▼   

Home / My Sites / ICTPRG407 Write script for software applications - 2020

ICTPRG407 Write script for software applications - 2020

 
Listen 

Getting Started

Programming
Programming is the process of creating a set of instructions that tells a computer how to perform a
task. In order to write these set of instruction, a variety of computer languages known as
programming language are used.

Programming Language
A programming language itself uses vocabulary and set of grammatical rules for instructing a
computer or computing device to perform specific tasks. In other words, it is used to develop
software programs, scripts or other sets of instructions for computer to execute.Thus, programming
language is the medium of communication between you (a person) and a computer system. It is the
set of some instructions written in a specific style (coding) to instruct the computer to do some
specific task.

Generations of programming language

Programming languages have been developed over the year in a phased manner. Each phase of the
development has made the programming language more user-friendly, easier to use and more
powerful. Each phase of improvement made in the development of the programming languages can
be referred to as a generation. The programming language in terms of their performance reliability
and robustness can be grouped into five different generations, as below:

1. First Generation Language (1GL)

In the 1940's, the first recognizably modern electrically powered computers were created. The limited
speed and memory capacity forced programmers to write hand tuned assembly language programs.
It was eventually realized that programming in assembly language required a great deal of
intellectual effort and was error-prone. This first generation programming language is also called low-
level programming language because they were used to program the computer system at a very low
level of abstraction i.e. at the machine level. In the machine language, a programmer only deals with
a binary number.

2. Second Generation language (2GL)

The second-generation programming language also belongs to the category of low-level-

programming language. The second-generation language comprises assembly languages that use
the concept of mnemonics for the writing program. In the assembly language, symbolic names are
used to represent the opcode and the operand part of the instruction.

3. Third Generation languages (3GL)

The third generation programming languages were designed to overcome the various limitations of
the first and second-generation programming languages. The languages of the third and later
generation are considered as a high-level language because they enable the programmer to
concentrate only on the logic of the programs without considering the internal architecture of the
computer system. 3GLs are much more machine independent and more programmer-friendly.

Examples: FORTRAN, ALGOL, COBOL, C++, C, Javascript, Java, Visual Basic

4. Fourth generation language (4GL)

The languages of this generation were considered as very high-level programming languages. The
fourth generation programming languages were designed and developed to reduce the time, cost
and effort needed to develop different types of software applications.

Examples: SQL, CSS, ColdFusion, Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby

5. Fifth generation language (5GL)

The 5GL programming language are based on solving problems using constraints given to the
program, rather than using an algorithm written by a programmer. It is much more natural and easier
than the previous generation languages. The major fields in which the fifth generation programming
language are employed are Artificial Intelligence and Artificial Neural Networks

Examples: Mercury, OPS5, and Prolog.

What is Script?
A script or scripting language is a computer language with a series of commands within a file that is
capable of being executed without being compiled. Good examples of server-side scripting languages
include Perl, PHP, and Python.

Advantages of scripts

Open source, allowing users to view and edit the script if needed
Does not require the file to be compiled, but may be when necessary
Easy to learn and write.
Easy to port between different operating systems
Much faster, to develop than an actual program - some individuals and companies write
scripts as a prototype for actual programs.

Disadvantages of scripts

Open source, allows others to view source code, which may be prohibited by some
companies.
Requires the user to install an interpreter or separate program before the script can be run.
In some situations, they may be slower than a compiled program.
Python

Link to download Python:

https://www.python.org/

Link to download Packet Tracer:

You may have to log in to https://www.netacad.com/ and download it from there.

Python is an interpreted, interactive, object-oriented programming language that was first developed
by Guido van Rossum in 1989 and released in 1991. Below is an example of how you could print
"Hello World!" in Python. This one line could be saved as hello.py and executed by typing python
hello.py from the command line.

print "Hello, World!"

Other Programming Jargons

Interpreted

In computer programming, an interpreted programming language does not need to be compiled

before its programs are executed. Instead, another program, called an interpreter, reads the program
and executes it.

Interactive

Interactive describes software or hardware whose behavior changes in response to interaction with a
human.

Object-Oriented

Object-oriented programming (OOP) is a programming language model in which programs are

organized around data, or objects, rather than functions and logic. An object can be defined as a data
field that has unique attributes and behavior. Examples of an object can range from physical entities,
such as a human being that is described by properties like name and address, down to small
computer programs, such as widgets. This opposes the historical approach to programming where
emphasis was placed on how the logic was written rather than how to define the data within the
logic.
 PREVIOUS TOPIC NEXT TOPIC
Video Files Announcements

Site Contacts
Scott Battye Nimmi Illathu Purayil Logesvary Krishnasamy

Bing Liu Hatim Mansor Melanie Melhem

Surendra Shakya Uday Vaidya Kesaia Veikoso

Lucas Vidgen Sumeet Yadav Gavin Jackson

Richard Neumann Ashutosh Patel

General Enquiries: Course Enquiries: Postal Address:

Melbourne Polytechnic
03 9269 1200 03 9269 8400 Locked Bag 5 Preston Victoria 3072
General Enquiries International: Course Enquiries International:
Australia
+61 3 9269 1200 +61 3 9269 8400
Some of the material in this site may have been copied (and communicated to you) in accordance with the statutory licence in section 113P of the
Copyright Act 1968 (Cth). Any further reproduction or communication of this material by you may be the subject of copyright protection under the
Act.

Student support

Staff support

Library

e-Portfolio

My Media

Log Out
 Get the mobile app

Please Sign in or Create a free account
Search templates...

New Template