<s>
In	O
computer	B-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
a	O
general-purpose	B-Language
programming	I-Language
language	I-Language
(	O
GPL	O
)	O
is	O
a	B-Language
programming	I-Language
language	I-Language
for	O
building	O
software	O
in	O
a	O
wide	O
variety	O
of	O
application	O
domains	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Conversely	O
,	O
a	O
domain-specific	B-Language
programming	I-Language
language	I-Language
(	O
DSL	O
)	O
is	O
used	O
within	O
a	O
specific	O
area	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
Python	B-Language
is	O
a	O
GPL	O
,	O
while	O
SQL	B-Language
is	O
a	O
DSL	O
for	O
querying	B-Language
relational	I-Language
databases	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Scientific	O
languages	O
such	O
as	O
Fortran	B-Application
and	O
Algol	B-Language
supported	O
floating-point	O
calculations	O
and	O
multidimensional	O
arrays	O
,	O
while	O
business	O
languages	O
such	O
as	O
COBOL	B-Application
supported	O
fixed-field	O
file	O
formats	O
and	O
data	O
records	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Much	O
less	O
widely	O
used	O
were	O
specialized	O
languages	O
such	O
as	O
IPL-V	B-Language
and	O
LISP	B-Language
for	O
symbolic	O
list	B-Language
processing	I-Language
;	O
COMIT	B-Language
for	O
string	O
manipulation	O
;	O
APT	B-Language
for	O
numerically	O
controlled	O
machines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Systems	B-Application
programming	I-Application
requiring	O
pointer	O
manipulation	O
was	O
typically	O
done	O
in	O
assembly	B-Language
language	I-Language
,	O
though	O
JOVIAL	B-Language
was	O
used	O
for	O
some	O
military	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
IBM	O
's	O
System/360	B-Application
,	O
announced	O
in	O
1964	O
,	O
was	O
designed	O
as	O
a	O
unified	O
hardware	O
architecture	O
supporting	O
both	O
scientific	O
and	O
commercial	O
applications	O
,	O
and	O
IBM	O
developed	O
PL/I	B-Language
for	O
it	O
as	O
a	O
single	O
,	O
general-purpose	B-Language
language	O
that	O
supported	O
scientific	O
,	O
commercial	O
,	O
and	O
systems	B-Application
programming	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Indeed	O
,	O
a	O
subset	O
of	O
PL/I	B-Language
was	O
used	O
as	O
the	O
standard	O
systems	B-Application
programming	I-Application
language	O
for	O
the	O
Multics	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
PL/I	B-Language
,	O
the	O
distinction	O
between	O
scientific	O
and	O
commercial	O
programming	O
languages	O
has	O
diminished	O
,	O
with	O
most	O
languages	O
supporting	O
the	O
basic	O
features	O
required	O
by	O
both	O
,	O
and	O
much	O
of	O
the	O
special	O
file	O
format	O
handling	O
delegated	O
to	O
specialized	O
database	O
management	O
systems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
specialized	O
languages	O
were	O
also	O
developed	O
starting	O
in	O
the	O
1960s	O
:	O
GPSS	B-Language
and	O
Simula	B-Language
for	O
discrete	O
event	O
simulation	O
;	O
MAD	B-Language
,	O
BASIC	O
,	O
Logo	B-Device
,	O
and	O
Pascal	B-Application
for	O
teaching	O
programming	O
;	O
C	B-Language
for	O
systems	B-Application
programming	I-Application
;	O
JOSS	B-Language
and	O
APL	B-Language
\360	I-Language
for	O
interactive	O
programming	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
distinction	O
between	O
general-purpose	B-Language
programming	I-Language
languages	I-Language
and	O
domain-specific	B-Language
programming	I-Language
languages	I-Language
is	O
not	O
always	O
clear	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	B-Language
programming	I-Language
language	I-Language
may	O
be	O
created	O
for	O
a	O
specific	O
task	O
,	O
but	O
used	O
beyond	O
that	O
original	O
domain	B-General_Concept
and	O
thus	O
be	O
considered	O
a	O
general	B-Language
purpose	I-Language
programming	I-Language
language	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
example	O
,	O
COBOL	B-Application
,	O
Fortran	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Lisp	B-Language
were	O
created	O
as	O
DSLs	O
(	O
for	O
business	O
processing	O
,	O
numeric	O
computation	O
,	O
and	O
symbolic	O
processing	O
)	O
,	O
but	O
became	O
GPL	O
’s	O
over	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	B-Language
