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    Computer languages are classified into two major categories:

                                                         Computer Languages

                               Low-Level Language                                   High-Level Language

                         Machine         Assembly Language     Third-Generation    Fourth-Generation         Natural
                      Language (1GL)           (2GL)            Language (3GL)      Language (4GL)       Language (5GL)

                          Low-Level Language (LLL)

                     A low-level language is a programming language that is machine dependent. A program written in
                     a machine-dependent language runs only on one particular type of computer. This type of program
                     is not easily portable to other types of computers. There are two categories of low-level languages;
                     Machine language and Assembly language.

                     Machine Language

                     Machine language is the only language understood by the computer. It is also known as the first
                     generation language (1GL). Machine language is very difficult for programmers to use because it
                     consists only of binary digits, 0 and 1, called bits. Where the bit '0' represents the OFF state and the
                     bit '1' represents the ON state.

                     Assembly Language

                     Assembly language is also known as second generation language (2GL). It is a language in
                     which program codes are written in the form of  alphanumeric symbols called  ‘Mnemonics’
                     instead of 0 and 1. In the assembly language, a programmer writes abbreviations such as A for
                     addition, C for compare, L for load and M for multiply. Because of this feature, it is also known as

                     ‘Symbolic Language’.

                          High-Level Language (HLL)

                     High-level language is a programming language that enables a programmer to write programs that

                     are machine independent. This type of languages are considered as high-level languages because
                     they are closer to human languages and away from machine languages.
                     The main advantages of high-level languages over low-level languages are that they are easier to
                     read, write and maintain. There are three main categories of high-level languages, which are third

                     generation languages, fourth generation languages, and natural languages.

                                                                                            Introduction to Programming  63

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