The history of programming languages goes beyond 100 years and a woman, Ada Lovelace, wrote the first programming language. Later, the US government started working on two projects, which laid the base for modern-day computing. With time, improvements came along and today, we have low-level languages and high-level languages such as C, C++, Python, Matlab, and Java. Before going into the history of each language, I want to share research conducted by Coding Dojo in 2017, for most in-demand programming languages are Python, Java, JavaScript, C#, and PHP. C is a general-purpose programming language used extensively in Windows and IOS operating systems.
It was created by Dennis Ritchie at AT&T labs in 1972 and it is closely related to Unix Operating System. C Language is a powerful, efficient, structured language standardized by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). It is a middle-level language, combining the benefits of low-level language and high-level language. C language applications are developing operating systems and compilers, application software, e.g., spreadsheets and databases, graphical applications, e.g., mobile and computer games, and mathematical evaluation. The language implements basic mathematical functions by using standard library math.h.
C++, or “C with classes,” is a high-level object-oriented programming language and the superset of the C language. The language includes all the C language functions along with classes, inheritance, inlining, and strong type-checking. The objective was to introduce Object-Oriented Programming in the C language. In 1983, more features like the const keyword, function overloading, virtual functions, and the single-lined command were introduced in C++. Real-world applications of this language include games, graphic user interface applications, web scripting, high-level computations and graphics, databases, operating systems, and advanced medical equipment such as MRI and building compilers.
Guido van Rossum, founder of Python conceived the language in the late 1980s. The first version of Python code was released in February 1991. It was an object-oriented and modular system version with functions, exception handling, and the core data types of str, list, dict, and others. After releasing several improved versions, python released the Python 3.0 version, which contains print function, view and iterator, int as an only integer type, and text vs. data. Python outnumbered C/C++ language in embedded systems. A study by Barr Group showed Python is one of the most popular integrated languages in computer sciences for teaching coding. Its open-source, freely used releases, even for commercial projects, make Python more favourable. It is the fastest-growing programming language for embedded systems, and it has numerous programming courses. In today’s agile environment, reusability is the factor that determines the future of a programming language. Python reusable features out of class C and C++. Complex libraries like Theano optimize Python code for complex embedded algorithms, e.g., neural networks. Python’s development speed is higher than C/C++, but its runtime efficiency is lower than that of C/C++ languages. For improving runtime speed, libraries like Theano and JIT (Just in time) compilers are used. When Python is used as an intermediary communicator between the user and the embedded system, it allows the user to automate testing. Python can assess real-world scenarios.
Next, come in line is Java, in 1991, the “Green Team” a small group of engineers working at Sun Microsystem understood that the succeeding trend in computing was the unification of digital customer devices and computers. Having this idea in mind the engineers worked day and night to generate the programming language that would transform our world – Java, acquired by Oracle and developed by James Gosling in 1995 as a fundamental module of the sun microsystem. The Green Team initially targeted the digital cable TV business and established their new language with a collaborative home entertainment supervisor. At the time, the concept was not mature enough to take over the digital cable industry, but it was the right idea for the Internet. In 1995, the Netscape Navigator Internet browser integrated Java technologies. Today, Java is not only the unseen power behind numerous applications and devices used in our daily lives but also permeates the Internet. Java is everywhere, from games and navigation systems to e-business solutions, mobile phones, and handheld devices. This revolutionary language has many real-time uses, type of applications developed using java are Mobile applications, Desktop GUI applications, embedded systems, enterprise applications, web and application servers, and scientific applications. Java is the best language, and it has been chosen by many software developers for writing mathematical operations and applications involving scientific calculations. Java programs have a higher degree of portability, and low maintenance and are mostly considered to be fast and secure. For interacting user interface and as part of the core system, applications like MATLAB use Java. Because of Java’s reliability, compatibility, and practicality, nine million developers are using it and Java’s popularity among other languages is the highest.
There has been a tremendous increase in information technology research and its combination with other fields to get optimized solutions in recent years. One of the growing research areas is using object-oriented programming in surveying techniques, leaving the comfort zone of surveying