programming	I-Language
language	I-Language
that	O
is	O
well	O
suited	O
for	O
a	O
problem	O
,	O
whether	O
it	O
be	O
general-purpose	B-Language
language	O
or	O
DSL	O
,	O
should	O
minimize	O
the	O
level	O
of	O
detail	O
required	O
while	O
still	O
being	O
expressive	O
enough	O
in	O
the	O
problem	O
domain	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
name	O
suggests	O
,	O
general-purpose	B-Language
language	O
is	O
“	O
general	O
”	O
in	O
that	O
it	O
cannot	O
provide	O
support	O
for	O
domain-specific	O
notation	O
while	O
DSLs	O
can	O
be	O
designed	O
in	O
diverse	O
problem	O
domains	O
to	O
handle	O
this	O
problem	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
General-purpose	B-Language
languages	O
are	O
preferred	O
to	O
DSLs	O
when	O
an	O
application	O
domain	B-General_Concept
is	O
not	O
well	O
understood	O
enough	O
to	O
warrant	O
its	O
own	O
language	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
this	O
case	O
,	O
a	O
general-purpose	B-Language
language	O
with	O
an	O
appropriate	O
library	O
of	O
data	O
types	O
and	O
functions	O
for	O
the	O
domain	B-General_Concept
may	O
be	O
used	O
instead	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
these	O
instances	O
,	O
the	O
DSLs	O
are	O
able	O
to	O
offer	O
domain-specific	O
expressive	O
power	O
along	O
with	O
the	O
expressive	O
power	O
of	O
GPL	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
General	B-Language
Purpose	I-Language
programming	I-Language
languages	I-Language
are	O
all	O
Turing	B-Algorithm
complete	I-Algorithm
,	O
meaning	O
that	O
they	O
can	O
theoretically	O
solve	O
any	O
computational	O
problem	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Domain-specific	B-Language
languages	I-Language
are	O
often	O
similarly	O
Turing	B-Algorithm
complete	I-Algorithm
but	O
are	O
not	O
exclusively	O
so	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
General-purpose	B-Language
programming	I-Language
languages	I-Language
are	O
more	O
commonly	O
used	O
by	O
programmers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
a	O
study	O
,	O
C	B-Language
,	O
Python	B-Language
,	O
and	O
Java	B-Language
were	O
the	O
most	O
commonly	O
used	O
programming	O
languages	O
in	O
2021	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
argument	O
in	O
favor	O
of	O
using	O
general-purpose	B-Language
programming	I-Language
languages	I-Language
over	O
domain-specific	B-Language
languages	I-Language
is	O
that	O
more	O
people	O
will	O
be	O
familiar	O
with	O
these	O
languages	O
,	O
overcoming	O
the	O
need	O
to	O
learn	O
a	O
new	O
language	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Theoretically	O
,	O
the	O
presence	O
of	O
these	O
libraries	O
should	O
bridge	O
the	O
gap	O
between	O
general-purpose	B-Language
and	O
domain-specific	B-Language
languages	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
empirical	O
study	O
in	O
2010	O
sought	O
to	O
measure	O
problem-solving	O
and	O
productivity	O
between	O
GPLs	O
and	O
DSLs	O
by	O
giving	O
users	O
problems	O
who	O
were	O
familiar	O
with	O
the	O
GPL	O
(	O
C#	B-Application
)	O
and	O
unfamiliar	O
with	O
the	O
DSL	O
(	O
XAML	B-Device
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ultimately	O
,	O
users	O
of	O
this	O
specific	O
domain-specific	B-Language
language	I-Language
performed	O
better	O
by	O
a	O
factor	O
of	O
15%	O
,	O
even	O
though	O
they	O
were	O
more	O
familiar	O
with	O
GPL	O
,	O
warranting	O
further	O
research	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
predecessor	O
to	O
C	B-Language
,	O
B	B-Language
,	O
was	O
developed	O
largely	O
for	O
a	O
specific	O
purpose	O
:	O
systems	B-Application
programming	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
contrast	O
,	O
C	B-Language
has	O
found	O
use	O
in	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
computational	O
domains	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
operating	B-General_Concept
systems	I-General_Concept
,	O
device	B-Application
drivers	I-Application
,	O
application	B-Application
software	I-Application
,	O
and	O
embedded	B-Architecture
systems	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
C	B-Language
is	O
suitable	O
