How many Types of Programming Languages ?
While you'll find dozens of ways to classify various programming languages, they generally fall into five major categories. Keep in mind that some languages may fall under more than one type:
5 major types of programming languages:
A procedural language follows a sequence of statements or commands in order to achieve a desired output. Each series of steps is called a procedure, and a program written in one of these languages will have one or more procedures within it. Common examples of procedural languages include:
C and C++
Java
Pascal
BASIC
2. Functional programming languages
Rather than focusing on the execution of statements, functional languages focus on the output of mathematical functions and evaluations. Each function–a reusable module of code–performs a specific task and returns a result. The result will vary depending on what data you input into the function. Some popular functional programming languages include:
Scala
Erlang
Haskell
Elixir
F#
3. Object-oriented programming languages
This type of language treats a program as a group of objects composed of data and program elements, known as attributes and methods. Objects can be reused within a program or in other programs. This makes it a popular language type for complex programs, as code is easier to reuse and scale. Some common object-oriented programming (OOP) languages include:
Java
Python
PHP
C++
Ruby
4. Scripting languages
Programmers use scripting languages to automate repetitive tasks, manage dynamic web content, or support processes in larger applications. Some common scripting languages include:
PHP
Ruby
Python
bash
Perl
Node.js
5. Logic programming languages
Instead of telling a computer what to do, a logic programming language expresses a series of facts and rules to instruct the computer on how to make decisions. Some examples of logic languages include:
Prolog
Absys
Datalog
Alma-0
Other ways to classify programming languages
You'll find many more ways to categorize languages beyond the five listed above. Let's take a closer look at there other ways you can think about programming languages:
Front-end vs. back-end languages
Front-end languages are primarily concerned with the ‘user’ aspect of the software. The front end deals with all of the text, colors, buttons, images, and navigation that the user will face when navigating your website or application. Anyone with a background in graphic design or art may be more inspired to begin learning one of the front-end languages.
Some examples of front-end programming languages include:
HTML
CSS
JavaScript
React
Back-end languages deal with storage and manipulation of the server side of software. This is the part of the software that the user does not directly come into contact with but supports their experience behind the scenes. This includes data architecture, scripting, and communication between applications and underlying databases.
Anyone with experience in mathematics or engineering may find more interest in back-end development.
Some examples of back-end programming languages include:
JavaScript
PHP
Java
Python
Ruby
C#
High-level vs. low-level languages
The biggest factor that differentiates high- and low-level programming languages is whether the language is meant to be easily understood by a human programmer or a computer. Low-level languages are machine-friendly, which makes them highly efficient in terms of memory usage but difficult to understand without the help of an assembler. Since they're not very people-friendly, they're also not widely used anymore. Examples include machine code and assembly languages.
High-level languages, on the other hand, are less memory efficient but much more human friendly. This makes them easier to write, understand, maintain, and debug. Most popular programming languages in use today are considered high-level languages.
Interpreted vs. compiled languages
The distinction between interpreted and compiled languages has to do with how they convert high-level code and make it readable by a computer. With interpreted languages, code goes through a program called an interpreter, which reads and executes the code line by line. This tends to make these languages more flexible and platform independent.
Examples of interpreted languages include:
Python
JavaScript
PHP
Ruby
Compiled languages go through a build step where the entire program is converted into machine code. This makes it faster to execute, but it also means that you have to compile or "build" the program again anytime you need to make a change.
Examples of compiled languages include:
C, C++, and C#
Rust
Erlang
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