Selection and Improvement of Computer Programming Language

Jie Zhang

College of Information Engineering, Sichuan Agricultural University, Sichuan, 625000, China

Keywords: Computer, programming language, selection and improvement, maximum efficiency.

Abstract: Use frequency of computer programming language has become higher along with the development of

computer technology. Computer programming language has been improved remarkably in operation and

other aspects after several stages of development. This provides great convenience for programmers while

bringing problems in selection from multiple programming languages. In the work, development and

characteristics of programming language were analyzed according to the requirements of programming

language users. Therefore, the selection and improvement of computer programming language were further

studied to provide reference for this field.

1 INTRODUCTION

Appropriate selection of programming language

directly influences the improvement of

programmers’ working efficiency and the

achievement of maximum efficiency. Major aspects

should be considered in the selection of

programming language, including characteristics of

programing language, job requirements and

mastering situation of programmers.

2 PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES

2.1 Current Situation of Programming

Language

Computer programming language is the special

language used by programmers in program writing.

Actually, it is a group of grammar rules defining

computer program. Its purpose is to give instructions

to computer through standard human-machine

interaction rules, thus the computer can be used by

humans. Users can determine data of computer and

actions to be taken with the help of programming

language (Deng Desen, 2011).

After decades of development, lots of

programming languages have experienced invention,

replacement, modification or integration. People

tried to create a universal programming language,

but they have failed for many times. There are many

factors leading to long-term coexistence of different

programming languages, including different original

intention of programming, knowledge of

programming languages, and different running costs

of programs.

2.2 Development of Programming

Languages

2.2.1 Machine language

At the early stage of computer development, binary

data consisting of “0” and “1” was widely used in

programming due to technical limitations. Binary

data could be directly recognized by CPU, which

was called machine language. Machine language is

still the only language can be directly recognized by

hardware. Obviously, direct use of machine

language in programming brings huge workload and

difficulties for general programmers. Therefore,

machine language can’t adapt to the requirement of

current computer technology with fast development.

2.2.2 Assembly language

After emerging and being applied in the early 1950s,

assembly language has made great progress

compared with machine language. It expresses

machine instructions with mnemonics, which is

much clearer than machine language. However,

242

Zhang J.

Selection and Improvement of Computer Programming Language.

DOI: 10.5220/0006448202420245

In ISME 2016 - Information Science and Management Engineering IV (ISME 2016), pages 242-245

ISBN: 978-989-758-208-0

assembly language is directly matched to machine

instruction, leading to weak statement function.

Thus, the workload is still heavy in writing large

programs. Due to strong dependency on hardware,

assembly language affects development of computer

programming toward the direction of convenience

and speediness.

2.2.3 Advanced language and algorithmic

language

As the third-generation language, advanced

language and algorithmic language directly use

natural language and mathematical language to write

program code. They make programming more

intuitive and simple. Advanced language is a

language for process, also known as procedural

language (Shao Yuzhou, 2001). When using this

language for programming, users need not

understand internal logic of the computer. Programs

can be written only through telling execution steps

of problem solving to the computer. Thus, compared

with the former two languages, it is more convenient

and quick to use advanced language in

programming.

2.2.4 Non-procedural language

For the third-generation procedural language,

programming can be achieved only through telling

execution steps to the computer. Then the execution

steps can be skipped in the application of non-

procedural language. Using non-procedural language

for programming, users only need to instruct work

objectives and conditions to the computer. Other

tedious programming jobs are operated by the

computer system, thus making the programming

easier and more convenient. Of course, as the fourth-

generation language, non-procedural language also

has limitations. It can only be applied to certain

areas, so its versatility and flexibility are weaker

than the third-generation language.

2.2.5 Intelligent language

The fifth-generation language, also known as

intelligent language, has incomparable advantages

compared with the fourth-generation language. For

example, the fourth-generation language has

difficulty in abstract problem solving, while

intelligent language successfully overcomes the

weakness of the fourth-generation language. To

some extent, the fifth-generation language is

intelligent and highly efficient in these fields.

2.3 C/C++ language and Java language

Currently, C/C

language and the Java language are

the most popular languages that have been widely

used.

2.3.1 C/C++ language

With advantages of advanced language and

assembly language, C language has been widely

applied to various types of computer during the

1970s and 1980. It has been used in program writing

of system application and that without relying on

computer hardware. In addition, C language has

stronger ability of data processing than other

programming languages. As the advanced computer

programming language based on C language, C

language has wider application.

2.3.2 Java language

As a pure object-oriented programming language,

Java has some core technologies of C

. Meanwhile,

Java abandons contents of C/C

language that do

not conform to its requirements. Therefore, Java

language has been very popular since it emerged

in1995.

3 SELECTION OF COMPUTER

PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE

Programmers should have certain understanding of

various programming languages to select a suitable

one from them. After understanding the

characteristics of various programming languages

mentioned above, programmers should make

reasonable selection based on the needs of work and

their actual situation.

3.1 Selecting suitable computer

programming language according

to needs of work

The above analysis indicates that computer

programming languages have experienced decades

of development with many changes. However,

various programming languages currently coexist

without any kind of programming language

dominating in all areas. Thus, the selection of

computer programming language should be based on

specific characteristics of the work.

