Understanding Programming Language Development Chronology

The question asks us to arrange four programming languages based on their year of development, from the earliest to the latest. To answer this, we need to know the approximate introduction year for each language listed:

• (A) Cobol
• (B) C
• (C) Java
• (D) FORTRAN

Identifying Development Years

Let's find the generally accepted year of initial development or significant release for each language:

• FORTRAN: One of the earliest high-level programming languages. Its initial version, FORTRAN I, was completed in 1957.
• Cobol: Developed by CODASYL, Cobol was primarily designed for business applications. Its specifications were finalized in 1959.
• C: A general-purpose procedural programming language developed at Bell Labs by Dennis Ritchie between 1969 and 1973. The most commonly cited year for its stable form is 1972.
• Java: A high-level, class-based, object-oriented programming language developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems. It was officially released in 1995.

Ordering the Languages by Development Year

Based on the development years we identified, let's list them in ascending order:

1. FORTRAN (1957)
2. Cobol (1959)
3. C (1972)
4. Java (1995)

Mapping these back to the letters given in the question:

1. (D) FORTRAN (1957)
2. (A) Cobol (1959)
3. (B) C (1972)
4. (C) Java (1995)

The correct ascending order is therefore (D), (A), (B), (C).

Checking the Options

Let's compare our ordered list (D), (A), (B), (C) with the provided options.

The option that matches this sequence is the second option.

Detailed Chronological Arrangement

Arranging these by year in ascending order gives us: 1957, 1959, 1972, 1995. This corresponds to the language order: FORTRAN, Cobol, C, Java, which is (D), (A), (B), (C).

Conclusion on Programming Language Order

The correct arrangement of the programming languages in ascending order according to their year of development is FORTRAN (1957), Cobol (1959), C (1972), and Java (1995). This sequence matches option (D), (A), (B), (C).

Revision Table: Programming Language History

Additional Information on Programming Language Evolution

The history of programming languages is a fascinating journey reflecting the evolution of computing needs and technology. Early languages like FORTRAN and Cobol were designed for specific domains: scientific computation and business data processing, respectively. They were breakthroughs at the time, abstracting away the complexities of machine code.

C emerged later, providing a powerful tool for systems programming, allowing direct memory manipulation while still offering higher-level control flow structures. Its influence is seen in many modern languages.

Java, developed much later, brought key concepts like object-oriented programming and platform independence to the forefront, becoming dominant in enterprise applications and web development before extending into mobile computing.

Understanding this timeline helps in appreciating how programming paradigms and language features have evolved over time to address new challenges and opportunities in computing.