10 Oldest Programming Languages Still in Use

Programming languages are an essential means for humans to communicate with computers. From there, humans can guide machines to perform tasks.

Despite many modern languages being born, there are a few old programming languages still in use nowadays. They still play a crucial role in developing many latest tech products.

Although the latest ones bring many benefits, experts still need to use some old languages in their projects because of their upsides.

These old languages are still highly useful in modern technological fields today. Accordingly, Matlab, Fortran, SQL, or Pascal are the first website and app programming choices, even if they were born long ago.

You can also get acquainted with other famous old models in the section below.

1. MATLAB

First, Matlab is a highly versatile classic language we recommend.

Matlab was born in the 1980s by MathWorks. Students can use this language to access two large math libraries, EISPACK and LINPACK.

Before that, students must learn more about Fortran to use these two libraries. But they have made working with these advanced tools simpler with Matlab.

Today, economic experts still use this language in their projects. They apply Matlab for tasks such as matrices, modeling functions and data.

They can also use Matlab to create software interacting with products from other languages.

2. Fortran

a guide to FORTRAN programming – Deniel D. MacCRACKEN

We want to mention Fortran, a powerful language that has existed since 1957.

Coders can access and work with computer hardware quickly through Fortran. It allows users to use high-level coding that is reliable with tremendous workloads.

Coders often use Fortran for purposes such as performing tweaks and processing big data. Besides, experts can also apply the same Fortran encoder for different jobs. This convenience reduces the time to complete multi-tasks.

3. Lisp

You may have heard Lisp while learning about coding. This high-level language is the result of many tests by scientist John McCarthy.

He published it in 1958, and the superior features of Lisp made the language significant to the IT industry at the time.

Compared to other in-class languages, its best feature is that it uses abstract calculations. Thus, the approach to complex structured data with symbols has made data processing faster and more accurate.

The simple features have become a substantial upside for this language not to be outdated. Moreover, its most unique application is related to AI and machine learning. So it still exists and plays a vital role to this day.

4. Ada

Ada is also a respected name in this list because of its advantages for the IT field.

Since the 1980s, Jean Ichbiah and colleagues have built this language to serve the project they are pursuing.

Eventually, his team successfully released a static programming language called Ada, based on pre-existing ones like Pascal.

To this day, scientists still use Ada to program extensive data systems with multi-tasking joinders.

5. SQL

When it comes to telling the oldest languages still in use, top experts will need to pay attention to SQL.

The Structured Query Language has existed since the early 1970s. Raymond F. Boyce and Donald D. Chamberlin were the two principal founders then.

Since then, this language has increasingly affirmed its importance in website coding in many fields. SQL allows data scientists to manage their information base thanks to relational models.

Also, it has a crucial role in data science models. Typically, coders use SQL to build websites and categorize, store, and process big data files.

6. COBOL

Cobol is also a long-standing and highly applicable language. COBOL stands for Common Business-Oriented Language.

Accordingly, its complete version first appeared at the data systems conference in 1959 and is still famous worldwide.

This language helps generate reports, process transactions, and drive business.

Its coding structure is similar to English, which is easy to learn and practice with beginners. COBOL’s encryptions can work on multiple operating systems.

These upsides have made COBOL the standard for handling complex network data. In recent years, large enterprises still use COBOL for many activities.

7. C

C language has had a long time to grow and perfect its features. This language is so popular that no programming student doesn’t know about it.

Dennis Ritchie created C to work with the new Unix operating system in 1973. This language has been involved in many important international projects.

Coders can use C both for educational purposes and for building commercial software. C is still among the most popular languages programmers use today.

8. Pascal

Pascal

Pascal’s author is Niklaus Wirth. He created this programming language in 1970 to encourage coding and programming study.

In the past, Pascal was not just a college programming language. Engineers also use it to write convenient commercial applications. Currently, many colleges still use Pascal as an effective teaching tool.

Some experts combine Pascal with other languages while running applications.

9. BASIC

In 1964, Thomas E. Kurtz and John G. Kemeny built the BASIC. The language became more popular in colleges as a teaching tool in later years.

BASIC’s encryption syntax is simple. Accordingly, the command lines are like English, and its simple data types are easy for users to learn and follow.

Coders can use BASIC to compose code on many gadgets, including PCs, tablets, and smartphones. This flexibility has made BASIC the most common language of all time. In addition, BASIC is also the university’s choice for teaching beginners.

10. Smalltalk

Smalltalk

Last but not least, Smalltalk is also a classic programming language that is still popular. This one has made a significant contribution to the information technology industry.

Smalltalk is the product of research by Alan Kay and colleagues. At first launch, this object-oriented language only worked on older Xerox Alto computer models. By 1980, the coders had built it into a version named Smalltalk-80.

Conclusion

Some old programming languages are still used in the modern technology industry. They have a long history and are essential to computer science growth.

With these languages, designing websites and software will be much simpler and save effort. Therefore, you should learn and understand how these languages work to succeed more in your career.

Thank you for reading!