In selecting appropriate computer programming

language, programmers should consider contents,

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requirements and complexity of current work, as

well as the requirements for hardware and system.

Otherwise, it is easy to cause serious errors affecting

work efficiency, thus hindering the achievement of

maximum efficiency.

Different computer programming languages

should be selected according to specific

requirements. For example, when the program has

strict performance requirements, or it requires to be

closely integrated with the system, C language

should be selected in programming. This is because

C language has the characteristics of advanced

language and assembly language. C/C

language

should be selected in programming if there are high

requirements for performance and ability of

program, and the ability of operating system should

be fully played. Further, system environment should

be considered in the selection. VC is suitable for

Windows environment, while gcc is suitable for

Unix-like environment. C language can be used for

the programming with lower requirement for

combination of operating system. If cross-platform

programming is required, programmers can choose

cross-platform library such as fox in the use of C

language. When programmers write commonly-used

programs, they can select Java language. Java

language can be used to write programs with

requirements for cross-platform and broad supports.

Lisp will be a preferred choice in writing flexible

and fuzzy programs.

In addition, many computer programming

languages are developed for specific purposes. Thus,

different work contents should also be finished

through different languages. For example, Perl or

Ruby is applicable to writing text processing

program. Vba can be the proper programming

language in writing office programs. In writing

server-side programs, programmers should choose

PHP, CGI, ASP, and JSP.

3.2 Selecting computer programming

language based on programmers’

knowledge about programming

languages

Among different languages, programmers should

select languages suitable for them. In order to find

the most suitable programming language, the

selection should be based on the requirement of

programs and characteristics of languages. In

addition, their own actual situations should be

considered to select the language that can be well

used and grasped.

For example, PHP is the best choice in writing

server-side programs. However, if the programmer

is not good at PHP language, he can select CGI,

ASP and JSP language to exert his strengths. For

another example, if the programmer without

mastering other languages is required to dynamically

explain the execution language, what should he do?

If he is a C programmer, pike can be used; and he

can choose beanshell if he is a Java programmer.

Therefore, in the selection of computer

programming languages, programmers should

consider work contents and requirements; in

addition, they should select corresponding

programming language based on their knowledge of

the language.

4 STRATEGIES OF IMPROVING

PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES

Based on the above analysis, there are various

computer programming languages with different

functions and effects, bringing inconvenience for

programmers. Therefore, developers and

programmers should work together to improve

computer programming languages.

4.1 Integrating programming

languages with similar function

In many programming languages, some share same

or similar function, though with different emphasis.

Their strengths should be integrated to develop a

new programming language with the advantages.

For example, languages of PHP, CGI, ASP and JSP

have their own advantages and disadvantages in

writing server-side program. Thus, the advantages of

these languages can be integrated to develop a new

language. The waste of resources can be minimized,

with reduction of the workload of programmers to

learn many programming languages (Zhang Yiqing,

Li Huagui, 2003).

4.2 Enlarging range of object-oriented

languages

An important feature of programming language

development is that the operation becomes simpler

and more convenient. The feature is reflected from

machine language to assembly language, and from

advanced language to non-procedural language and

intelligent language. Compared with procedural

languages, object-oriented languages greatly reduce

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the workload of programmers. Meanwhile,

programming efficiency has been greatly improved,

significantly increasing the productivity of IT

industry. However, the application range of object-

oriented languages is relatively small due to

inefficient versatility and flexibility, thus greatly

limiting their performance. In reality, the investment

in object-oriented languages should be increased,

with expanding their application scope, thus making

them better serve programmers.

4.3 Improving computer programming

language with multi-party

cooperation

Currently, the development of various computer

programming languages is not satisfying. One of the

important reasons is the lack of multi-party

cooperation. The advent of any new technologies

cannot only rely on individual power. Different

programming languages are usually developed by

various companies. They do not cooperate with each

other due to factors such as commercial purpose. In

addition, companies developing programming

language lack effective communication with

programmers. This development mode without

efficient cooperation inevitably leads to waste and

repetition of work. Meanwhile, it is not conducive to

overcoming weaknesses and developing more

efficient and reasonable programming languages. In

order to make up for the deficiencies, cooperation

with profit share should be strengthened in

developing programming languages; developers

should communicate with programmers to collect

wisdom and efforts, making programming language

more suitable for the actual requirements.

5 CONCLUSIONS

There is no universal computer programming

language after decades of development. Different

languages have their own characteristics and

advantages in application. Programmers should

reasonably select programming language according

to contents, characteristics and specific requirements

of the work, as well as their knowledge on the

languages. Meanwhile, problems should be timely

recognized in the use of language, reducing

malignant competition. Long-term mechanism of

win-win cooperation should be established to

improve the development of computer programming

languages with multiple supports. Thus, the

languages can be more suitable for actual needs and

maximize work efficiency of programmers.

REFERENCES

Deng Desen. Selection of Computer Programming

Language. Science & Wealth, 2011 (5): 272-273.

Shao Yuzhou. Issues on Programming Language

Teaching. Journal of Beijing Institute of Economic

Management, 2001 (04): 58-60.

Zhang Yiqing, Li Huagui. Optimization of C/C++ Code in

Embedded Real-time Programming. Microcomputer

Information, 2003 (01): 48-49.

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