5 categories of programming languages young coders should know about
Coding and programming are rapidly emerging as new-age skills that are supported by a wide range of programming languages like Python, Java, HTML and so on. While almost all programming languages have a lot in common, they are often categorized into various groups based on a particular overlapping trait.
There are about five notable categories of programming languages that every coder should know about, especially while beginning their coding journey. This will help them make informed coding decisions. The categories are:
- Compiled programming languages
- Interpreted programming languages
- Statically-typed programming languages
- Dynamically-typed programming languages
- Object-oriented programming languages
Compiled programming languages
A compiled language is one that takes the help of the compiler to convert source code (the code written by the coder himself) into machine code (a code that computer is able to compose and understand on its own). The most significant part of the compiling process is that the source code is always compiled before a program is executed by the user or code compilation and program execution occur separately. Examples of some popular compiled languages are Java, Go and C++.
Interpreted programming languages
Just like a compiled language uses a compiler to convert codes, interpreted languages use interpreters to convert source code into machine code. An interpreter is nothing but a programme that assesses a series of source codes of a particular programming language and turns it into a machine code, executing it almost immediately. The only difference between interpreted and compiled languages is this: In interpreted language, compilation and execution happen at different times while in the latter, the interpretation and execution happen simultaneously. Examples of some popular interpreted languages are Python, JavaScript and Ruby.
Statically-typed programming languages
In static-typing, a programming language’s datatypes of the variables are known, established and unchangeable during programme compiling or execution. In fact, each time a variable is created in a statically-typed programming language, the datatype (integer, boolean or string) of the variable should be clearly specified. Once the datatype is declared, only that type works throughout the execution of the programme. Examples of some popular statically-typed programming languages are Java and C.
Dynamically-typed programming languages
In dynamic-typing, the datatypes of the variables of a programming language are only established but are changeable, during code compilation till program execution. This is also known as runtime. The source code does not contain clearly specified datatype of the variable, and hence the values of the datatypes can be reassigned from time to time while the program is being executed. Examples of some popular dynamically-typed programming languages are Python, JavaScript and Ruby.
Object-oriented programming languages
Object-oriented programming or OOP is a coding process where programmers create and work with “objects” that is a representation or prototype of something that a coder needs to develop through codes. Objects can be anything from real-life products displayed at a store to digital ones like web forms or network sockets. All these are done using a feature called classes. Classes contain attributes and methods that define specific objects and their operational characteristics. Examples of some popular object-oriented programming languages are Java, Python, Lisp and Perl.