Database
Database, also called electronic database, any collection of data, or information, that is specially organized for rapid search and retrieval by a computer. Databases are structured to facilitate the storage, retrieval, modification, and deletion of…
COBOL
COBOL, in fullCommon Business-Oriented Language., High-level computer programming language, one of the first widely used languages and for many years the most popular language in the business community. It developed from the…
Systems programming
Systems programming, Development of computer software that is part of a computer operating system or other control program, especially as used in computer networks. Systems programming covers data and program management, including operating systems, control…
LISP
LISP, in full list processing, a computer programming language developed about 1960 by John McCarthy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). LISP was founded on the mathematical theory of recursive functions (in which a function appears in its…
Algol
Algol, also called Beta Persei, prototype of a class of variable stars called eclipsing binaries, the second brightest star in the northern constellation Perseus. Its apparent visual magnitude changes over the range of 2.1 to 3.4 with a period of 2.87 days.…
Real number
Real number, in mathematics, a quantity that can be expressed as an infinite decimal expansion. Real numbers are used in measurements of continuously varying quantities such as size and time, in contrast to the…
FORTRAN
FORTRAN, in full Formula Translation, computer-programming language created in 1957 by John Backus that shortened the process of programming and made computer programming more accessible. The creation of FORTRAN, which debuted in 1957,…
Machine language
Machine language, the numeric codes for the operations that a particular computer can execute directly. The codes are strings of 0s and 1s, or binary digits (“bits”), which are frequently converted both from and…
World Wide Web display languages
HTML The World Wide Web is a system for displaying text, graphics, and audio retrieved over the Internet on a computer monitor. Each retrieval unit is known as a Web page, and such pages…
Visual Basic
Visual Basic was developed by Microsoft to extend the capabilities of BASIC by adding objects and “event-driven” programming: buttons, menus, and other elements of graphical user interfaces (GUIs). Visual Basic can…
