Types of Programming Languages MCQs: 12 Solved Classification Questions

Work through 12 solved programming-language classification questions. Each solution identifies the deciding axis, checks the options and explains the main trap.

KnowledgeGate Team

Exam prep & CS education

Updated 24 Oct 20267 min read

A programming language can be classified by abstraction level, paradigm, execution model, application domain and memory model at the same time. MCQs become confusing when separate axes are treated as one list. Choose an option first, then name the classification axis that decides it. Language levels, runtimes, typing, memory, scripting, modules and notation are separate clues, so controlled classification beats name recall.

1. Types of programming languages: classify on one axis at a time

Use five questions: how close to hardware, how the solution is expressed, how it executes, how broad its domain is and how storage is reclaimed. The corresponding labels are machine, assembly or high level; imperative, object-oriented, functional or declarative; compiled, interpreted or virtual-machine based; general purpose or domain specific; and manual management or automatic garbage collection.

Example

Worked result

Classification

C: int total = 5 + 3;

5 + 3 = 8, so total = 8

High level, imperative/procedural, general purpose, commonly compiled

Lisp: (+ 5 (* 2 3))

2 * 3 = 6, then 5 + 6 = 11

High level, functional/list processing, automatic garbage collection

SQL: SELECT SUM(amount) FROM sales; for 120, 80, 50

120 + 80 + 50 = 250

High level, declarative, domain specific

Perl: values 2, 4, 6

2 + 4 + 6 = 12

High level, general purpose, scripting-oriented, commonly interpreted

These labels overlap. Definitions, translators, parameters and language-quality criteria are practised in Programming Languages MCQs: 12 Solved Questions on Definition and Purpose; classification questions instead ask which axis decides the label. Coding & DSA groups the broader practice paths that use these languages. Compiled versus interpreted describes an implementation route, not a fixed language property.

Matrix classifying C, Lisp, SQL and Perl by abstraction level, paradigm, execution route, domain and memory model.

2. Recognition and high-level language features: Questions 1-2

Question 1. Identify the non-language

KVS 2026, Computer Science

Which of the following is not an example of a Programming Language?

  • A. C++

  • B. Python

  • C. Impress

  • D. Ruby

Answer: C. Impress

C++, Python and Ruby are programming languages, whereas Impress is presentation software. Classify what each item is instead of trusting a technical-sounding name.

Question 2. High-level language features

DSSSB 2021, Computer Science, TGT - Shift 3

Which of the following is the feature(s) of High level programming languages?

I. Portability

II. Easy debugging

  • A. Only I

  • B. Only II

  • C. Both I and II

  • D. Neither I nor II

Answer: C. Both I and II

High-level source depends less on one processor's instruction set, improving portability after translation. Meaningful identifiers and structured constructs ease debugging compared with machine code. Portability means retargeting source, not running one compiled binary everywhere.

3. Language generations and runtime families: Questions 3-4

Question 3. First-generation programming

DSSSB 2021, Computer Science, TGT - Shift 4

The programming of first generation computers was done in ____ language.

I. Machine

II. High level

  • A. Only I

  • B. Only II

  • C. Both I and II

  • D. Neither I nor II

Answer: A. Only I

First-generation programming uses machine language, the processor-facing binary instruction form. High-level languages need translation, so statement II does not match the named generation.

Question 4. The non-.NET language

DSSSB 2023, Computer Science, TGT

Which of the following languages is a non .NET language?

  • A. C#

  • B. F#

  • C. J#

  • D. Pascal

Answer: D. Pascal

C#, F# and J# target the .NET environment; Pascal is the outsider. Test membership in that runtime family, not whether each option is high level.

4. Modules, memory management and language names: Questions 5-7

Question 5. Module-based language

UPPSC Polytechnic Lecturer 2022, Computer Science

Module-based programming language is:

  • A. C

  • B. C++

  • C. ML

  • D. Ada

Answer: D. Ada

Ada is the expected exam answer because its packages and modular facilities make modularity a central language-design feature. ML-family languages also have substantial module systems, so the stem is not a universal exclusivity claim. An Ada package can export push(5) and pop() while hiding its internal array of capacity 10, separating interface from implementation.

Question 6. Automatic garbage collection

ISRO 2007 and BEL 2007, Computer Science

Which of the following programming language(s) provides garbage collection automatically

  • A. Lisp

  • B. C++

  • C. Fortran

  • D. C

Answer: A. Lisp

Lisp is the automatic-garbage-collection choice; C and C++ leave lifetime management to the programmer, and Fortran provides no such collector either. If live references still reach only 2 of 3 heap objects, the remaining 1 is what an automatic collector reclaims.

