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<title>First-generation programming language</title>
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<p>A <b>first-generation programming language</b> (<b>1GL</b>) is a <a href="Machine_code" title="Machine code">machine-level</a> <a href="Programming_language" title="Programming language">programming language</a> and belongs to the <a href="Low-level_programming_language" title="Low-level programming language">low-level programming languages</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-Computer_Hope_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Computer_Hope-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup>
</p><p>A first <a href="Programming_language_generations" title="Programming language generations">generation (programming) language</a> (1GL) is a grouping of programming languages that are machine level languages used to program <a href="First-generation_computer" class="mw-redirect" title="First-generation computer">first-generation computers</a>. Originally, no <a href="Translator" class="mw-redirect" title="Translator">translator</a> was used to <a href="Compiler" title="Compiler">compile</a> or <a href="Assembly_language" title="Assembly language">assemble</a> the first-generation language. The first-generation programming instructions were entered through the <a href="Front_panel" title="Front panel">front panel</a> switches of the computer system.
</p><p>The instructions in 1GL are made of <a href="Binary_number" title="Binary number">binary numbers</a>, represented by 1s and 0s. This makes the language suitable for the understanding of the machine but far more difficult to interpret and learn by the human programmer.
</p><p>The main advantage of programming in 1GL is that the code can run very fast and very efficiently, precisely because the instructions are executed directly by the <a href="Central_processing_unit" title="Central processing unit">central processing unit</a> (CPU). One of the main disadvantages of programming in a <a href="Low-level_programming_language" title="Low-level programming language">low level language</a> is that when an error occurs, the code is not as easy to fix.
</p><p>First generation languages are very much adapted to a specific computer and CPU, and code portability is therefore significantly reduced in comparison to <a href="High-level_programming_language" title="High-level programming language">higher level languages</a>.
</p><p>Modern day programmers still occasionally use machine level code, especially when programming lower level functions of the system, such as <a href="Device_driver" title="Device driver">drivers</a>, <a href="Interface_(computing)#Hardware_interfaces" title="Interface (computing)">interfaces</a> with <a href="Firmware" title="Firmware">firmware</a> and hardware devices. Modern tools such as native-code compilers are used to produce machine level from a higher-level language.
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2></div>
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<li id="cite_note-Computer_Hope-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Computer_Hope_1-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.computerhope.com/jargon/num/1gl.htm">"Computer Hope, Generation languages"</a></span>
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<div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="General">General</h3></div>
<p>1. Nwankwogu S.E (2016). Programming Languages and their history.
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</style><div id="Types_of_programming_languages107" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="Programming_paradigm" title="Programming paradigm">Types of programming languages</a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Level</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul><li><a href="Machine_code" title="Machine code">Machine</a></li>
<li><a href="Assembly_language" title="Assembly language">Assembly</a></li>
<li><a href="Compiled_language" title="Compiled language">Compiled</a></li>
<li><a href="Interpreted_language" class="mw-redirect" title="Interpreted language">Interpreted</a></li></ul>
<ul><li><a href="Low-level_programming_language" title="Low-level programming language">Low-level</a></li>
<li><a href="High-level_programming_language" title="High-level programming language">High-level</a></li>
<li><a href="Very_high-level_programming_language" title="Very high-level programming language">Very high-level</a></li>
<li><a href="Esoteric_programming_language" title="Esoteric programming language">Esoteric</a></li></ul>
</div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="Programming_language_generations" title="Programming language generations">Generation</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">
<ul>
<li><a href="Second-generation_programming_language" title="Second-generation programming language">Second</a></li>
<li><a href="Third-generation_programming_language" title="Third-generation programming language">Third</a></li>
<li><a href="Fourth-generation_programming_language" title="Fourth-generation programming language">Fourth</a></li>
<li><a href="Fifth-generation_programming_language" title="Fifth-generation programming language">Fifth</a></li></ul>
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