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Classwork Series and Exercises {Computer}: Basic Language

By Busola Ojumu | January 20th, 2016 | Categories: Education | Tags: BASIC,

basic language, categories of programming language, COBOL, Computer,
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Teen Website, third generation language, troQ, typical basic keywords | 0
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Computer Science JSS2
Topic: BASIC LANGUAGE

BASIC LANGUAGE/SIMPLE LANGUAGE

A computer language is a special language understood by a computer. It consists of various

commands that we give to the computer to do any work.

BASIC (an acronym for Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of
general-purpose, high-level programming languages whose design philosophy emphasizes
ease of use.

A computer language is a set of words, symbols and codes that are used to write a computer
program. The process of writing these instructions (program) is called PROGRAMMING. The
people who write these programs are called PROGRAMMERS.
Human beings understand a variety of spoken languages (English, Hausa, Igbo and so on) but
computer cannot understand these languages. Computer can only understand on language,
that is the machine language.

Computer uses machine language to carryout their jobs. This language uses binary digits, 0
and 1, which stand for ‘off and on’ condition of the electric current. It is difficult for the
programmer to write the program directly in terms of these digits. So, they write their
program in a language called Programming Language.

Programming language code programs in such a manner that the computer can understand
them and decode (translate) them into its machine language.

CATEGORIES OF PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE

There are a number of programming languages available nowadays. Some languages are
developed for specific computer, other were developed for specific uses, such as scientific
or business application.

Home Class Notes !

Programming languages are classified into two major categories.

1. LOW LEVEL LANGUAGE: Low level languages are written to run one particular
computer
Exam Past and !
Questions cannot be& easily
Plans used on another computer. These languages are
Payments
difficult for a common programmer to learn

Machine Language: A machine language is a language directly understood by a

Career computer without
Counselling Moreany LOGIN It refers to 0’s and 1’s that the computers
! translator.
understand as instruction. Due to this reason, it is also called a low level language or
the first generation language. Writing or coding of programs in the 1s and 0s of
machine can be boring and can take a lot of time.
REGISTER "
A machine language program written in assembly language uses a short sequence of
letter called mnemonic code like A for addition, C for comparison, L for loading and M
for multiplying. As the computer only understands machine languages, you have to
convert these mnemonic codes to machine language (0s and 1s). To convert these
mnemonic codes into machine language requires the use of translators. An assembler
is a program used to translate assembly language into machine language so that the
computer can understand it.
 2. HIGH LEVEL LANGUAGE: A high level language has the instructions which are similar
#
to English language. It is very user friendly. It is much easier to understand and write
with a program using this language. The greatest advantages of these languages are
its independence. A program written in HLL can be used on almost all computers
without any change. The instructions written in HLL are also converted into machine
language with the help of translators. Interpreter and compiler are two program used
to translate a high level language into machine language so that the computer can
understand it.

Third generation language: Third generation language uses English – like words
to make it easy for the programmer to write the program. For example, a
programmer writes ADD for addition and PRINT for print. Many third generation
language also use arithmetic operation such as * for multiplication and + for addition.
A third generation program is called source program, which must be translate into
machine language before the computer can understand it. Compiler and interpreters
are the program used to perform the translation for third generation language. BASIC,
COBOL, PASCAL, and FORTRAN are example third generation language.

Fourth generation language: The fourth generation language also uses English like
statement. A fourth generation language is fast and requires much less time and
effort on the part of the programmer. In fact, fourth generation language is so easy
that the user with very little program background can develop programs while using
it. VISUAL BASIC, ORACLE, JAVA e.t.c are example of fourth generation language.

Natural language: A natural language program does not follow a specific set of rules
unlike the fourth generation language. A natural language, sometimes called fifth
generation language is a type query language that allows the user to enter request
that resembles the speech. Natural languages are often associated with expert
system and artificial intelligence.

These systems are popular in the medical field, but are not widely used in business
application.

SOME HIGH LEVEL PROGRAMS

1. BASIC: It stands for Beginner’s all purpose symbolic instruction code. It is a

programming language used by beginners
2. LOGO: It stands for Language of Graphics Oriented. It is a programming language used
:
 to draw different shapes and figure.
3. COBOL: It stands for common business oriented language. This language is specially
designed for business application
4. FORTRAN: It stands for ‘Formula Translation’. It is one of the oldest high level
languages. This language was designed to solve scientific problems
5. C AND C++: They are the general purpose programming languages popular on
minicomputer and microcomputer. They are the most widely used language for
developing commercial applications.
6. JAVA: Java is a programming language developed to write programs. It helps in
creating games and animation and in developing multimedia effect for the internet.

TYPICAL BASIC KEYWORDS

Data Manipulation

LET: assigns a value (which may be the result of an expression) to a variable.

DATA: holds a list of values which are assigned sequentially using the READ command.

Program Flow Control

IF … THEN … ELSE: used to perform comparisons or make decisions.

FOR … TO … {STEP} … NEXT: repeat a section of code a given number of times. A
variable that acts as a counter is available within the loop.
WHILE … WEND and REPEAT … UNTIL: repeat a section of code while the specified
condition is true. The condition may be evaluated before each iteration of the loop,
or after.
DO … LOOP {WHILE} or {UNTIL}: repeat a section of code Forever or While/Until the
specified condition is true. The condition may be evaluated before each iteration of
the loop, or after.
GOTO: jumps to a numbered or labelled line in the program.
GOSUB: jumps to a numbered or labelled line, executes the code it finds there until it
reaches a RETURN Command, on which it jumps back to the operator following the
GOSUB – either after a colon, or on the next line. This is used to implement
subroutines.
ON … GOTO/GOSUB: chooses where to jump based on the specified conditions. See
Switch statement for other forms.
DEF FN: a pair of keywords introduced in the early 1960s to define functions. The
original BASIC functions were modelled on FORTRAN single-line functions. BASIC
:
 functions were one expression with variable arguments, rather than subroutines, with
a syntax on the model of DEF FND(x) = x*x at the beginning of a program.
Function names were originally restricted to FN+one letter.

Input and Output

PRINT: displays a message on the screen or other output device.

INPUT: asks the user to enter the value of a variable. The statement may include a
prompt message.
TAB or AT: sets the position where the next character will be shown on the screen or
printed on paper.

Miscellaneous

REM: holds a programmer’s comment or REMark; often used to give a title to the
program and to help identify the purpose of a given section of code.
USR: transfers program control to a machine language subroutine, usually entered as
an alphanumeric string or in a list of DATA statements.
TRON: turns on a visual, screen representation of the flow of BASIC commands by
displaying the number of each command line as it is run. The TRON command, largely
obsolete now, stood for, TRace ON. This meant that command line numbers were
displayed as the program ran, so that the command lines could be traced. This
command allowed easier debugging or correcting of command lines that caused
problems in a program. Problems included a program terminating without providing a
desired result, a program providing an obviously erroneous result, a program running
in a non-terminating loop, or a program otherwise having a non-obvious error.
TROFF: turns off the display of the number of each command line as command lines
run after the command TRON has been used.
ALT+CTRL+DEL: For re-booting a computer

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