2.5 Programming Languages and IDEs Flashcards
IDE
Integrated Development Environment
Examples of IDE
IDLE, Eclipse, Netbeans
Functions of IDEs
- To provide debugging tools for finding logic errors.
- Preventing and illustrating logic errors
- Providing a run time environment
- Providing usability functions.
Debugging Tools
- Breakpoints
- Stepping through lines of code individually to check which are executing.
- Tracing through a program to output the values of variables.
Preventing and identifying logic errors
- Illustrating keyword syntax and auto-completing command entry.
- Error highlighting
- Compiler produces output of error message.
Providing a Run-time Environment
- Output window
- Simulating different devices the program can run on.
Usability Functions
- Navigation, showing/hiding bits of code
- Formatting source code
- Find and replace
- Comment or indent regions.
High Level Languages
A computer programming language used to write programs. They need to be translated into machine code through a compiler, interpreter or assembler.
Examples of High Level Languages
Python, Java, C++, JavaScript, Visual Basic
Low Level Languages
A computer programming language which closely represents machine language
Machine Code
Code that represents how CPUs understand instructions, represented by binary or hexadecimal numbers.
Advantages of Machine Code
- Programmers have more freedom with what to do with the program as they aren’t limited by words.
Disadvantages of Machine Code
- Difficult to write in, read and debug.
Assembly Language
Uses mnemonics to form instructions.
Translated by an assembler into machine code.
The Purpose of Translators
To convert code written in a high level language or assembly language, into binary machine code for execution.
