Top Oldest Programming Languages You Probably Never Know About (2024)

Computer programming is essential in our modern world, powering almost every device we use. Programming languages are the tools we use to tell machines what to do because humans and machines process information very differently.

Most of us are familiar with popular programming languages like JavaScript, Python, and C++, which dominate today’s tech landscape. But have you ever wondered about the oldest programming language or what languages were used in the past? In this article, we’ll explore the early programming languages that paved the way for the ones we use today.
 

1. FORTRAN

In 1954, a team led by John Backus at IBM created FORTRAN, the first widely used high-level general purpose programming language with a functional implementation rather than merely a concept on paper. Because of glitches, development delays, and the relative efficiency of "hand-coded" programs written in assembly, FORTRAN was first met with suspicion. 

However, in a quickly changing hardware industry, the language became well-known for its efficiency. It's still a popular high-performance computing language, and it's used in benchmarking and ranking programs for the world's fastest supercomputers.

It even recently resurfaced in a ranking of the most popular programming languages, although in 20th position, which was completely unexpected. This revival has been attributed to the enormous need for scientific number crunching, which Fortran really is good at.

2. LISP

Lisp is the second oldest high-level programming language still in general use today, having been released barely a year after Fortran. John McCarthy, a famous computer scientist and one of the pioneers of the artificial intelligence discipline created this language
 

McCarthy came up with the idea for Lisp while working on the Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial Intelligence in the summer of 1956. In 1958, Lisp (which stands for LISt Processor) was ready for commercial distribution. The programming language has evolved significantly over time, and there are currently several Lisp dialects (a variation of the original programming language)..

3. FLOW-MATIC

Grace Hopper in the United States invented another early programming language called FLOW-MATIC -  the first English-like data processing language. It was originally known as B-0 (Business Language version 0), created at Remington Rand between 1955 and 1959 for the UNIVAC I computer. 

Hopper discovered that commercial data processing clients disliked mathematical notation, so she and her team created a specification for an English programming language and built a prototype in early 1955. 

Early in 1958, the FLOW-MATIC compiler was made publicly available, and by 1959, it was nearly complete. Only Flow-Matic and its immediate successor AIMACO were in use at the time, thus it had a big impact on COBOL's architecture.

Read more: Is JavaScript the future of programming?

4. Some other programming languages

1964: BASIC

It stands for Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code, which was created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College. This language was designed to support and to allow students who did not have a strong technical or mathematical knowledge to utilize computers. Bill Gates and Paul Allen created a modified version of BASIC. This was to be Microsoft's first product.

1970: Pascal

Pascal was named after the French mathematician, scientist, and philosopher Blaise Pascal, and was created by Niklaus Wirth. It was designed as a tool for teaching computer programming and is simple to pick up. During Apple's early years, Pascal was the most popular programming language.

1972: Smalltalk

Created by Alan Kay, Adele Goldberg, and Dan Ingalls at the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, allowed programmers to alter code on the fly and introduced additional features that are now included in popular programming languages such as Python, Java, and Ruby.

1978: MATLAB

Created by Cleve Moler. This language is mostly used in mathematics, research, and teaching and is one of the best computer programming languages for developing mathematical applications. It's also capable of producing two- and three-dimensional graphics.
 

Conclusion

Many modern programming languages are built upon the principles and structures of older languages, which continue to provide a strong foundation for innovation. While newer languages simplify tasks for developers, the legacy of older languages remains vital to the ongoing evolution of technology.
 

To satisfy all of their data, transaction, and customer service demands, businesses rely largely on programs. For their studies, science and medicine require precise and sophisticated programs. To keep up with customer needs, mobile applications must be updated. All of these new and rising demands assure that existing and new computer programming languages will continue to play an essential role in modern life.

We at Golden Owl recognize the significance of integrating the most effective programming language into business app software. Businesses may use our platform to create effective applications for a range of business tasks. Get in contact with us today to learn more about what Golden Owl can do for your company.