high-level language

high-level language

A machine-independent programming language, such as FORTRAN, COBOL, BASIC, Pascal and C/C++. It lets the programmer concentrate on the logic of the problem to be solved rather than the intricacies of the machine architecture such as is required with low-level assembly languages.

There are dramatic differences between high-level languages. Look up the terms C, BASIC and COBOL, and review the sample code. What is considered high level depends on the era. There were assembly languages thirty years ago that were easier to understand than C.

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high-level language

a computer programming language that resembles natural language or mathematical notation and is designed to reflect the requirements of a problem; examples include Ada, BASIC, C, COBOL, FORTRAN, Pascal

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high-level language [′hī ‚lev·əl ′laŋ·gwij]

(computer science)

A computer language whose instructions or statements each correspond to several machine language instructions, designed to make coding easier. Also known as higher-level language; higher-order language.

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high-level language - (HLL) A programming language which provides some level of abstraction above assembly language. These normally use statements consisting of English-like keywords such as "FOR", "PRINT" or "GOTO", where each statement corresponds to several machine language instructions. It is much easier to program in a high-level language than in assembly language though the efficiency of execution depends on how good the compiler or interpreter is at optimising the program. Rarely, the variants "VHLL" and "MLL" are found. See also languages of choice, generation.