The term computer language includes a large variety of artificial languages used to communicate with computers. It is broader than the more commonly-used term programming language. Programming languages are a subset of computer languages. A language used to write instructions for the computer. It lets the programmer express data processing in a symbolic manner without regard to machine-specific details.

Computer languages can be divided into two groups: high-level and low-level languages. High-level languages are designed to be easier to use, more abstract, and more portable than low-level languages. Syntactically correct programs in some languages are then compiled to low-level language and executed by the computer. Most modern software is written in a high-level language, compiled into object code, and then translated into machine instructions.