Programming Languages

1. Which computer language was developed at Dartmouth College in 1964 under the direction of John George Kemeny and Thomas Eugene Kurtz to enable students from non-science backgrounds to use computers?

(a) FORTRAN (b) BASIC

(c) Pascal (d) ALGOL

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2. Name the language that was developed as a successor to Pascal by its inventor Niklaus Wirth

(a) PL/I (b) APL

(c) Modula-2 (d) ALGOL

3. Which computer language was developed by Brian Kernighan and Dennis Ritchie at Bell Labs in 1972?

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(a) BASIC (b) PASCAL

(c) FORTRAN (d) C

4. Why the C language was named so?

(a) C has been taken from the word computer. The developers of the language wanted to make it the most popular computer language.

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(b) Both the developers were fond of the alphabet C

(c) The immediate predecessor of this language was called B programming language

(d) Both the developers wanted to have a single alphabet to name the language. Unable to decide whether to name it B or D (according to their first names), they chose the middle alphabet C.

5. What was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup in the early 1980s at Bell Laboratories?

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(a) C++, the object-oriented version of C

(b) The Java language

(c) Graphical User Interface

(d) Hyper Text Markup Language

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6. The letters in the names of most of the computer languages form acronyms. Which of the following two language names are not acronyms?

(a) BASIC and FORTRAN (b) PROLOG and LIPS (c) COBOL and JAVA (d) Pascal and Ada

7. What do the letters in APL (a high level computer language) stand for?

(a) Advanced Computer Language

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(b) Augmented Programming Language

(c) A Programming Language

(d) Ada Programming Language

8. What name was given to the version of BASIC Bill Gates wrote for IBM to run in IBM-DOS environment?

(a) GW-BASIC (b) DOS-BASIC

(c) MS-BASIC (d) BASICA

9. For computers of which make did Microsoft write a version of BASIC first?

(a) MITS Altair 8800 (b) Tandy

(c) IBM (d) Digital Equipment Corporation

10. PILOT is an authoring language for computer-assisted instruction, developed by John Starkweather at the University of California – San Francisco in 1968. It is an extremely easy to use language because of its small set of commands and is basically used to develop on-screen instruction material. What does the acronym stand for?

(a) Programmed Instruction for Learning Or Teaching

(b) Programmed Instruction, Learning, or Teaching

(c) Pupils” Interest in Learning or Teaching

(d) Particular Instruction Language for Teaching

11. C++ creator Bjarne Stroustrup called his new language “C with Classes” and then “new C”. As a result, the original C began to be called “old C” which was considered insulting to the C community. At this time a programmer Rick Mascitti suggested the name C++ as a successor to C. How did he get the idea for this name?

(a) He thought two pluses would sound impressive.

(b) In C, the “++” operator increments the value of the variable it is appended to, thus C++ would increment the value of C, he thought.

(c) The new version was far superior than the earlier versions, so deserved two pluses, he thought.

(d) One of the earlier versions of the language was named C+. So it was natural to name the next version C++.

12. Which computer language, recognized as the first high-level language, was developed by John Backus for IBM over the period 1954-1958?

(a) FORTRAN (b) Pascal

(c) COBOL (d) LISP

1.3. This computer language was developed by a team drawn from several computer manufacturers and Pentagon in 1960. Interestingly, one member of the team thought the language had no future and even made a tomb stone for it! But the language has survived even today. Its fortune made a short turnaround when the noise over Y2K problem was at its peak. Which is this language?

(a) LISP (b) Modula

(c) COBOL (d) OBERON

14. This programming language was developed at the behest of the US Department of Defense through an internationa competition. Originally meant to be used in realtime systems containing embedded computers, the language incorporated many ideas new at that time. Adopted in 1983 by ANSI, it was made mandatory for the US military applications from 1986. Name the language

(a) Ada (b) Fortran

(c) C (d) ALGOL

15. Introduced in 1958, it was the result of the attempt by one American and one European body to define an international algorithmic language. Name this language, which was the first structured procedural language to be developed

(a) ALGOL (b) JOVIAL

(c) APL (d) B

16. What does the acronym ALGOL stand for?

(a) ALGOrithmic Language

(b) Algebraic Language

(c) Algorithmic and Logical Language

(d) A Logical Language

17. Originally developed by Kenneth Eugene Iverson and introduced in 1968 for scientific and mathematical applications, it is a subprogram- based interpreted language. Name it

(a) JOVIAL (b) APL

(c) B (d) BCPL

18. This language, developed in the early 1960s at the University of Cambridge and University of London, had the aim of providing a single language for all applications. It had many features, like control structures of structured programming as found in the modern languages. Name it

(a) B (b) BCPL

(c) CPL (d) Babbage

19. CPL, BCPL, B. What was the next to be developed in this family of languages?

(a) Pascal (b) ALGOL

(c) C (d) FORTRAN

20 .______ A, Quick_______ GW________ ,Visual________ , Word_

_____ , Turbo_______ .

Which language should fill the blank space?

