Third generation language

A third generation language (3GL) is a programming language designed to be easier for a human to understand, including things like named variables. A fragment might be let c = c + 2 * d

Fortran, ALGOL and [COBOL programming language|COBOL]] are early examples of this sort of language. Most "modern" languages (BASIC, C, C++) are third generation. Most 3GLs support structured programming.

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Based on material from FOLDOC, used with permission.