Best High-Level Language

[JosephInc]

I was not sure where to post this.


I have been told Visual Basic is a high-level programming language, and is one of the best. Which language do you consider to be the best high-level programming language?

Also, can a high-level language be just as or if not more powerful than a low-level language like C?

[si_the_geek]

I was not sure where to post this.

You chose the right place.

I have been told Visual Basic is a high-level programming language, and is one of the best. Which language do you consider to be the best high-level programming language?

It is highly debatable which language is "best", and in most experienced peoples eyes it depends mainly on the program you are writing at the time.

My personal preference is VB, but doing all projects in VB would be foolish - other languages are better suited to certain situations.

Once you have learnt programming, the language you use is not that important (usually the biggest differences are just syntax), so you should be able to change from one to another without much effort.

Also, can a high-level language be just as or if not more powerful than a low-level language like C?

In terms of what the code can do (assuming a well built HLL like VB), in the vast majority of cases they are equal, but there are some exceptions where the low-level language is better.

If they are equal in that respect, the reduced time to write a program effectively makes a HLL more powerful.

[mendhak]

It's about what you plan to do with that language. For rapid application development, VB.NET and C# are popular choices. There's also Java. I laugh.

[Hack]

it depends mainly on the program you are writing at the time.

This is the key......what language is best is the language that does the job you need doing.

The job you need doing will differ, and therefore, so will the best language to do it.

[oceanebelle]

Sometimes, management decides which programming language is best based on cost and profits afterwards, and us lowly coders have to deal with what has been chosen from above.

[Nightwalker83]

I was not sure where to post this.


I have been told Visual Basic is a high-level programming language, and is one of the best. Which language do you consider to be the best high-level programming language?

IMO, Visual Basic is the best because it gives the user a helping hand. It has an auto complete type function that try and guess what code you want to put. In my experience with C++ it is a lot more complex in the the auto complete function isn't there and the user is basically on their own.

For a beginner to programming I would suggest a language such as Visual, Real, QBasic. That allows the user to get a feel for programming and what the programs that can be created.

Although, like si-the-geek has mentioned C++ would be a better bet if you were needing to create a High-level program.

Edit:

Sometimes, management decides which programming language is best based on cost and profits afterwards, and us lowly coders have to deal with what has been chosen from above.

That is true! At my school they are stuck with resources from 5 or 6 years ago because they're not getting the required funding.

[oceanebelle]

That is true! At my school they are stuck with resources from 5 or 6 years ago because they're not getting the required funding.

Java is quite available everywhere. Free too! the beauty of Open Source. Hehe. This is the usual scenario at my previous university as well. Learning Microsoft technologies became a personal project and it never is easy unless the person studying has the patience to actually do their own self-study.

[penagate]

In my experience with C++ it is a lot more complex in the the auto complete function isn't there

Totally dependent on the IDE...

[syntaxeater]

HLL (High Level Language) are mainly for RAD (Rapid Application Development) type projects.

Can they be as strong as some of the lower ones? With alot of hacking and digging, possibly. Will they perform as well as the lower ones? No, deffinitely not. The exception to this would be C/++. It's defined as a HLL, but it reaches over to both sides of the spectrum. It's deffinitely not as RAD capable as say VB.Net, C# or Java - but getting to the lowest layers is not only an option it's almost a requirement.

[Nightwalker83]

Totally dependent on the IDE...

Ah ok! I must admit I didn't take an extensive look at C++ when I got it.

[DeanMc]

The the OP:
The fact of the matter is with high level languages you have two choices, these are Natively Compiled and Interpreted. Knowing the pros and cons of these too will ultimately help decide which language to use. For instance while i program in VB for the most part, programming in C# is not beyond me as they both use the same framework. In fact with a little more learning I could even use managed C++ with the dotnet framework.

[oceanebelle]

There are so many HLL out there and true, they have their advantages and disadvantages however there's also comfort level or preference by the developer in using a language. Hence, a lot of people specialize in one language mainly because they like programming in such a language.

