to Programming - (C Language) - Unit : 1 - INTRODUCTION TO PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES

 

The computer is an electronic device that works on the instructions provided by the user. As the computer does not understand natural language, it is required to provide the instructions in some computer-understandable language. Such a computer-understandable language is known as a Programming language.

A computer programming language consists of a set of symbols and characters, words, and grammar rules that permit people to construct instructions in a format that can be interpreted by the computer system Computer Programming is the art of making a computer do what you want it to do.

Programming Language:

Different programming languages support different styles of programming. The choice of language used is subject to many considerations, such as company policy, suitability to task, availability of third-party packages, or individual preference.

The basic instructions of programming language are:

1.      Input: Get data from the keyboard, a file, or some other device.

2.      Output: Display data on the screen or send data to a file or other device.

3.      Math: Perform basic mathematical operations like addition and multiplication.

4.      Conditional execution: Check for certain conditions and execute the appropriate sequence of statements.

5.     Repetition: Perform some action repeatedly, usually with some variation.

Types of Programming Languages:

1.      Machine Level Language: Computer language, also known as machine code, is a low-level programming language made up of binary digits (ones and zeros).

Since computers are digital devices, they only recognize binary data. Every program, video, image, and character of text is represented in binary. This binary data, or machine code, is processed as input by the CPU. The resulting output is sent to the operating system or an application, which displays the data visually. For example, the ASCII value for the letter "A" is 01000001 in machine code, but this data is displayed as "A" on the screen. An image may have thousands or even millions of binary values that determine the color of each pixel.

The program to add two numbers in memory and print the result look something like the

Following:

001000000000001100111001

001111000000111111000111

100111100011101100110101

101100010101010101110000

000000000000000000000000

2.      Assembly Language: Assembly languages are also known as second generation languages. These languages substitute alphabetic symbols for the binary codes of machine language. In assembly language, symbols are used in place of absolute addresses to represent memory locations. Mnemonics are used for

operation code, i.e., single letters or short abbreviations that help the programmers to understand what the code represents.

Ex:

MOV AX, DX.

 

The preceding program was written in machine language for adding two numbers and

printing out the result could be written in the following way:

CLA   A

ADD   B

STA    C

TYP    C

3.      High-Level Languages: High-level programming languages create computer programs using instructions that are much easier to understand than machine or assembly language code because you can use words that more clearly describe the task being performed.

When writing a program in a high-level language, then the whole attention needs to be paid to the logic of the problem. A compiler is required to translate a high-level language into a low-level language.

High-level languages include FORTRAN, COBOL, BASIC, PASCAL, C, C++, JAVA and Python.

 Introduction to C Programming: C is a general-purpose, structured programming language. Structured Languages have a characteristic program structure and associated set of static scope rules. C originated in Bell Telephone Laboratories presently known as AT&T Bell Laboratories by Dennis Ritchie in 1972.

C has the feature of a high-level programming language as well as low-level programming. It works as a bridging gap between machine language and the more conventional high-level languages.

Applications of C Language

Mainly C Language is used for developing desktop applications and system software. Some

applications of C language are given below.

o   C programming language can be used to design the system software like an operating system and Compiler.

o   To develop application software like databases and spreadsheets.

o   Develop Graphical related applications like computer and mobile games.

o   To evaluate any kind of mathematical equation use c language.

o   C programming language can be used to design the compilers.

o   UNIX Kernel is completely developed in C Language.

o   For Creating Compilers of different Languages that can take input from other languages and convert it into lower-level machine-dependent language.

o   C programming language can be used to design an Operating System. C programming language can be used to design Network Devices.

o   To design GUI Applications. Adobe Photoshop, one of the most popularly used photo editors since olden times, was created with the help of C.