Implementation Manager (IM) Specialist CHTS Practice Test

______________ is an example of a third generation programming language.

1. FORTRAN

2. SQL

3. Machine code

4. Assembly language

The correct answer is: FORTRAN

The correct response identifies FORTRAN as an example of a third generation programming language. Third generation languages, often referred to as high-level programming languages, are designed to be more abstracted from the hardware, allowing programmers to write instructions using syntax that is more similar to human languages compared to earlier generations. FORTRAN (short for Formula Translation) was developed in the 1950s specifically for scientific and engineering applications, enabling users to write complex mathematical formulas with ease. Its design made it much more accessible than assembly language or machine code, both of which require detailed knowledge of the underlying hardware. Third generation languages, including FORTRAN, typically feature better readability, portability across different systems, and a rich set of built-in functionalities that facilitate programming tasks. This contrasts with machine code, which consists of binary instructions directly executed by the computer's CPU, and assembly language, which is a low-level language that provides a slight abstraction over machine code but still requires significant understanding of the computer's architecture. SQL is a declarative language used for managing and querying databases, which also fits into the category of high-level languages but serves a very specific purpose distinct from the overall capabilities of a general-purpose language like FORTRAN.