What is the Difference Between High Level Language and Low Level Language?

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The main difference between high-level and low-level programming languages lies in their user-friendliness, memory efficiency, and platform dependence. Here are the key differences between the two:

  1. User-friendliness: High-level languages are programmer-friendly and easy to understand, while low-level languages are machine-friendly and more difficult for humans to understand.
  2. Memory efficiency: High-level languages are generally less memory efficient compared to low-level languages.
  3. Debugging and maintenance: High-level languages are easier to debug and maintain, while low-level languages are more complex in these aspects.
  4. Platform dependence: High-level languages are portable and can run on different platforms, while low-level languages are machine-dependent and non-portable.
  5. Translation: High-level languages require a compiler or interpreter for translation into machine code, while low-level languages need an assembler for translation.
  6. Usage: High-level languages are widely used for programming, while low-level languages are not as commonly used nowadays.

Examples of high-level languages include C, C++, Java, and Python, while examples of low-level languages include assembly languages like Intel and MIPS.

Comparative Table: High Level Language vs Low Level Language

The main difference between high-level and low-level languages lies in their ease of use, memory efficiency, and hardware dependencies. Here is a table comparing the two types of programming languages:

Feature High-Level Language Low-Level Language
Programmer-friendliness More programmer-friendly Less programmer-friendly
Memory Efficiency Less memory-efficient More memory-efficient
Ease of Understanding Easier to understand Harder to understand
Debugging Easier to debug Harder to debug
Maintenance Simpler to maintain More complex to maintain
Portability Portable Non-portable
Platform Dependency Can run on any platform Machine-dependent
Compilation/Interpretation Needs compiler or interpreter for translation Needs assembler for translation
Examples C, C++, Java, Python Machine language (binary/hexadecimal)

High-level languages are designed to be easy to understand and use, making them more suitable for developers. They are portable and can run on different platforms, while low-level languages are machine-dependent and less portable. Low-level languages are more memory-efficient and faster than high-level languages but are more difficult to understand and maintain.