COMPUTER LANGUAGES

WHAT ARE COMPUTER LANGUAGES?

A computer language means, a set of rules and symbols used to operate a computer. Whatever
command we give to computer, it is first converted in its own language.

A computer language is also known as Programming Language. There are various types of
programming languages. These languages are used to write programs to tell the computer what to do.
Users who write these programs are called programmers. Each computer language has its own set of
rules and grammar. These are called the syntax rules of the language. This syntax rules should be
followed while writing a program.

Computer Languages have progressed over the years just like hardware. Starting from the language
made up to just two symbols 0 and 1, today, you can make the computer programs using common
English and Mathematical terms. On the whole these languages are classified under three categories:

Machine Language or Low level language

Assembly Language

High Level Language

Machine Level Language : You know that a computer can understand only special signals, which
are represented by 1s and Os. These two digits are called binary digits. Computer understands
program written in binary digits. The language, which uses binary digits, is called the machine level
language. Machine language has its own advantages and disadvantages.

1. Machine Dependent: As the internal design of the computer differ from one computer to another,
their machine codes are also different. So, the program designed for one type of machine cannot be
used for another type of machine.
2. Fast processing: As the machine code instructions are directly understood by the computer and
do not require any translator, the program written in the machine language are very fast and
processed very quickly.
3. Error prone: As the programmer has to write all the instructions using 0's and 1's it is a very
cumbersome job, the chances of error prone codes are more in writing a machine level language
program.
4. Difficult to use: As machine language uses only 0 and 1 two symbols to represent all data and
instructions it is very difficult to remember the machine codes for the different commands.

Assembly Language: These languages use letters and symbols instead of binary digits. These
symbols are called Mnemonics. Programs written in assembly level languages are called assembly
codes. Assembly codes are translated into machine level language instructions. Assembly level
language is easier to understand than machine level language. Advantages and disadvantages of
Assembly language are:
1. Easy to understand: As compared to the machine language it is easier to understand.
2. Easy to remove errors: Because of the codes use English alphabets, its easy to locate and correct
errors in an assembly language program.
3. Easy to modify: As the program written in assembly language is easy to understand, it is easy to
modify this program as compared to the machine language program.
4. Machine dependent: Assembly language is also considered as low level language because its code
is different for different kinds of machine, i.e., the assembly language program is machine dependent
program.
Advantages of High Level Language:

1. Understandibility: Programs written in these languages are easier to understand and read than
those in assembly and low level languages.
2. Debugging: Debugging simply means to remove errors in a program. Errors in programs written
in high level languages are easier to find and remove.
3. Portabiltiy: Programs written for one machine can run on different machines with very minor
changes or no changes at all.

PROGRAM TRANSLATORS
Since a computer can only understand machine language, any program written in a High level
language such as Visual Basic, cannot be executed directly; therefore, it must be first translated to
machine language. In order to convert it to machine language a translator is required.
There are 3 types of translators used for translating a program written in High level language or
assembly language to a form that the computer can execute (i.e., machine code). The three types of
translators are:
1. Assemblers
2. Compilers
3. Interpreters.

1. Assembler

Assembly language is a low-level programming language in which a mnemonic is used to represent

each of the machine language instructions. Assembly languages were developed to make
programming easy. Since the computer cannot understand assembly language, however, a program
called assembler is used to convert assembly language programs into machine code

Source Code Assembly Process Executable Code

2. Compiler
The high-level languages are English-like and easy to learn and program. A Compiler is a program
that translates a high level language into machine code. The Visual Basic compiler, for example,
translates a program written in Pascal into machine code that can be run on a PC.

Source Code Compiler Executable Code

Advantages of a Compiler
1. Fast in execution.
2. The object/executable code produced by a compiler can be distributed or executed without having
to have the compiler present.
3. The object program can be used whenever required without the need to of recompilation.

Disadvantages of a Compiler
1. Debugging (Correcting errors) a program is much harder. Therefore, not so good at finding errors.
2. When an error is found, the whole program has to be re-compiled.

Note : A Bug is an error.

3. Interpreter
An Interpreter is also a program that translates high-level source code into executable code.
However, the difference between a compiler and an interpreter is that an interpreter
translates one line at a time and then executes it, no object code is produced and so the
program has to be interpreted each time, it is to be run.
If the program performs a section code 1000 times, then the section is translated into
machine code 1000 times since each line is interpreted and then executed.

