Programming Languages

Question 1

What are programming languages?

Answer 1

Programming languages are specially written code used for writing software

Question 2

What are the two categories of programming languages?

Answer 2

• High-level programming languages
• Low-level programming languages

Question 3

Define high-level programming languages.

Answer 3

High-level programming languages abstract many complexities of interfacing with hardware, providing a simpler and more understandable set of grammar for developers.

Question 4

Define low-level programming languages

Answer 4

Low-level programming languages work closer with hardware on a computer, allowing developers to have direct access to hardware resources.

Question 5

What are the 3 translation software used to convert program code into machine code?

Answer 5

• Assemblers
• Compilers
• Interpreters

Question 6

What is the purpose of an assembler?

Answer 6

Assemblers translate Assembly Language instructions into machine code

Question 7

How do compilers differ from interpreters?

Answer 7

Compilers translate high-level program code into machine code in one go, creating an executable file.

Interpreters translate high-level program code instruction-by-instruction.

Question 8

Give examples of compiled programming languages

Answer 8

C++
Java

Question 9

Give examples of interpreted programming languages

Answer 9

Python
JavaScript,

Question 10

What are the advantages/disadvantage of using Low-level programming languages?

Answer 10

Disadvantage :

-Difficult to develop programs not human-readable
-Not portable written specifically for a hardware
-Harder to debug (as they are being executed on the CPU immediately)
-Little to no abstraction in the program (need to state explicitly how to perform every task)

Advantage:
-Easier to use as CPU-specific instructions can be used
-Provide direct access to hardware.

Question 11

What are the advantages/disadvantage of using High-level programming languages?

Answer 11

Advantages
Human-friendly language
Easy to understand
Easy to debug

Disadvantages
Less memory efficient
Harder to optimise for specific hardware
Portable (can be executed on other hardware without changes)
Hardware independent

Question 12

What is an assembler?

Answer 12

An assembler is a program that translates assembly language code into machine code

Question 13

What is a compiler?

Answer 13

A compiler is a program that translates high-level programming language code into machine code all at once.

Question 14

What is an interpreter?

Answer 14

An interpreter is a program that translates high-level programming language code into machine code line by line during execution.

Question 15

What are the advantages of using assemblers?

Answer 15

Assemblers produce fast and efficient machine code, allowing for direct control over hardware resources.

Question 16

What are the disadvantages of using assemblers?

Answer 16

Assemblers require a deep understanding of hardware architecture, making programming more complex and error-prone.

Question 17

What are the advantages of using compilers?

Answer 17

Compilers produce optimised machine code, resulting in faster execution and better performance.

They also generate executable files that can be run independently of the source code.

Question 18

What are the disadvantages of using compilers?

Answer 18

Compiling code can be time-consuming, especially for large programs.

Additionally, debugging compiled code may be more challenging due to the lack of direct correlation between source code and machine code.

Question 19

What are the advantages of using interpreters?

Answer 19

Interpreters allow for quick prototyping and experimentation as they translate code line by line, providing immediate feedback.

They also make debugging easier since errors are reported as they occur.

Question 20

What are the disadvantages of using interpreters?

Answer 20

Interpreted code tends to run slower than compiled code since translation happens during execution.

Interpreters also require the presence of the original source code, making distribution and deployment more complex.