As a beginner in the coding world, training begins with procedural programming because these programming languages are simple to learn and form the foundation of computing.

Procedural programming is easy to learn, takes up less memory than other programming languages, and works well with interpreters and compilers.

For those who are unaware of it, procedural programming language is derived from imperative programming. When you use procedural language, you give instructions to your computer and instruct it on how to achieve its goal through processes.

The first substantial procedural programming languages around 1957-1964 were FORTRAN, ALGOL, COBOL, PL/I, and BASIC. The procedural programming paradigm was one of the first to emerge in the world of computation.

Doesn’t that sound good? This article will let you know more about procedural programming and its consequences.

What is Procedural Programming Language?

Procedural programming is a programming paradigm that uses a top-down or linear approach. It employs specific procedures to carry out the computations defined by its name. To construct a program, procedural language is a form of computing language that describes several orderly processes and procedures.

It includes statements, functions, and commands organized systematically to finish a computing task or program. Imperative language is another name for procedural language.

Procedural language is typically used to describe the steps a computer follows to solve an issue. Procedural programming languages for computers include, among others, BASIC, C, FORTRAN, Java, and Pascal Variables, conditional statements, and functions that are used to develop programs that enable computers to process data and procedure the required output.

Although procedural languages enable users to give computer instructions in natural languages such as Chinese, French, or English, computers cannot understand human communication.

 

 

Importance Of Procedural Programming

As the name suggests, procedural programming has been around for a long-time and will be around for many years. It is the base of all programming languages built to develop huge-scale software and applications. Therefore it has its own importance in the coding industry in various aspects:

  1. Procedural programming languages rely on functions, well-organized procedures, or subroutines in the architecture of a program to help the computer provide the desired state or output. However, Statements, functions, variables, and conditional operators are the building blocks of a procedural language program.
  2. To complete tasks, data and variables are applied to complete tasks. These procedures enable them to call themselves from anywhere in the program hierarchy and from other procedures. There can be one or more procedures in a procedural language program.
  3. Procedural programming is a prior choice of web developers as they implement it to work on server-side applications and backend platforms.

Why is C known as a procedural programming language?

C is a primary procedure programming language because large programs are divided into modules. In the programming world, C programs follow a set of steps called functions. It employs a top-down approach, which emphasizes program flow over data on which the function operates.

C is a general-purpose procedure programming language that can be used to create enterprise applications, games, graphics, and applications that require calculations, among other things.

The C language has an extensive library with many built-in functions. Additionally, it provides dynamic memory allocation.

Advantages Of Using C For Procedural Programming

Many web developers use C in procedural programming for general purposes to increase code’s reusability. It makes algorithm implementation simple and easier to understand with other necessary advantages described below:

  1. C is a procedural language that uses functions and procedures to do tasks like input and output.2. By allowing for polymorphism, inheritance, and encapsulation, it facilitates object-oriented programming and enables developers to write reusable code.
  2. C provides dynamic memory allocation. A programmer can construct and delete memory segments as necessary.
  3. Modern programming languages must have this feature because it is impossible to predict how much space one will require in advance.5. C is a”portable assembler” used as a procedural programming language that can comply with various compilers. Therefore C programming is not restricted by the hardware or operating system on which it runs.6. The simplicity of its features allows for optimization and extension as the codes are compact, metamorphic, and long-lasting.

Uses of Procedural Programming

Many developers used to get comfortable at the beginning with procedural programming languages. The primary approach is to look at the entire program and then break it down into individual procedures.

The procedures are then broken down into smaller sub-procedures, and this process is repeated until the app is divided into manageable chunks (pieces).

These languages work top-to-bottom, so it approaches programming with procedural code. This tactic ensures that you can provide everything functions before moving on to the next step.

Additionally, the bigger your team, the more procedures you can complete simultaneously.

Web developers frequently use procedural languages to discover a variety of server-side applications and back-end platforms that require a committed programmer with procedural programming skills.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Procedural

Programming

Procedural is the structural programming language that specifies the programming steps when any program goes under the desired state, depending on its utilization.

Depending on its use in the technology world, procedural programming has certain favors and issues with implementation.

Pros of Procedural

  1. Procedural Programming makes the process simple to implement algorithms.
  2. It makes the code clearer and easier to understand.
  3. It is simple to follow as the program flow is linear.
  4. Adopted by multiple general-purpose programming languages.
  5. Tracking procedural programming is easy to access as the program flow is linear.

Cons of Procedural

  1. Data is at risk.
  2. Not very useful for solving real-world problems.
  3. This programming paradigm produces complex programs.

Features of Procedural Programming

The procedural programming standard delivers complex programs that have certain features, including:

Predefined Functions

A predefined function is usually an instruction with a name. Predefined functions are typically built into higher-level programming languages, but they are derived from a library or database rather than a default system.

Local Variable

A local variable is a variable that is declared in the method’s primary structure and has the local scope it is given. The local variable can only be implemented in the defined manner so that the code will discontinue working.

Global Variable

A global variable acknowledges outside of every other coding function. As a result, unlike local variables, global variables can be utilized in all processes.

Modularity

Modularity occurs when two dissimilar systems perform two distinct tasks but are merged to finish a more significant task initially. Each group of systems would then finish its own tasks one by one until all tasks were completed.

Parameter Passing

Parameter passing is a tool that processes parameters to be passed to functions, subroutines, or procedures. Additionally, passing parameters can be accomplished using pass by value, pass by reference, pass by value result, and pass by time.

Examples of Procedural Programming

Here are all the major types of procedural programming languages:

FORTRAN

FORTRAN is a formulaic translation language that was created in 1957. It is compiled imperative programming language with an array-like syntax that facilitates data and CPU communication. It is incorporated into high-level programming languages that previously wrote functions in binary or hexadecimal arithmetic to machine language or assembly language.

ALGOL

ALGOL is an abbreviation for algorithmic logarithm, which is highly imperative. ALGOL was initially used in technical and scientific research, but a lack of input or output capabilities limited to use in commercial application development.
Also, The well-skilled developers were uninterested in the language.

COBOL

COBOL is an imperative, procedural as well as object-oriented programming language. Applications or software based on COBOL target governments, corporate houses, finance, and administration. Additionally, COBOL is still used in mainframe applications due to its fast processing speed.

BASIC

BASIC stands for Beginners All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. BASIC is a high-level programming language released in the mid-60s focusing on usability. The programming language was designed for easy use of computing experience but badly failed to perform.

Therefore, in the mid-1980s, developers gained more options in computing languages such as C and C++.

Pascal

Pascal is a fast-paced procedural programming language that promotes good practices by utilizing structured programming and data structuring.

C

C is the most trending procedural programming language that executes machine instructions with all minimal support. The purpose of C was to promote cross-platform programming. C language is also used to develop supercomputer applications for PLCs and embedded systems.

Ada

ADA is intended for embedded and real-time systems because of its critical safety features. Therefore, ADA is a priority of the Defense sector because it has vital security measures.

Of all the programming mentioned above languages, tech experts believe that C is perhaps one of the most popular programming languages of all time and is firmly procedural. It is also used in a structured approach, despite having a syntax phrase.

Conclusion

To wrap up our blog, we believe the concept of procedural calls gives rise to the name “procedural programming.” It has advantages and disadvantages, similar to other programming paradigms (structure).

For the better utilization of these procedural programming languages, anyone can list and compare them as per their requirements to determine whether the famous programming structure is suitable for you or not.