Advantages
1. Good at locating errors in programs
2. Debugging is easier since the interpreter stops when it encounters an error.
3. Useful for learning purpose.
Note: Debugging is the process of finding and removing errors from a program.

Disadvantages
1. Rather slow.
2. No object code is produced, so a translation has to be done every time the program is running.
3. For the program to run, the Interpreter must be present.

Comparisons between Compiler and Interpreter

1. Translates the entire source code into
machine code in one go when all the
syntax errors are removed, execution
takes place.
2. Has capability to store compiled code
for future usage.
3. More useful for commercial purposes.
4. Execution time is less.
5. Slow for debugging (removal of mistakes
from a program).
1. Translates the source cede line by
line, indicated errors at each step every
line is checked for syntax error and
then converted to equivalent machine
code.
2. Cannot retain object code.
3. More useful for learning purpose.
4. Execution time is more.
5. Good for fast debugging.
 ADVANCED WORD
FORMATTING TEXT
Formatting makes the document look more presentable and increases readability. Formatting has
to be done according to the requirement of the document. A business document should be crisp
and precise where as, a creative document about travel should be as attractive as possible
Formatting commands include Fonts, Paragraphs, Bulleted Lists, setting Borders and Shading
and many more. The formatting toolbar is the ultimate tool for quick and effective formatting. So
activate it and move on.
It makes the document look structured, organized and easy to understand. The formatting
features in MS Word include:

Character formatting

Paragraph formatting

CHARACTER FORMATTING
Character formatting enhances the looks of characters, i.e., letters, numbers and symbols). Using
character formatting, we can change the font of text, font size, colour, and make it Bold, Italics
or Underlined.

All these character formatting features are present on the Formatting toolbar as well as in the
Font dialog box that appears on choosing the Font option in the Format menu.

Select the text to be formatted, using mouse or keyboard. Click Format menu in menu bar, in the
dropdown menu that opens up, and click Font. This opens e Font dialog box.
PARAGRAPH FORMATTING
MS Word is about dealing with extensive documentation. So it is obvious that there are plenty of
paragraph Formatting facilities offered by the software. The three main paragraph formattings
offered are Setting Alignment, Indents and Line Spacing. The Format menu or the formatting
toolbar can be used for this purpose.

Paragraph Alignment
Alignment is adjusting the text to fit with respect to the margins. The alignment available are :
1. Left Justified : The text will align towards the left margin giving ragged edges towards the
right. Select the paragraph text and Click Left justified icon
2. Right Justified : The text will align towards the right margin giving ragged edges on
the left side. Select the paragraph text and Click Right justified icon
3. Centered : The text will align exactly in center of both the left and right margins. Select the
paragraph text and Click Center justified icon.
4. Justified : The text will be aligned in such a way as to fit along both the left and right
margins giving a neat appearance. This is the ideal alignment setting for most documents.
Select the paragraph text and Click Justify icon

Indentation
Indentation allows you to indent your paragraph from the left or right margin.

1. First line indent: This gives space between text and margin on the first line of a
paragraph.
2. Hanging Indent : This gives further indentation a little ahead of the one for
paragraph.

Line Spacing
Line Spacing sets the amount of space between lines within a paragraph. Single spacing is the
default. The spacing for each line is set to accommodate the largest font on that line. If there are
smaller fonts on the line, there will appear to be extra space between lines where the smaller
fonts are located. At 1.5 lines, the Line Spacing is set to one-and-a-half times the single-space
amount. For double-spaced lines, the line spacing is set to two times the single-space amount.
Types of Line spacing

Single : Accommodates the largest font in that line, plus a

small amount of extra space.
1.5 lines : One-and-one-half times that of single line
spacing.
Double : Twice that of single line spacing.
At least : Minimum line spacing that is needed to fit the
largest font or graphic on the line.
Exactly : Fixed line spacing that Microsoft Word does not
adjust.
Multiple : Line spacing that is increased or decreased by a
percentage that will be specified by you. For example,
setting line spacing tol.3 will increase the vertical space by
30 percent.

Bullets and Numbering

In Microsoft Word, you can easily create bulleted or numbered lists of items. Several bulleting
and numbering styles are available,
You select the one you wish to use.

BORDERS AND SHADING

You can add borders and shading to your paragraphs, tables, pictures or images. You can
even give borders to your entire page. Shading means the filling inside the contours of the
selection
Borders and Shading help to emphasize the text in a document. Borders are lines that are formed
around a specified text, paragraphs or even the whole page. Shading is a background colour or
pattern that forms the background of the specified text or paragraph.

