A first-generation programming language (1GL) is a machine-level

programming language A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. Most programming languages are text-based formal languages, but they may also be graphical. They are a kind of computer language. The description of a programming ...

."Computer Hope, Generation languages"
/ref> A first generation (programming) language (1GL) is a grouping of programming languages that are machine level languages used to program first-generation computers. Originally, no

translator Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

was used to

compile In computing, a compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs that ...

or assemble the first-generation language. The first-generation programming instructions were entered through the

front panel A front panel was used on early electronic computers to display and allow the alteration of the state of the machine's internal registers and memory. The front panel usually consisted of arrays of indicator lamps, digit and symbol displays, t ...

switches of the computer system. The instructions in 1GL are made of

binary number A binary number is a number expressed in the base-2 numeral system or binary numeral system, a method of mathematical expression which uses only two symbols: typically "0" (zero) and "1" ( one). The base-2 numeral system is a positional notatio ...

s, represented by 1s and 0s. This makes the language suitable for the understanding of the machine but far more difficult to interpret and learn by the human programmer. The main advantage of programming in 1GL is that the code can run very fast and very efficiently, precisely because the instructions are executed directly by the

central processing unit A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, an ...

(CPU). One of the main disadvantages of programming in a

low level language A low-level programming language is a programming language that provides little or no Abstraction (computer science), abstraction from a computer's instruction set architecture—commands or functions in the language map that are structurally sim ...

is that when an error occurs, the code is not as easy to fix. First generation languages are very much adapted to a specific computer and CPU, and code portability is therefore significantly reduced in comparison to higher level languages. Modern day programmers still occasionally use machine level code, especially when programming lower level functions of the system, such as drivers, interfaces with

firmware In computing, firmware is a specific class of computer software that provides the low-level control for a device's specific hardware. Firmware, such as the BIOS of a personal computer, may contain basic functions of a device, and may provide h ...

and hardware devices. Modern tools such as native-code compilers are used to produce machine level from a higher-level language.

What's next

Second-generation programming language The label of second-generation programming language (2GL) is a generational way to categorize assembly languages. The term was coined to provide a distinction from higher level machine independent third-generation programming languages (3GLs) (su ...

Third-generation programming language 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-gene ...

Fourth-generation programming language A fourth-generation programming language (4GL) is any computer programming language that belongs to a class of languages envisioned as an advancement upon third-generation programming languages (3GL). Each of the programming language generations a ...

* Fifth-generation programming language

References

General

1. Nwankwogu S.E (2016). Programming Languages and their history. {{Programming language generations Programming language classification