Test Your Programming Language Knowledge

Study Notes

Programming Languages: A Brief Overview

Programming languages are systems of notation for writing computer programs.
Programming languages are usually split into syntax (form) and semantics (meaning).
Some languages are defined by a specification document while others have a dominant implementation that is treated as a reference.
Programming language theory studies the design, implementation, analysis, characterization, and classification of programming languages.
Programming languages differ from natural languages in that they allow humans to communicate instructions to machines.
Programming languages usually contain abstractions for defining and manipulating data structures or controlling the flow of execution.
Early computers were programmed without the help of a stored program, by modifying their circuitry or setting banks of physical controls.
High-level programming languages were developed in the 1950s.
The period from the 1960s to the late 1970s brought the development of the major language paradigms now in use.
The 1980s were years of relative consolidation, and the functional languages community moved to standardize ML and Lisp.
Programming language evolution continues, in both industry and research.
Programming languages have syntax and semantics, and their semantics define how and when program constructs should produce a program behavior.Overview of Programming Languages
Programming languages are used to write computer programs and have syntactic form separate from their semantics.
A type system defines how a programming language classifies values and expressions into types, and how they interact.
Typed languages define types of data to which an operation is applicable; untyped languages allow any operation to be performed on any data.
Static typing determines types prior to execution, while dynamic typing determines type-safety at runtime.
Weak typing allows a value of one type to be treated as another, while strong typing prevents program faults.
A language's core library is conventionally made available by all implementations of the language.
Programming languages have been designed from scratch, altered to meet new needs, and combined with other languages.
A programming language specification is an artifact that the language users and the implementors can use to agree upon whether a piece of source code is a valid program in that language.
An implementation of a programming language provides a way to write programs in that language and execute them on one or more configurations of hardware and software.
Proprietary programming languages are commonly domain-specific languages or internal scripting languages for a single product.
A programming language provides a structured mechanism for defining pieces of data and operations on that data.
Determining which is the most widely used programming language is difficult, and various methods of measuring language popularity have been proposed.Overview of Programming Languages
Programming languages can be divided into dialects, flavors, and implementations that don't change the intrinsic nature of the language.
There is no overarching classification scheme for programming languages, and a given programming language usually has multiple predecessor languages.
Languages can be classified by programming paradigm and intended domain of use, with general-purpose programming languages distinguished from domain-specific programming languages.
Programming paradigms include imperative programming, declarative programming, procedural programming, object-oriented programming, functional programming, and logic programming.
Programming languages can also be classified by their purpose, such as general-purpose, system programming languages, scripting languages, domain-specific languages, or concurrent/distributed languages.
Some general-purpose languages were designed largely with educational goals.
A programming language may also be classified by factors unrelated to the programming paradigm, such as whether it uses English language keywords or is deliberately esoteric.
Lisp dialects are considered to be those languages that use basic S-expression syntax and Lisp-like semantics.
It can be difficult for an inexperienced programmer to find the right documentation for a programming language with several dialects.
Java is both an object-oriented and concurrent language, while Python is an object-oriented scripting language.
A dialect of a programming language or a data exchange language is a variation or extension of the language that does not change its intrinsic nature.
Implementors may deviate from the standard to make a new dialect if they consider the standards insufficient, inadequate, or illegitimate.

Description

Test your knowledge of programming languages with this informative quiz! From the basics of syntax and semantics to the different paradigms and purposes of programming languages, this quiz covers a wide range of topics. You'll learn about the history of programming languages, their evolution, and how they are classified. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced programmer, this quiz is a great way to challenge your knowledge and expand your understanding of programming languages. So, put your skills to the test and see how much you really