The Nature of Computing. Why Programming Paradigms and Languages Essay

The Nature of Computing. Why Programming Paradigms and Languages - Essay Example This paper presents a detailed overview of computer programming languages. This paper will discuss the evolution of computer programming languages, change in a diversity of languages and explore how languages such as Python, Perl, Ruby and C# emerged as a convergence of previous languages. Introduction to Programming and Programming Languages The computer programming is the process of writing the computer programs (also called software applications) to solve different kind of problems as well as to manage different processes of the computer. In fact, a computer is useless without a computer program. In addition, a computer program is written after understanding the problem. In this scenario, we must be clear about the processing steps to be performed by a computer. It means that we must understand the logic of the program before writing a program; we must learn how to plan the theoretical framework of the program. Basically, the program instructions are written in such a way that the computer can follow the program instructions in the correct sequence to solve the problem productively. Hence, in order to write an accurate (or successful) program, the programmer must write the program instructions in an accurate order. On the other hand, if the program instructions are not written in a correct sequence, then the result of the program will be wrong. Thus, the computer programs must be planned before they are written into the computer (Shelly et al., 2005; Norton, 2001). Moreover, the programming languages are used to prepare computer programs or software applications. Early computer programs were written straightforwardly in machine language for instance in binary code. Additionally, it was very difficult to write programs in machine code. However, at the present, a wide variety of the programming languages are available for writing different types of programs. In addition, each programming language has its own rules for witting the programs, which need to be fol lowed in order to get accurate results. For instance, FORTRAN is used for scientific purposes, ADA for defense applications, COBOL for business solutions, etc. (Shelly et al., 2005; Norton, 2001). In simple words, the computer programming is an art of writing instructions and problem solving for a computer. However, the standards of programming are independent of the computer programming language utilized. Moreover, different programming languages have different weaknesses and strengths, making different types of programs difficult or much easier to write, however the fundamental theories remain the same regardless of language (Nasir, 1996; Tatum, 2012). Programming Diversities The computer programming languages are divided into two categories: system programming and application programming. The system programming is mainly concerned with the use of a computer system. On the other hand, the application programming deals with the computer programs which are directly utilized by many people. In addition, the application programming paradigm is further divided into more categories such as (Milo, 2007) Scientific programming Business programming Web-based programming Businesses programming Personal or home programming Game programming Embedded systems programming History of Programming Language Generations This section outlines the history of programming in the form of programming langu