Difference between Low-level and High-level Programming languages

If you’re interested in programming, please note that programming languages are usually divided into two classes: High-Level and Low-Level, each with its own purpose. Knowing which one is best for you depends a lot on your knowledge, which is why we’ve decided to explain the differences between both.

Low-level and High-level Programming languages

Today, we will explain the definition of high and low-level programming and the different types. When you’ve completed reading this article, it is expected that you’ll have some idea of which language to focus on going forward.

Remember that programming is not easy, not even for professionals, because things can go wrong at any time. If you are not built for solving complex problems, then chances are learning to code is not your thing.

1] What is a high-level programming

Now, from what we’ve come to understand over the years, there are a few characteristics that define high-level programming, and we are going to look at some of them.

OK, so high-level programming is more akin to human language because it is readable. Furthermore, these languages do not participate in memory management and feature abstraction.

The main examples of high-level programming languages are C#, Python, Java, Ruby, and more.

Read: What is the R programming language?

2] What is Low-level programming

The first thing you’ll notice is how much of an opposite low-level language are compared to High-level. You see, they do not feature abstraction, but they are ahead when it comes down to memory management and the ability to be read by computers.

Additionally, these languages are not close to human language, so reading them is difficult.

For example, consider machine code and assembly language.

Read: Learn computer programming with Microsoft Small Basic.

3] Deeper interpretation of high-level programming languages

OK, so here’s the thing. High-level languages all feature abstraction as explained above, and this is good because it makes them easier to use and understand. If we look at the line of code below, we can see how it is readable and more human-like:

# Create the data for the graph.
v <-  c(9,13,21,8,36,22,12,41,31,33,19)

# Give the chart file a unique name.
png(file = "histogram.png")

# Create the required histogram.
hist(v,xlab = "Weight",col = "yellow",border = "blue")

# Save the file.
dev.off()

As you can see, it’s just simple lines of code, and if you read it properly, you will understand what you’re getting and what comes after. Furthermore, there is no need to manage memory with high-level language.

In terms of some of the most important parts of coding at a high level are variables, objects, routines, and loops. You see, these abstractions make high-level languages so easy to use compared to their lower-level counterparts.

Also, coding from the high level allows the user to send dozens of commands with just a single line of code. Furthermore, each high-level programming language has its own way of writing syntax; therefore, some will be easier than others.

Read: Netbeans IDE is a new-age Programming Language.

4] Deeper interpretation of low-level programming languages

As we’ve stated above, low-level programming languages are more aligned with the computer system rather than human language, therefore, reading it in a normal fashion is impossible. Machine code is one of the most known low-level programming languages out there, and it’s all about random numbers.

You see, Machine code only contains the individual guidelines passed down to the computer, which means it lacks abstraction.

Now, we should not say that machines only understand bytes, although they are mainly represented in decimal, hexadecimal notation, or binary. We understand that binary is used more than the others.

Example of machine codes:

000000 00001 00010 00110 00000 100000

As you can see, it’s impossible to read the above code to get an idea of what it will do. The computer, on the other hand, is very capable of reading this language as long as the programmer specifies clear directions.

5] Should you learn one or both types of programming languages?

That’s a difficult question since both languages have benefits and cons. You see, high-level languages are easier to learn and grasp. Not to mention, high-level languages are safer because they contain certain safeguards that make it harder for programmers to write code designed to destroy a computer.

Low-level languages are the complete opposite. As such, they are not used for writing code for the web or apps but primarily for driver software or operating system kernels.