High Level VS Low Level Language

What is a programming language?

We compared high-level language with low-level language, what they consist of, their advantages and disadvantages, and the difference between them.

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A programming language is a language that, through a series of steps, allows the programmer to write a series of commands that can solve a problem. That is, if the programmer wants to make a function that subtracts two numbers, he needs to write a function, passing two numbers as parameters.

In other words, the programming language allows the hardware (physical part of the computer, such as the motherboard, the cooler) to communicate with the logical part of the computer, which would be programs written in the Cobol language, for example.

Through symbols, reserved keywords, types of writing (syntax), each language has its peculiarities and paradigms, that is, there are several ways of writing the same code with different programming languages, each with its own respective form.

Through programming languages, we can control a series of commands to be executed, such as the actions that our system must perform, what data it needs to store in a database, and how it should be transmitted, among other things.

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What is high-level language?

We call a high-level language one whose syntax is focused on human understanding. This means that this type of language is much more intuitive, easy to use and easier to learn, especially for beginners in the programming field. To make this possible, high-level languages abstract machine-oriented concepts and synthesizing commands.

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For example: “print” and “delete” are common instructions in these languages that, as the terms suggest, serve to show information on the screen or delete some data, respectively.

Some of the high-level languages:

• ▶ JavaScript.

• ▶ Java;

• ▶ Rubies;

• ▶ Python;

• ▶ C#;

• ▶ C

• ▶ Swift;

• ▶ PHP.

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Advantages and disadvantages of high-level languages.

Regarding the advantages of high-level languages, we can say that the main one is ease of learning, but that is not the only point. Another great benefit is the productivity that programmers gain with this type of language. This is because the abstraction provided by the high-level language allows you to write more code in less time, which is extremely positive when working on complex systems. In addition, if someone needs to verify the code created, they will be able to more easily understand what was done. In this way, the maintenance process is also simplified. On the other hand, high-level languages have some drawbacks. There are cases, for example, where the performance of a program may be hampered because it requires a longer processing time. They also typically have more memory when compared to a low-level language.

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What is low-level language? Unlike high-level languages, low-level languages are aimed at understanding the machine. Therefore, they have a more complex syntax and do not have such intuitive commands. For example: the instructions “print” and “delete”, although easy for a person to assimilate, it is evident that the computer is unable to understand such commands. This is because the machine language consists only of sequences of 0 and 1, the so-called binary code. So, low-level languages have instructions that are more direct to the processor, so they're closer to the machine language. Therefore, to use them, it is necessary to know not only the language, but also the hardware of the device with which you are going to work. The main low-level language we have is Assembly.

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Advantages and disadvantages of high-level languages.

The main advantage of a low-level language is its faster processing time than that of a high-level one. In addition, the architecture of the devices is better used with this type of language. On the other hand, the person using this low-level tool may take longer to understand and master the syntax. Not to mention that it will still be necessary to know the machine's hardware in depth, which requires more investment in study and training. In addition, since the written code is more aimed at the processor, portability is also impaired, as it may not run on processors from different families.

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High-level vs low-level languages: what are the differences between them?

The main difference between high-level and low-level languages is the purpose each one has. While one seeks to facilitate human understanding, the other is closer to machine language.

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High-level language

• ▶ High portability;

• ▶ Possibility to run on any equipment;

• ▶ You need a compiler for code translation;

• ▶ Friendly and intuitive language for all programmers;

• ▶ High learning curve;

• ▶ Less efficient with regard to memory performance;

• ▶ Maintenance is simple to apply;

• ▶ Easy to debug;

• ▶ It is the most used type of language in our daily lives.

• ▶ Low-level language

• ▶ Low portability;

• ▶ Depends on the machine to work;

• ▶ You need an assembler to translate the code;

• ▶ Machine-friendly language;

• ▶ Low learning curve;

• ▶ More efficient with regard to memory performance;

• ▶ Maintenance is expensive and complex to apply;

• ▶ Difficulty debugging;

• ▶ It is not common for programmers to use this type of language.

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Returning to the example of the “print” and “delete” commands that were mentioned, it was mentioned that the machine does not understand these instructions. For the computer to understand, code written in high-level language needs to be compiled or interpreted.

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Thus, when a code is compiled, another file is generated that contains all the code translated into something closer to the machine language (in this case it is an assembly program). When code is interpreted, each command line is “translated” at execution time. This is precisely what increases processing time.

The low-level language is “translated” by what we call an assembler, who is responsible for converting the Assembly program into a set of instructions in the machine language. With this, we can see that the assembly also works as a kind of interface between the high-level language and the machine language.

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High-level vs low-level languages: which one is better?

With all this in mind, we cannot say that there is one language that is better than the other. In fact, they can only adapt more to specific needs. Thus, the assessment of which one should best be made based on the requirements of the project you are going to work on, because each of them has positive and negative aspects that may weigh more or less according to the needs of the application.

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Where to start? High-level or low-level language?

The labor market is increasingly demanding people who are fluent in high-level languages, such as Python, JavaScript, and others. In addition, since maintaining programs made in low-level languages is more expensive, companies choose to develop systems and programs in high-level languages. In other words, when starting a career in the world of programming, high-level language is the most recommended to start a career in the area of software development.