Question 7. Expand COBOL correctly

REET 2022, Computer Science

In the acronym COBOL, what does the prefix “CO” represent?

  • A. Component Object

  • B. Computer Oriented

  • C. Common

  • D. Common Oriented

Answer: C. Common

Common Business-Oriented Language yields the prefix Common, eliminating A, B and D. This is a language-identification item, not a paradigm question.

5. Procedural dispatch, dynamic typing and scripting: Questions 8-10

Question 8. Compile-time and runtime call resolution

Hexaware 2024

Which of the following statement is true?

I) In Procedural programming languages, all function calls are resolved at compile-time

II) In Object Oriented programming languages, all function calls are resolved at compile-time

  • A. I only

  • B. II only

  • C. Both I and II

  • D. Neither I nor II

Answer: A. I only

Answer A follows the question's simplified textbook contrast: ordinary direct procedural calls are resolved statically, while overridden methods can use runtime dispatch. Real procedural programs can call through function pointers or dynamic linkage, so statement I is not a universal language rule. add(4, 6) returns 4 + 6 = 10; with virtual Shape s = new Circle(); s.draw(), the runtime object selects Circle.draw(). The inheritance and dispatch model continues in Object Oriented Technology Explained.

Question 9. Static and dynamic typing

GATE 2003, Computer Science

Which of the following statements is FALSE ?

  • A. In statically typed language, each variable in a program has a fixed type

  • B. In un-typed languages, values do not have any types

  • C. In dynamically typed languages, variables have no types

  • D. In all statically typed languages, each variable in a program is associated with values of only a single type during the execution of the program

Answer: C. In dynamically typed languages, variables have no types

Dynamic typing retains runtime type information, so the claim that variables “have no types” is false. After x = 5 then x = "five", the binding changes values while each value keeps its runtime type. The distinction is between the variable and the value, not the presence of types.

Question 10. Identify the scripting language

IBPS 2023

Which of the following is primarily classified as a high-level scripting language rather than a low-level or system programming language?

  • A. Assembly

  • B. C

  • C. Perl

  • D. C++

  • E. Machine Language

Answer: C. Perl

Perl is the high-level scripting language. Machine Language and Assembly are low level, while C and C++ are system or general-purpose compiled languages in this contrast. In Perl, summing 2, 4, 6 gives 2 + 4 + 6 = 12.

6. Mixed classification and notation systems: Questions 11-12

Question 11. Find both wrong level classifications

UGC NET 2025, Paper I, June

Choose the ‘WRONG’ statement:

A. Machine Language is a low level language

B. ‘FORTRAN’ is a high level language

C. ‘C’ is a low level language

D. ‘SQL’ is a low level language

  • A. A and B Only

  • B. B and C Only

  • C. A and C Only

  • D. C and D Only

Answer: D. C and D Only

A and B are true. C is high level with low-level facilities, while SQL is high-level and declarative, so C and D are wrong. SUM returns 120 + 80 + 50 = 250, specifying an aggregate rather than processor instructions. Review C with C Language: Concepts, MCQs, Coding Questions.

Question 12. Animation-language categories

UGC NET 2014, Computer Science, Paper 2 (December)

Which of the following categories of languages do not refer to animation languages ?

  • A. Graphical languages

  • B. General-purpose languages

  • C. Linear-list notations

  • D. None of the above

Answer: D. None of the above

Each category can describe animation here, so none is excluded. Motion from x = 0 px to x = 120 px over 2 seconds can use a graphical timeline, a general-purpose program or ordered animation commands.

7. Answer audit, classification traps and the next step

Question

Correct answer

Deciding axis

Main trap

Q1

C

Entity recognition

Application mistaken for language

Q2

C

Abstraction/features

Source versus binary portability

Q3

A

Generation

Mixing generations

Q4

D

Runtime family

Ignoring runtime family

Q5

D

Modularity

Ignoring package boundaries

Q6

A

Memory model

Manual versus automatic reclamation

Q7

C

Acronym

False expansion

Q8

A

Dispatch

Ignoring all

Q9

C

Typing

Calling values typeless

Q10

C

Scripting/use

Scripting versus system

Q11

D

Abstraction level

Missing the second error

Q12

D

Notation category

Excluding valid notation

For the final self-check:

  1. Identify the axis named by the stem.

  2. Test every statement containing all, only or none.

  3. Separate language, runtime and application.

  4. Re-read the option text behind your chosen letter before committing to it.

Rework Question 11 as four true or false checks, then compare add(4, 6) = 10 with runtime selection of Circle.draw() in Question 8. Continue with NTA-UGC-NET Paper - 2.