Basic Programming IV - SS3 ICT Past Questions and Answers - page 2

A High-Level Language (HLL) is a programming language designed to be closer to human language and easier for programmers to read, write, and maintain. Advantages of HLLs include:

• Human-Readability: HLLs use natural language constructs and syntax, making code more understandable.
• Abstraction: HLLs hide low-level details, simplifying complex tasks.
• Portability: HLL code can run on different platforms with minimal modification.
• Productivity: HLLs reduce development time and errors due to their ease of use.

To calculate the sum of the first 200 integers in BASIC, you would modify the loop to iterate from 1 to 200 instead of 1 to 100. Here is the modification:

BASIC Copy code

total = 0

FOR i = 1 TO 200

    total = total + i

NEXT i

PRINT "Sum of first 200 integers is: "; total

FORTRAN (Formula Translation) is often used in scientific and engineering applications where numerical precision and performance are critical. It's suitable for tasks like weather modeling, finite element analysis, and nuclear simulations, where complex mathematical calculations and efficient memory management are essential.

ALGOL (Algorithmic Language) had a significant impact on programming language design. It introduced structured programming concepts like block structures, lexical scoping, and nested functions. ALGOL's influence can be seen in subsequent languages like Pascal, C, and many others, which adopted these structured programming features. ALGOL laid the foundation for more readable and maintainable code.

Low-Level Languages like assembly are chosen when precise control over hardware is required, such as in embedded systems, device drivers, or real-time systems. They are used when efficiency, minimal memory usage, or direct access to hardware registers are crucial. In contrast, High-Level Languages like BASIC are chosen for ease of development, portability, and when the efficiency of code execution is not the top priority.