Standardized communication techniques for expressing computer instructions. Programming languages are sets of syntax and semantic rules defining computer programs. In this way, programmers can specify exactly what information a computer will execute, how the information will be transmitted and stored, and exactly what actions the computer should complete under a variety of circumstances.

The main purpose of programming languages is to allow programmers to state their intentions for a computation more easily than if they used a lower-level language or code. Thus, programming languages tend to be designed to use a higher-level syntax that can be readily communicated to and understood by programmers and computers alike. Common programming languages include Ada, Basic, C, C++, Pascal, Perl, Python, and Java.

See Also: Code or Source Code.