Mr C Johnston ICT Teacher BTEC IT Unit 06 - Lesson 03 Choosing A Programming Language

How many different programming languages can you think of….

Session Objectives Be able to describe a range of different programming languages including typical uses, Know different factors which affect the choice of programming language for a particular project, Recommend a programming language for a given scenario.

BTEC Book – Unit 06 p6

Factors Which Influence Programming Language Choice….

Choosing a Language When a new program is to be developed one of the decisions that must be made is which language to use. It an important decision that must be made at the start of the project. It cannot easily be changed at a later date. There are a number of issues which will influence that choice.

Organisational Policy Many companies will have a policy to use a particular language. This might be for a number of reasons: Consistency Existing knowledge in the company Relationship with a particular supplier (e.g. Microsoft).

Suitability Some programming languages are better suited to particular hardware and/or software environments. For example: For programming in Windows, languages like Visual Basic are well suited. For web based programming, languages like Java are a good choice.

Availability of Trained Staff Choosing a popular programming language will make it much easier to recruit programmers who know that language. It maybe that the company already has programmers trained in a particular language from a previous project

Reliability Some programming languages are designed for applications where reliability is very important. For example: military systems industrial control (e.g. a nuclear reactor) aircraft control systems. Languages like Ada are well suited to these types of applications.

Development and Maintenance Costs The cost of developing a new software system can be quite high. Some languages or software development approaches are designed to allow programmes to be developed more quickly than traditional approaches. The ease with which software can be updated and modified once it has been completed is also a consideration.

Expandability Some programs may only be used by one user at a time. Other programs may need to support hundreds or even thousands of users at the same time (e.g. credit card transaction software). Some software systems are better suited to multi-user applications. For example, Microsoft Access is a single user data base system. To create a multi-user database system software such as Microsoft SQL server should be used. Could also refer to how easy it is to add further features to the program once it has been finished

You need to describe the following features which can be used to select a programming language: organisational policy; suitability in terms of available features and tools; availability of trained staff; reliability; development and maintenance costs; expandability You should look at a minimum of three languages (including one visual language) and discuss apply some of the factors above to them.. P2 – describe the factors which influence choice of programming language