Programming Languages

  • Plankalkul

    Created by: Konrad Zuse
    Purpose: First high-level programming language. Allowed for creation of procedures and stored code.
    Name meaning: Kalkul is German for formal system so Plan formal system. Also could mean calculus.
  • Fortran

    Created by: John Backus
    Purpose: For scientific computations of real numbers and collections of them made into arrays. Made it convientent to have subprograms for mathematical operations.
    Name meaning: Short for Formula Translation
  • MATH-MATIC

    Created by: Charles Katz and Grace Hopper
    Purpose: Early language designed for the UNIVAC and UNIVAC II and allowed for larger programs on those machines.
    Name meaning: Marketing name for Algebraic Translator 3
  • Lisp

    Created by: John McCarthy
    Purpose: Programs are functions that are applied to dat rather than a set of steps. Its operation notation worked better for computers to read, and its list structure made it possible for its programs to operate on other programs as data.
    Name meaning: Short for List Processing
  • COBOL

    Created by: Grace Hopper
    Purpose: Used to chunk heterogeneous data together. Meaning that names, id, age, and address were clumped together rather than all names or all ages.
    Name meaning: Common Business Orientated Language
  • RPG

    Created by: IBM
    Purpose: Used for business applications.
    Name meaning: Report Programming Generator
  • BASIC

    Created by: John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz
    Purpose: Supposed to be an easy to learn language that could run on time-sharing computers with many users
    Name meaning: Beginner's all-purpose symbolic instruction code
  • LOGO

    Created by: Wally Feurzig
    Purpose: Commands make lines be drawn on screen or by small robot called a turtle to make shapes.
    Name meaning: Comes from the Greek work logos, meaning word or thought.
  • B

    Created By: Ken Thompson
    Purpose: To be a non-numeric language, with machine-independent application for system programming. Used for logical decision making and processing numbers and characters.
    Name meaning: Thought to be a contraction of BCPL, which it was derived from.
  • PASCAL

    Created by: Niklaus Wirth
    Purpose: To teach structured programming. Allows you to define data types and name complex data.
    Name meaning: Named for the mathematician Blaise Pascal
  • C

    Created by: Dennis Ritchie and Brian Kernighan
    Purpose: Able to structure data and programs by the composition of smaller units. Has a compact notation that allows programmers to use the addresses and values of data.
    Name meaning: Many features are derived from B (alphabetical order)
  • ML

    Created by: Robin Milner
    Purpose: Allows for pattern matching for function arguments, garbage collection, and call-by-value
    Name meaning: Meta Language
  • SQL

    Created by: Donald Chamberlin and Raymond Boyce
    Purpose: Organization of databases for businesses.
    Name meaning: Structed Query Language
  • ADA

    Created By: Jean Ichbiah
    Purpose: For large scale programming needed by the US Department of Defense.
    Meaning of name: Named for Ada Lovelace, accredited as being the first programmer.
  • C ++

    Created by: Bjarne Stroustrup
    Purpose: Extended the C language and is used for educational and business programming.
    Name meaning: In C to add 1 you type ++, so C++ is "increment C by 1"
  • Python

    Created by: Guido van Rossum
    Purpose: Made to be easy to read and powerful. Programmers can change the code and quickly see the effect.
    Name meaning: Named for the TV show Monty Python's Flying Circus
  • Visual Basic

    Created by: Mircosoft
    Purpose: to extend BASIC by adding objects and event driven programming such as buttons and menus.
    Name meaning: Uses visual tools to create the code for a program.
  • Java

    Created by: James Gosling
    Purpose: Manipulate data addresses and programming small, portable devices.
    Name meaning: Originally named Oak, but then changed to Java after the coffee of Indonesia.
  • Delphi

    Created by: Anders Hejlsberg
    Purpose: Rapid application developement of desktop, mobile, and web software.
    Name meaning: Also called Object Pascal, Delphi was a beta codename.
  • JavaScript

    Created by: Bredan Eich
    Purpose: Allows for web pages to become interactive with the user.
    Name meaning: Originally named LiveScript, changed because the company that made JavaScript had added Java technology support in its web browser.
  • PHP

    Created by: Lasmus Lerdorf
    Purpose: Used for developing static or dynamic websites and web apps.
    Name meaning: Originally stood for Personal Home Page, but now Hypertext Pre-Processor.