(a) ALGOL (b) BASIC

(c) COMAL (d) PILOT

21. Which language was developed by CODASYL in 1960?

(a) Algol (b) Prolog

(c) COBOL (d) Pascal

22. COMAL was a programming language developed in Denmark for use in schools there. The language combined the simplicity of BASIC with modern control structures such as if…then…else. The language lost its following when the modern versions of BASIC appeared. Now, expand the acronym COMAL

(a) Computer Algorithmic Language

(b) Common Modular Algorithmic Language

(c) Common Algorithmic Language

(d) Commercial Application Language

23. Developed in 1959-60 by John McCarthy, it was used primarily to manipulate lists of data. Now it is considered the standard language for artificial intelligence research. Name the language

(a) LISP (b) Prolog

(c) Oberon (d) Modula-2

24. Who led the creation of Java language?

(a) Linus Torvalds (b) James Gosling

(c) Patrick Naughton (d) Bill Joy

25. What name was given to the Java language originally?

(a) Oak (b) Borneo

(c) Jakarta (d) Green

26. Why the original name of Java was changed to the present name by the programming team at Sun Microsystems where it was originally developed?

(a) They were drinking much coffee, so they named the new language after a specific blend of coffee-Java

(b) There was already a brand existing by the same name as given by Gosling forcing a name change

(c) The creator of the language was born in Java Island

(d) The creator of Java loved the island Java when he was on a vacation there

27. Many computer languages are acronyms. So, what does Java stand for?

(a) Just another Vague Acronym.

(b) From the initials of James Gosling, Arthur Van Hoff, and Andy Bechtolsheim, the members of Java development team.

(c) It is not an acronym. It gets its name from the products sold at the coffee shop where the developers were meeting regularly.

(d) There is no official acronym.

28. What is the name of the friendly mascot of Java language?

(a) Larry the Cow (b) Wilber the coyote

(c) Puffy the porcupine fish (d) Duke

29. Members of the group JUG meet to discuss which computer language?

(a) Ada (b) BASIC

(c) C (d) Java

30. The first device in which Java programming language used was

(a) Palmtop computer

(b) A smart card

(c) A handheld remote control

(d) Mobile phone

31. Microsoft realized just how popular their BASIC interpreter was and decided to distribute a compiler so users could code programs that ran without an interpreter. What name did they give to the new product?

(a) BASIC (b) GW-BASIC

(c) PDS BASIC (d) Visual Basic

32. This programming language was developed by IBM in the mid-1960s with the intention of bringing together the key features of FOR-TRAN, COBOL, and ALGOL with the added new features such as condition based error handling and multitasking. However, with all these good intentions, the language became very complex and lacked popularity. Name the language

(a) Prolog (b) Jovial

(c) APL (d) PL/I

33. This programming language was derived from PL/I and developed by Intel in the early 1970s for microprocessors. Name it

(a) Prolog (b) Jovial

(c) APL (d) PL/M

34. A language whose syntax is not constrained by the position of characters on a line is called a

(a) Syntax-free language (b) Position-free language (c) Free-form language (d) Fifth generation language

35. What was the original name of Java Script when it was developed by Netscape?

(a) Net Script (b) Scape Script

(c) Sun Script (d) Live Script

36. BCPL was a precursor to the popular C language. What does the acronym stand for?

(a) Beginner’s Computer Programming Language

(b) Basic Computer Programming Language

(c) Basic Combined Programming Language

(d) Best Computer Programming Language

37. In the context of programming language, what is ‘syntactic sugar’?

(a) Features added to a language to make it ‘sweeter’ for users

(b) A feature in a programming language designed to make it harder tc write bad codes

(c) A feature that helps hackers to exploit it to hack into a system

(d) A syntax that corrects itself if the programmer has written it incorrect

38. In the context of programming language, what is ‘syntactic salt’?

(a) Features added to a language to make it ‘tasteful’ for users.

(b) A feature in a programming language designed to make it harder to write bad codes.

(c) A feature that helps hackers to exploit it to hack into a system.

(d) A syntax that corrects itself if the programmer has written it incorrectly.

39. Which type of programming code is a ‘kangaroo code’?

(a) A hastily written code.

(b) A code that causes frequent crash of the system.

(c) A code written by a beginner.

(d) A code with too many GO-TOs.

40. In the 1970s, IBM 360 was a popular computer which was using a language called JCL, which was the machine’s least popular feature. What does JCL stand for?

(a) Just Coding Language

(b) Justified Computer Language

(c) Just another Computer Language

(d) Job Control Language

41. What dream fourth generation languages (4GL) sought to achieve?

(a) Programming by spoken commands

(b) Programming without programmers

(c) Eliminating the need for operating systems

(d) Use of artificial intelligence

42. Ada is a high-level Pascal based programming language developed by the US Department of Defense (DOD) and named after Augusta Ada Byron. What was the original name of this language prior to 1979 when it was renamed to Ada?

(a) ALGOL (b) SIMULA

(c) CPL (d) DoD-1

43. This English-like data processing language was invented and specified by Grace Hopper. Later popular English-like data processing language COBOL’s design had been influenced by this language. Name it

(a) Prolog (b) Jovial

(c) APL (d) FLOW-MATIC

44. One of the earlier versions of BASIC language was GW BASIC. What does GW stand for?

(a) Gates, William (b) Great Work

(c) Good Word processor (d) Gate Way

ANSWERS

1. (b) 2. (c) 3. (d) 4. (c) 5. (a) 6. (d) 7. (c) 8. (d) 9. (a) 10. (b)

11. (b) 12. (a) 13. (c) 14. (a) 15. (a) 16. (a) 17. (b) 18. (c) 19. (c) 20. (b)

21. (c) 22. (c) 23.(a) 24.(b) 25. (a) 26. (b) 27. (d) 28. (d) 29. (d) 30. (c) 31. (a) 32. (d) 33. (d) 34.(c)

35. (d) 36. (c) 37. (a) 38. (b) 39. (d) 40. (d) 41.(b) 42.(d) 43. (d) 44. (a)