If you're just starting your coding journey you'll probably get to that point where you'll ask yourself what is a programming language?. Well look no further, in this article I will be covering what a programming language is, various types of programming languages, and their application areas, let's dive in.

What is a programming language?

A programming language is a tool that's used to write instructions to a computer for execution. Think of it this way, you want to cook a meal, you have the ingredients to cook but you'll need the recipe for the meal right? That's how programming languages are, they're the recipe for writing instructions to the computer, now that we have a definitive understanding of what programming languages are let's talk about types of programming languages.

Types of programming languages

We basically have two types low-level programming languages and high-level programming languages. A low-level language is one of the types of programming languages with basic instructions which the computer understands, while high-level languages are written in the human-readable form then later complied to what the computer can understand this is done with the aid of an integrated development environment (IDE), at this point you now understand what a programming language is and the types we have, let's us now discuss on the examples of high-level programming languages.

Examples of high-level programming languages

We have numerous examples but I'll be listing only seven of them here. They are:

Python, Java, JavaScript, PHP, Swift, Ruby on Rails, and SQL.

- Python is a versatile programming language, it's dynamically typed in the sense that its syntax is not rigid, it can be used in backend development, apps development, data science, data analysis, etc.

- Java on the other hand is strictly typed meaningful the syntax isn't flexible as python, it's used in android development, backend development, etc.

- JavaScript, one of the best programming languages we have there, it's mainly for frontend development but could also be applicable in backend and web apps.

- PHP, is a complete server-side language (backend development) used in building dynamic web apps.

- Swift is a programming language from Apple, specially made for writing programs that run on iOS and Mac devices.

- Ruby on rails is also a server-side language used for building dynamic web apps.

- SQL stands for Structured Query Language, it's used for handling database requests, relational mapping in the database, and database manipulation.

I hope after reading this you'd have had a better understanding of programming languages and how they work. If you're still confused about which programming language to learn I'd advise you to start with Python first