We refer to these languages as
higher-level languages, because the languages have been designed to allow humans to work at a ???higher level???
than at the level of ones and zeros of the computer. Machine language, on the other hand, is often referred to as
a low-level language. Java, FORTRAN, Basic, and ADA are just a few examples of high-level languages that are
used by computer scientists to express the algorithms they have developed. The act of expressing an algorithm
using a low-level or high-level language is referred to as programming.
Over the years, starting in the 1950s, computer scientists have created many higher-level languages. In the
early days some experts thought that it should be possible to develop one language that would be best for all
uses. Since then, however, computer scientists have found that language design always trades off some features
and capabilities for others. As a result, today we have many good higher-level languages, some particularly
suited to symbol manipulation, some particularly good for teaching programming, some good for matrix
2 INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER SCIENCE [CHAP. 1
algebra applications, some for fast one-off, one-time programs, some for mission-critical, life-dependent
applications, some tuned for applications in real-time automation control, and many good ones for general-purpose
use.
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