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→Classifying programming languages: B was derived from BCPL, not A-0; a simple example here is probably enough
Early high-level programming languages were often intended for use in a particular problem domain (e.g. COBOL for business purposes, Fortran and Algol 60 for scientific calculations). Other programming languages were originally intended for teaching purposes (e.g. BASIC and Pascal). The language '''C''' was originally intended for systems programming (writing operating systems and compilers).
Early high-level programming languages were often intended for use in a particular problem domain (e.g. COBOL for business purposes, Fortran and Algol 60 for scientific calculations). Other programming languages were originally intended for teaching purposes (e.g. BASIC and Pascal). The language '''C''' was originally intended for systems programming (writing operating systems and compilers).
Successful programming languages evolve over time to become more general-purpose, or form the basis for other languages (e.g., A-0 spawned B, which led to '''C''' -> '''C++''' '''C#'''). The evolution often involves incorporating good features from other languages. The general trend is for languages to become more general-purpose and provide more levels of abstraction. The concepts of structured programming were put on a sound theoretical basis in the early 1970's and these have also influenced the evolution of some programming languages (e.g. Fortran 66 -> Fortran 77). The idea of objects (combining data with the applicable operations) was available in Simula in the mid 1960's, but did not become popular until the advent of C++ in the early 1980's and Java in the mid 1990's; confusingly, Java and C++ have a lot of syntax in common, but the meaning (semantics) may differ drastically for what looks the same when written down.
Successful programming languages evolve over time to become more general-purpose, or form the basis for other languages (e.g. '''C''' -> '''C++'''). The evolution often involves incorporating good features from other languages. The general trend is for languages to become more general-purpose and provide more levels of abstraction. The concepts of structured programming were put on a sound theoretical basis in the early 1970's and these have also influenced the evolution of some programming languages (e.g. Fortran 66 -> Fortran 77). The idea of objects (combining data with the applicable operations) was available in Simula in the mid 1960's, but did not become popular until the advent of C++ in the early 1980's and Java in the mid 1990's; confusingly, Java and C++ have a lot of syntax in common, but the meaning (semantics) may differ drastically for what looks the same when written down.
There are a variety of different programming paradigms (styles of writing programs). Some programming languages really only support a single paradigm while others may support several. Declarative programming has already been mentioned above. Other paradigms include: procedural, functional, event-driven, object-oriented and automata-based.
There are a variety of different programming paradigms (styles of writing programs). Some programming languages really only support a single paradigm while others may support several. Declarative programming has already been mentioned above. Other paradigms include: procedural, functional, event-driven, object-oriented and automata-based.