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 are early examples of this sort of language. Most "modern" languages (BASIC, C, C++) are third generation. Most 3GLs support structured programming.

See also

• first-generation programming language
• second-generation programming language
• fourth-generation programming language
• fifth-generation programming language

References