Also known as a "3GL," it refers to a high-level programming language such as FORTRAN, COBOL, BASIC, Pascal and C. It is a step above assembly language and a step below a fourth-generation ...

Third-generation programming languages represent a major improvement in usability over assembly languages. Unlike assembly languages, third-generation languages are not machine-specific. When ...

Second-generation languages are machine-dependent assembly languages, and third-generation languages (3GLs) are high-level programming languages, such as FORTRAN, COBOL, BASIC, Pascal, C/C++ and Java.