Computer Science Programming Languages
Here are a few of the most commonly used computer programming languages, listed in no particular order of popularity. In order to understand some of the terminology, we will first explain some key terms used.
Key Terms
Procedural: Procedural languages execute a sequence of statements which lead to a result.
Object-oriented: An object-oriented language will consist of having a number of objects with internal data and external means of accessing this data. Thus, problems can be solved by working on a divided collection of objects, each of which is respective to its own data.
Scripting: Scripting languages have elements of procedural and object-oriented programming, but are not meant to build large-scale systems.
Statically Typed v. Dynamically Typed: A statically typed language will have variables defined at the point of compiling. A dynamically typed language will define variables at runtime.
Languages
Perl: Perl is commonly used for CGI (Common Gateway Interface) programming. It is a procedural, dynamically typed scripting language used for databases and other server functions.
Java: Java is a statically typed and object-oriented language. It is multi-platform and can be popularly seen in Java applets on the Web. Java has similarities to the syntax and structure of C++, so C++ users can learn Java fairly easily.
C#: Pronounced "C Sharp," C# is a compiled, statically typed, object-oriented programming language which was developed by Microsoft. It is a large component of Microsoft's .Net framework and is designed to be simple to use.
PHP: PHP is an object-oriented, procedural, dynamically typed open-source scripting language used for Web development and design. It is embedded into HTML pages.
C: C is a widely known, standardized language used for general and game programming. It is the basis for C++. Once you know C, learning certain other languages such as C# or Java can be done fairly easily. C is procedural and statically typed.
Ruby: Ruby is an open-source, dynamically typed and object-oriented scripting language.
Python: Python is a dynamically typed, object-oriented, open-source scripting language which is known for its simplicity.
C++: C++ is a statically typed, object-oriented programming language that is commonly used for large projects. It can be used for a number of different types of software, as well as for hardware design.
JavaScript: JavaScript is an object-oriented, scripting programming language. It runs in Web browsers and is embedded into HTML.
Visual Basic: Visual Basic is a dynamically typed, object-oriented, and procedural programming language. It is used primarily for Windows applications but can be used to make .EXE files.
If you are absolutely confused and do not understand what any of these languages are, you may find it helpful to take a few introductory courses in computer programming.