[syntaxeater]

Hence, a lot of people specialize in one language mainly because they like programming in such a language.

-like
+profit from

That's not some subtle attempt to advocate open source... It's just professionally, I program VB.Net but truth be told - if I could start all over again I never would have accepted my first job as a VB6 developer. It was easier to find a position initially but after 6 years; it is becoming a hindrance on my resume and where I would like to be.

[oceanebelle]

where would you like to be anyways?

[syntaxeater]

Slightly OT, but does relate...

Working on anything except your run of the mill PoS systems, task automation apps, vacation request systems, call center interfaces, email distribution apps - things like that. In my opinion (after you've done them once or twice) it's pretty much impossible to get excited about these projects. It'd be nice to get into a position where there was a physical aspect to what you work on... From what I've seen, those are all (mostly) C/++ or Java based. VB has more or less confined me to cube farms.

[dilettante]

There are even people solving numerical problems who swear by Fortran. Intel produces some decent compilers and math libraries that complement them.

[dclamp]

what is the difference between a HLL and a LLL?

[dilettante]

Mostly the amount of coding required to solve a non-trivial problem.

[syntaxeater]

what is the difference between a HLL and a LLL?

From the web's greatest and most reliable source of information:
High Level Language:
...is a programming language that, in comparison to low-level programming languages, may be English-like, more abstract, easier to use, or more portable across platforms. Such languages often abstract away CPU operations such as memory access models and management of scope.

Low Level Language:
...is a language that provides little or no abstraction from a computer's microprocessor. The word "low" does not imply that the language is inferior to high-level programming languages but rather refers to the small or nonexistent amount of abstraction between the language and machine language; because of this, low-level languages are sometimes described as being "close to the hardware."

[dclamp]

so binary is a low-level language?

[syntaxeater]

No... Binary is just a number system based on base 2. ASM would be the LLL.

Think of it like a spoken language. I speak to you using english and you understand. That's because English is like a HLL language and we both can interpret it.

Now if I spoke in english to you, but using morse code - that would be like binary. You may or may not uderstand, but it is the same language.

Taking it to another step, if I spoke to you in german - different language all together, but still high level.

So where does this analogy become low level? Well, there's 2 things I can compare it to. The hypothetical:
Protolanguage - Germanic beget various forms of English beget what we speak today. So the LLL would be this common bond between the two, where English derived from.

The other thing I can compare it to is behavioral language. Much like animals or neanderthals; they don't have an extensive vocabulary. So to convery anything complicated (assuming they were/are capable) - it would take alot more of their basic communication to accomplish that.

Does that make any sense?

[dclamp]

yeah that makes more sense. thanks

[gavio]

Sometimes, management decides which programming language is best based on cost and profits afterwards, and us lowly coders have to deal with what has been chosen from above.

This is not true in my case. Management always asks us something like, how do you see this problem being solved? Then we say, VB6, VB .NET, C#,... or any we think is most appropriate. It usually stays that way. Cause some economists don't have a clue about programming.

Of course, if there's a IT person in management the picture could be different.

[CodedFire]

Wow, that is a pretty nice management team!

[AsmIscool]

There is no difference in using the VB gui or the Borland C++ one. If you can knock up your interface in 10 minutes with VB then it will be just as easy in Borland. It has code completion syntax checking, all the same stuff to make life easier. The difference is the underlying language. Borland at some point you will have to write in C++. VB provides a much higher level of abstraction while writing the actual code.

Having said this you would not write complex hardware drivers in VB. It is much easier to write such things in a LLL like C++. You could produce your interface in VB and then write the yucky stuff (Technical term) in C++ though but why add the complexity when there is no difference in the available IDE. Oc course some folks still use command line C++ compilers. Never understood that.

Wow, that is a pretty nice management team!

Where do I get one? I just buy my own tools and contract.