CHANGING CASE
Case Option Effect of the Case
Sentence case This Capitalizes the first character in the sentence.
Lowercase this converts all the selected characters to lowercase.
Uppercase CONVERTS THE SELECTED CHARACTERS TO UPPERCASE
Title Case This Capitalizes The First Character Of Every Word.
Toggle Case CONVERTS UPPERCASE tO lOWERCASE aND vICE vERSA.

To change the case of any text follow the steps below

1. Select the text you want to change case.
2. On the Format menu, click Change Case option.
3. Click the option you want and click OK button.

INSERTING TABLE
A table has rows and columns like your school time-table. A cell is an area which is formed by
the intersection of a row and a column. A row refers to the horizontal cells in a table whereas a
column refers to the vertical cells in a table.
To insert a table in Word document, place the cursor where the table is to be inserted. Click the
Insert option in the Table menu. In the new menu select Table. In the dialog box titled Insert
Table, choose the number of columns and rows by clicking the arrow buttons. Click OK to insert
the table.

Moving Around Table

Each block in a table is called a cell Use the Tab key to move from cell to cell from left to right. Use
Shift-Tab to move from cell to cell from right to left. The following exercise demonstrates.

1. Click in the first cell in the first column.

2. Press the Tab key nine times. The cursor moves forward nine cells.
3. Press Shift-Tab six times. The cursor moves backward six cells.
Note: You can also move to a cell by clicking in the cell In addition, you can move around the table
by using the left, right, up, and down arrow keys.

Entering Text into a Table

To enter text into a table, simply type as you normally would. Press Tab to move to the next cell.
Enter the text shown below into your table.

1. Type Salesperson in the first ceil in the first column. Press the Tab key.
2. Type Dolls in the first cell in the second column. Press the Tab key.
3. Continue until you have entered all of the text.
Salesperson Dolls Trucks Puzzles

Kennedy, Sally 1327 1423 1193

White, Pete 1421 3863 2934
York, George 2190 1278 1928
Banks, Jennifer l201 2528 1203

Adding a New Row to the End of the Table

You can add additional rows to your table. The simplest way to add a new row is to move to the last
column of the last row and press the Tab key. You can then type any additional text you need to
add.

1. Move to the last column of the last row of your table.

2. Press the Tab key.
3. Type the text shown here.
Atwater, Kelly 4098 3079 2067

Adding a Row Within the Table

You can add a new row anywhere in the table. The exercise that follows demonstrates.

To add a row just above York, George:

1. Place the cursor anywhere in the fourth row (the row with York, George as the salesperson).
2. Choose Table > Insert > Rows Above from the menu.
3. Add the information shown here to the new row.

Pillar, James 5214 3247 5467

Adding a New Column to a Table

You can add new columns to your table. To add a new column between the Salesperson and Dolls
columns:
1. Place the cursor anywhere in the Dolls column.
2. Choose Table > Insert > Columns to the Left from the menu.
3. Label the new column Region and add the text shown in the table below:
Salesperson Region Dolls Trucks Puzzles

Kennedy, Sally S 1327 1423 1193

White, Pete N 1421 3863 2934
Pillar, James N 5214 3247 5467
York, George N 2190 1278 1928
Banks, Jennifer S l201 2528 1203

Sorting a Table
With Microsoft Word, it is easy to sort the data in your table. To sort your table data by
Region, and within Region by Salesperson, in. ascending order:
1. Click anywhere on your table,
2. Choose Table > Sort from the menu.
3. Select Region in the Sort By field.
4. Select Text in the Type field (because you are sorting text).
5. Select Ascending.
6. Select Salesperson in the Then By field.
7. Select Text in the Type field (because you are sorting text).
8. Select Ascending.
9. Select Header Row (because your table has titles across the top of the table),
10. Click OK.

Microsoft Word should have sorted your table like the one shown here:

Salesperson Region Dolls Trucks Puzzles

Pillar, James N 5124 3247 5467
White, Pete N 1421 3863 2934
Atwater, Kelly S 4098 3079 2067
Banks, Jennifer S 1201 2528 1203
Kennedy, Sally S l327 1423 1193
York, George S 2190 1278 1928

Deleting a Column
You can delete columns from your table. To delete the Trucks column:
1. Place your cursor anywhere in the Trucks column.
2. Choose Table > Delete > Columns from the menu.

Deleting a Row
You can delete rows from your table. To delete, the York, George row:
1. Place your cursor anywhere in the York, George row,
2. Choose Table > Delete > Rows from the menu.