for	O
use	O
in	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
areas	O
because	O
of	O
its	O
generality	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
a	O
result	O
,	O
though	O
it	O
was	O
first	O
used	O
by	O
its	O
creators	O
to	O
rewrite	O
the	O
kernel	O
of	O
the	O
Unix	B-Application
operating	I-Application
system	I-Application
,	O
it	O
was	O
easily	O
adapted	O
for	O
use	O
in	O
application	O
development	O
,	O
embedded	B-Architecture
systems	I-Architecture
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
microprocessor	O
programming	O
)	O
,	O
video	O
games	O
(	O
e.g.	O
,	O
Doom	B-Application
)	O
,	O
and	O
so	O
on	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Today	O
,	O
C	B-Language
remains	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
and	O
widely-used	O
programming	O
languages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Conceived	O
as	O
an	O
extension	O
to	O
C	B-Language
,	O
C++	B-Language
introduced	O
object-oriented	B-Language
features	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
other	O
conveniences	O
like	O
references	O
,	O
operator	O
overloading	O
,	O
and	O
default	O
arguments	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
C	B-Language
,	O
C++’s	B-Language
generality	O
allowed	O
it	O
to	O
be	O
used	O
in	O
a	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
areas	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
its	O
C++’s	B-Language
core	O
area	O
of	O
application	O
is	O
in	O
systems	B-Application
programming	I-Application
(	O
because	O
of	O
C++’s	B-Language
ability	O
to	O
grant	O
access	O
to	O
low-level	O
architecture	O
)	O
,	O
it	O
has	O
been	O
used	O
extensively	O
to	O
build	O
desktop	B-Application
applications	I-Application
,	O
video	O
games	O
,	O
databases	O
,	O
financial	O
systems	O
,	O
and	O
much	O
more	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Major	O
software	O
and	O
finance	O
companies	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Microsoft	O
,	O
Apple	O
,	O
Bloomberg	O
,	O
and	O
Morgan	O
Stanley	O
,	O
still	O
widely	O
use	O
C++	B-Language
in	O
their	O
internal	O
and	O
external	O
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Python	B-Language
was	O
conceived	O
as	O
a	O
language	O
that	O
emphasized	O
code	O
readability	O
and	O
extensibility	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
former	O
allowed	O
non-software	O
engineers	O
to	O
easily	O
learn	O
and	O
write	O
computer	O
programs	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
latter	O
allowed	O
domain	B-General_Concept
specialists	O
to	O
easily	O
create	O
libraries	O
suited	O
to	O
their	O
own	O
use	O
cases	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
these	O
reasons	O
,	O
Python	B-Language
has	O
been	O
used	O
across	O
a	O
wide	O
range	O
of	O
domains	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Below	O
are	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
areas	O
where	O
Python	B-Language
is	O
used	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Web	O
Development	O
:	O
Frameworks	O
like	O
Django	B-Language
and	O
Flask	B-Language
have	O
allowed	O
web	O
developers	O
to	O
create	O
robust	O
web	O
servers	O
that	O
can	O
also	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
wider	O
Python	B-Language
ecosystem	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Science	O
and	O
Academia	O
:	O
Scientific	O
and	O
data	O
libraries	O
,	O
like	O
SciPy	B-Application
and	O
Pandas	B-Application
,	O
have	O
enabled	O
Python	B-Language
’s	O
use	O
in	O
scientific	O
research	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Machine	O
Learning	O
:	O
Libraries	O
like	O
scikit-learn	B-Application
and	O
Tensorflow	B-Language
have	O
increased	O
the	O
accessibility	O
of	O
machine	O
learning	O
to	O
developers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
General	O
Software	O
Development	O
:	O
Developing	O
user	O
applications	O
,	O
web	O
scraping	O
programs	O
,	O
games	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
general	O
software	B-Application
.	I-Application
</s>
<s>
The	O
following	O
are	O
some	O
general-purpose	B-Language
programming	I-Language
languages	I-Language
:	O
</s>
