Computer language

A computer language is a special kind of language that helps humans tell computers what to do. Unlike the languages we speak every day, such as English or Spanish, computer languages use strict rules and symbols that computers can understand. These languages are very important because they let us create programs, design websites, and even control machines.

In the early days of computing, before the 1980s, the term "computer language" was often used to mean the same thing as a programming language. Programming languages are tools we use to give computers step-by-step instructions so they can perform tasks. Today, though, "computer language" is a broader term. It includes many kinds of languages that are not just for programming.

There are several types of computer languages. Some are used to build and control computer programs, like giving commands to start applications or asking questions to find information in databases. Others help organize and describe data, such as making web pages look nice with styles or sharing information between computers. Still more are used for designing systems, simulating how things work, or describing what a system should do. All these languages work together to make the technology we use every day possible.

formal language for humans to communicate with a computer, not a natural language. In earlier days of computing (before the 1980s), the term was used interchangeably with programming language, but today, used primarily for taxonomy, is a broader term that encompasses languages that are not programming in nature. Sub-categories (with possibly contended hierarchical relationships) include:

• Construction
  • Programming – for controlling computer behavior
    • Command – for controlling the tasks of a computer, such as starting programs
    • Query – for querying databases and information systems
    • Transformation – for transforming the text of a formal language into text that meets a specific goal
  • Structural
    • Configuration – for writing configuration files
    • Data exchange – examples: JSON, XML
    • Markup – for annotating a document in a way that is syntactically distinguishable from the text, such as HTML
    • Page description – for describing the appearance of a printed page in a higher level than an actual output bitmap
    • Style sheet – for expressing the presentation of structured documents, such as CSS
• Modeling – for designing systems
  • Architecture description – for describing and representing system architecture
  • Hardware description – for modeling integrated circuits
• Simulation – for simulating
• Specification – for describing what a system should do