Hello World How programming languages conquered the world
04.05.2021 editor:
Johann Wiesböck
On the occasion of the international Morse Code day, Micro Focus reports on the development of programming languages. These have changed drastically in recent years and are constantly evolving.
In the 19th century, Samuel Morse developed an apparatus consisting of a pen, a pendulum, a clockwork, a roll of paper and an electromagnet. This instrument was able to transmit messages using electricity for the first time.
Technological advances speak for themselves. And this in the truest sense of the word: programming languages are the cornerstones of digital transformation. But technological progress is not a new phenomenon of the 21st century. As part of the international Morse Code Day on 27 April, it is worth taking a close look at the stages in the interwoven history of telecommunications technologies and programming languages right from the start.
In the beginning was the telegraph. In the 19th century, Samuel Morse developed an apparatus consisting of a pen, a pendulum, a clockwork, a roll of paper and an electromagnet. This instrument was able to transmit messages using electricity for the first time. At the beginning, complex number combinations were communicated by the telegraphs.
Morse and colleagues ultimately developed the simple Morse code, which is based on short and long signals and breaks. Almost simultaneously, another technological breakthrough took place, which, together with telegraphy, laid the foundation for the further development of electronic communication: the computer.
From Ada Lovelace to COBOL and Co.
The first” computer ” was developed in the 19th century by Charles Babbage and was named Analytical Engine. Ada Lovelace is referred to as the first programmer in the course of this invention. She wrote a program with which the Analytical Engine could calculate Bernoulli numbers. However, the machine was never built, the program remained analog.
Since these theoretical beginnings, programming languages and technologies have undergone a great development. Today established programs are based on so-called higher programming languages. The first languages of this category were already developed in the 1950s: Fortran, Lisp and COBOL. Current representatives include Java and C++.
Higher programming languages are shaping the digital world in the 21st century. The fields of application, the structure and the age of the different languages differ. Java, a rather newer programming language, is used in many ways and plays a major role in the programming of web applications. The language is programmed in classes and based on access modifiers, keywords and class names. In addition, a class must implement a main () method that serves as the starting point for execution.
In order to show the basic structure of the language quickly, a “Hello World” program can be used. This gives an overview of the components of a programming language. The aim of the program is to display the lettering “Hello World”. This looks like this in Java:
public class HelloWorldApp {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("Hello World!");
}
}
In contrast to Java, the more than 60-year-old language COBOL is mainly used by companies in the financial sector. Especially business-critical applications of banks and insurance companies are based on it. Advantages of the language: Easy readability due to the orientation of the English language, high accuracy, strong data manipulation, high-performance, robust fault management, and the opportunity for continuous modernization.
A”Hello World “program written with the programming language COBOL (with the modern form of” Micro Focus Visual COBOL”) is short and easy to understand. So-called divisions specify the program structure, followed by sections and paragraphs. In these are sentences, which are composed of statements. These statements ultimately consist of characters that form the smallest unit.
PROCEDURE DIVISION.
DISPLAY "Hello, World!"
STOP RUN.
It is not without reason that COBOL is still in use after 60 years and will remain so for a long time, because the language offers many advantages: COBOL has developed steadily over the years and companies such as IBM and Micro Focus have invested a lot to always meet the new needs of the economy. During the long period of use, extensive experience could be gained and a large community could be created.
In addition, COBOL was planned from the beginning as a programming language that is consistently oriented towards business requirements. From telegraphy to Java web applications or the mainframe running COBOL-based software, the history of telecommunications technology shows that progress is the only constant in our world.
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