Chapter 2 | Evolution of Major Programming Languages

True or False:

Plankalkül, designed by Konrad Zuse, was the first high-level programming language.

True

True or False:

Plankalkül was widely implemented in the 1950s.

False

True or False:

The IBM 704 influenced the design of Fortran I.

True

True or False:

FORTRAN was primarily intended for business data processing.

False

True or False:

COBOL was designed with strong emphasis on business applications.

True

True or False:

ALGOL 60 introduced block structure and recursion.

True

True or False:

ALGOL 60 had little to no influence on later languages.

False

True or False:

Lisp was the first functional programming language.

True

True or False:

Lisp introduced recursion and automatic garbage collection.

True

True or False:

Lisp was first implemented in 1945.

False

True or False:

SNOBOL was designed for string and text manipulation.

True

True or False:

APL is especially suited for business reporting.

False

True or False:

BASIC was originally created to help students learn programming.

True

True or False:

PL/I was an attempt to unify scientific computing (FORTRAN) and business processing (COBOL).

True

True or False:

Prolog is a logic programming language first developed in the early 1970s.

True

True or False:

Prolog is most closely associated with scientific computation.

False

True or False:

Simula 67 is considered the first object-oriented programming language.

True

True or False:

Smalltalk popularized graphical interfaces and object-oriented programming.

True

True or False:

Pascal was designed for teaching structured programming.

True

True or False:

C was developed in the 1970s as a systems programming language.

True

True or False:

C++ added object-oriented features to C.

True

True or False:

Java was designed to run on a single machine architecture only.

False

True or False:

COBOL was one of the first languages to emphasize readability using English-like syntax.

True

True or False:

Assembly language is considered a first-generation language.

False

True or False:

Machine language is directly executable by hardware.

True

True or False:

Assembly language uses symbolic mnemonics instead of raw binary instructions.

True

True or False:

The von Neumann architecture strongly influenced imperative languages.

True

True or False:

Fortran introduced automatic garbage collection.

False

True or False:

ALGOL 60 introduced the Backus–Naur Form (BNF) for syntax description.

True

True or False:

COBOL was first developed around 1959.

True

True or False:

Lisp was widely used in artificial intelligence research.

True

True or False:

Early machine languages were highly readable and abstract.

False

True or False:

Prolog belongs to the fifth generation of programming languages.

True

True or False:

BASIC was designed in the 1980s for personal computers.

False

True or False:

C allows both high-level constructs and low-level hardware access.

True

True or False:

Pascal introduced object-oriented programming.

False

True or False:

Simula 67 was based on ALGOL 60.

True

True or False:

Early programming languages were heavily tied to specific hardware.

True

True or False:

Lisp’s memory management was manual, like C.

False

True or False:

The evolution of programming languages reflects increasing abstraction and problem-domain orientation.

True

Designed by Konrad Zuse in the 1940s, considered the first high-level programming language.

Plankalkül

The IBM 704 computer directly influenced the design of this early programming language.

FORTRAN

A business-oriented programming language developed in 1959, emphasizing readability with English-like syntax.

COBOL

Introduced in 1960, this language pioneered block structure, recursion, and the Backus–Naur Form for syntax description.

ALGOL 60

A functional programming language developed in 1958 that introduced recursion and automatic garbage collection.

Lisp

A language created for string and text manipulation, featuring powerful pattern-matching capabilities.

SNOBOL

Developed in the 1960s, this array-oriented language was suited for concise mathematical and matrix computations.

APL

Created in 1964 at Dartmouth College to help students learn programming.

BASIC

An ambitious IBM project aiming to unify scientific (FORTRAN) and business (COBOL) programming into one language.

PL/I

A logic programming language from the early 1970s, closely tied to artificial intelligence research.

Prolog

The first object-oriented programming language, developed in 1967 and based on ALGOL 60.

Simula 67

A language that popularized both object-oriented programming and graphical user interfaces.

Smalltalk

Developed in 1970 by Niklaus Wirth, this language was designed for teaching structured programming.

Pascal

A systems programming language created in the 1970s, closely tied to the development of UNIX.

C

Developed in the 1980s, this language extended C by adding object-oriented features like classes and inheritance.

C++

A platform-independent language introduced in the 1990s with the slogan “write once, run anywhere.”

Java

An English-like programming language from 1959, one of the first to emphasize readability for business users.

COBOL

A language that uses symbolic mnemonics instead of raw binary, often called a second-generation language.

Assembly

The low-level language consisting of binary instructions directly executable by the CPU.

Machine language

The computer architecture model that strongly influenced imperative programming languages.

Von Neumann architecture

An early language (1950s) that did not include automatic garbage collection, focusing instead on scientific computation.

FORTRAN

The 1960 programming language that first introduced Backus–Naur Form (BNF) as a method for syntax description.

ALGOL 60

A programming language first developed around 1959 for business applications, emphasizing portability and English-like syntax.

COBOL

A language widely used in artificial intelligence research, known for recursion and automatic garbage collection.

Lisp

The earliest programming languages, consisting of raw binary instructions, were not abstract or human-readable.

Machine language

A logic programming language considered part of the fifth generation of programming languages.

Prolog

Created in 1964, this beginner-friendly language was later popularized in the 1980s on personal computers.

BASIC

A powerful systems language that balances high-level constructs with direct hardware access.

C

A teaching-oriented language from 1970 that did not introduce object-oriented programming.

Pascal

The first object-oriented programming language, derived from ALGOL 60, that introduced the concept of classes.

Simula 67

A language from 1958 that became widely used in artificial intelligence research.

Lisp

Early programming languages that directly manipulated hardware were heavily tied to specific machines.

Machine languages

A logic programming language developed in the early 1970s, often associated with fifth-generation programming languages.

Prolog

A beginner-friendly language designed in 1964, later popularized in the 1980s on microcomputers.

BASIC

A 1970s systems language that uniquely combined high-level programming constructs with low-level hardware access.

C

A structured teaching language that did not introduce object-oriented programming, though later variants did.

Pascal

Developed in 1967, this language was based on ALGOL 60 and introduced object-oriented concepts.

Simula 67

Early programming languages that required symbolic mnemonics instead of binary codes, tied closely to hardware.

Assembly

A functional programming language with automatic garbage collection, contrasting with languages like C that required manual memory management.

Lisp

The overall historical trend in programming language design shows a movement toward higher abstraction and problem-domain orientation.

Evolution of programming languages