What is a Programming Language?

A
programming language is a set of codes that we can use to give a computer
instructions to follow.

  Popular
and well-known programming languages include Java, C++, COBOL, BASIC, LISP, and
more. Most popular programming languages consist of words and phrases that are
similar in form to the English language.

   A
well-written program will be easily readable by anyone with a little
programming experience, regardless of whether they have any direct experience
of the language in question. This is because modern programming languages share
a large number of common concepts. In particular, they all have a notion of variables, arrays, loops, conditionals, and functions. We will meet these concepts again in more depth later in
the course.

 Traditionally,
programming languages have been used to write(for the most part) “stand-alone”
applications. Things like Microsoft Word, Mozilla Firefox, and Lotus Notes are
all examples of such applications. Once installed on a PC, these applications
run without necessarily requiring any other software to be installed alongside
them.

   Web
Applications differ from these traditional applications in many respects, but
the most striking is that they all run inside
your web browser. Examples of popular web applications are things like
Google, Hotmail, Flickr, GMail and any of the vast array of “weblogging”
systems.

These applications are also written using programming languages, but as a
rule they are built using multiple, interdependent technologies. These
technologies are easily (though not completely) broken down into two
categories: server-side and client-side.