The label of second-generation programming language (2GL) is a generational way to categorize

assembly language In computing, assembly language (alternatively assembler language or symbolic machine code), often referred to simply as assembly and commonly abbreviated as ASM or asm, is any low-level programming language with a very strong correspondence bet ...

s."Computer Hope, Generation languages"
/ref> They belong to the

low-level programming languages A low-level programming language is a programming language that provides little or no abstraction from a computer's instruction set architecture, memory or underlying physical hardware; commands or functions in the language are structurally simil ...

. The term was coined to provide a distinction from higher level machine independent

third-generation programming language A third-generation programming language (3GL) is a high-level programming language, high-level computer programming language that tends to be more machine-independent and programmer-friendly than the machine code of the First-generation programmin ...

s (3GLs) (such as

COBOL COBOL (; an acronym for "common business-oriented language") is a compiled English-like computer programming language designed for business use. It is an imperative, procedural, and, since 2002, object-oriented language. COBOL is primarily ...

, C, or

JavaScript JavaScript (), often abbreviated as JS, is a programming language and core technology of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and CSS. Ninety-nine percent of websites use JavaScript on the client side for webpage behavior. Web browsers have ...

) and earlier

first-generation programming language A first-generation programming language (1GL) is a machine-level programming language and belongs to the low-level programming languages. A first generation (programming) language (1GL) is a grouping of programming languages that are machine l ...

s (

machine code In computer programming, machine code is computer code consisting of machine language instructions, which are used to control a computer's central processing unit (CPU). For conventional binary computers, machine code is the binaryOn nonb ...

)

Second-generation programming language

Second-generation programming languages have the following properties: *Lines within a program correspond directly to processor commands, essentially acting as a mnemonic device overlaying a first generation programming language. *The code can be read and written by a programmer. To run on a computer it must be converted into a machine readable form, a process called assembly. *The language is specific to a particular processor family and environment. Second-generation languages are sometimes used for parts of kernels or

device drivers In the context of an operating system, a device driver is a computer program that operates or controls a particular type of device that is attached to a computer or automaton. A driver provides a software interface to hardware devices, enabli ...

, and are sometimes used in video games, graphics programs, and other intensive programs. In modern programs, second generation assembly languages are rarely used. Programming in second generation languages may yield speed benefits, but several disadvantages have led to its decline: * Programming is expressed in terms of individual processor instructions, rather than higher level logic. * Low-level memory and hardware details must be manually managed which is often bug-prone. * Programs are

machine-dependent Machine-dependent software is software that runs only on a specific computer. Applications that run on multiple computer architectures are called machine-independent, or cross-platform. Many organisations opt for such software because they believe ...

, so different versions must be written for every target machine architecture. The vast majority of programs are written in a

or a

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

. Assembly's main advantage, speed, has degraded by the fact that well written C code can often be as fast or even faster than handwritten assembly. Second generation languages are perhaps most significant in their place in computing history. For a long time, Second generation assembly languages were the only good option for development for many machines, such as the NES or the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in ...

. Second generation languages represented a massive step away from the tradition of programmers conforming to the needs of a machine, and the first step towards the machine accommodating for the programmer, a phenomenon that would be repeated in all subsequent programming language generations.

References

{{Programming language generations Programming language classification