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A third-generation programming language (3GL) is a high-level computer programming language that tends to be more machine-independent and programmer-friendly than the machine code of the first generation and assembly languages of the second generation, while having a less specific focus to the fourth and fifth generations.[1] Examples of common and historical third-generation programming languages are ALGOL, BASIC, C, COBOL, Fortran, Java, and Pascal.
3GLs are much more machine-independent and more programmer-friendly. This includes features like improved support for aggregate data types, and expressing concepts in a way that favors the programmer, not the computer. A third generation language improves over a second-generation language by having the computer take care of non-essential details. 3GLs are more abstract than previous generations of languages, and thus can be considered higher-level languages than their first- and second-generation counterparts. First introduced in the late 1950s, Fortran, ALGOL, and COBOL are examples of early 3GLs.
Most popular general-purpose languages today, such as C, C++, C#, Java, BASIC and Pascal, are also third-generation languages, although each of these languages can be further subdivided into other categories based on other contemporary traits. Most 3GLs support structured programming. Many support object-oriented programming. Traits like these are more often used to describe a language rather than just being a 3GL.
A 3GL enables a programmer to write programs that are more or less independent from a particular type of computer. Such languages are considered high-level because they are closer to human languages and further from machine languages, and hence require compilation or interpretation. In contrast, machine languages are considered low-level because they are designed for and executed by physical hardware without further translation required.
高水準言語が低水準言語よりも優れている主な点は、読み書きや保守が容易であることです。最終的に、高水準言語で書かれたプログラムは、コンパイラによって機械語に翻訳されるか、インタプリタによって直接動作に変換される必要があります。
これらのプログラムは異なるマシン上で実行できたため（移植性があったため）、マシンに依存しませんでした。しかし、より抽象的な新しい言語が開発されるにつれて、高レベル言語と低レベル言語の概念はかなり相対的なものになりました。初期の「高レベル」言語の多くは、Python、Ruby、Common Lispなどの言語と比較すると、現在では比較的低レベルであると考えられています。これらの言語は第4世代プログラミング言語の特徴をいくつか持ち、1990年代には非常に高レベルのプログラミング言語と呼ばれていました。[ 2 ] [ 3 ]