A programming language refers to a notation that is designed to connect instructions to a computing device or machine. The main use of a programming language is to express algorithms or control how a machine performs. In current times, there are thousands of programming languages which can be used. The languages can be stated in either imperative form or declarative form. The imperative form is mostly used in the computer filed. Programs can also be divided into two forms, namely semantics, and syntax. Below are the main types of programming languages

Main types of programming languages

Procedural programming language

This type of language is used for the execution of statement sequences that lead to a given result. Many variables and large loops are usually used in this type of language, which differentiates it from the functional language. The functions in a procedural programming language can control both the variables and the return value of the functions.

Functional programming language

This type of language usually uses data that is already stored and favors recursive functions as opposed to loops. The focus of the language is the function’s return values and the effects they have, with storing state being discouraged. If a function is termed, for example, the function is not supposed to perform or modify any output. Instead, it can create algorithmic calls. The functional languages are considered easier to build and simplify abstract issues.

Object oriented language

In this type of programming language, the world is viewed as a group of objects, which contain data in fields called attributes and code in procedure form, called methods. One of the main features of an object is that its procedures can get access to and even modify the object’s data fields with which they are associated. Objects interacting with each other are what are used to design programs in object-oriented programming. The diversity in this type of language is quite wide, but a majority is class-based.

Scripting Programming Language

A script or scripting language can support a script, a program that is written for a certain run-time environment used for automation of task execution, which otherwise would be executed on a one-to-one basis by a human operator. The script languages, in most cases, are interpreted as opposed to compiled. They are normally not fully-fledged languages, and most do not have support for large system development. Tiny syntaxes are required to get started.