Free Programming Basics MCQs with Answers

183 Programming Basics MCQs from Computer Science and IT, each with the correct answer and a written explanation of why it is correct. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.

Programming basics covers algorithms, flowcharts, pseudocode, variables, constants, data types, operators, input and output, conditional statements and loops. It also introduces functions, arrays, strings, debugging and common programming errors, with attention to the difference between syntax errors, runtime errors and logical errors in a program.

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183 questions · page 3 of 10

Fairly easy
  • A. procedural language
  • B. structures
  • C. natural language
  • D. programming language

Explanation: A programming language is a formal set of rules and symbols used to specify operations for a computer.

Correct answer: programming language
Hard
  • A. Time-related bomb sequence.
  • B. Virus.
  • C. Time bomb.
  • D. Trojan horse.Computer Online Quiz

Explanation: A logic bomb triggered by a specified date or time is called a time bomb.

Correct answer: Time bomb.
Hard
  • A. End user
  • B. System Analyst
  • C. Programmer
  • D. All of the above

Explanation: A systems analyst plans requirements and designs the overall structure of a program or system.

Correct answer: System Analyst
Moderate
  • A. Common Business Oriented Language
  • B. Computer Business Oriented Language
  • C. Common Business Operated Language
  • D. Common Business Organized Language

Explanation: COBOL expands to Common Business Oriented Language, reflecting its original use in business data processing and commercial applications.

Correct answer: Common Business Oriented Language
Moderate
  • A. MS-Excel
  • B. BASIC
  • C. COBOL
  • D. C++

Explanation: BASIC, COBOL, and C++ are programming languages. MS Excel is spreadsheet application software, not a computer language.

Correct answer: MS-Excel
Moderate
  • A. Dennis Ritchie
  • B. Prof John Keenly
  • C. Thomas Kurtz
  • D. Bill Gates

Explanation: Dennis Ritchie developed the C programming language at Bell Labs, making him widely known as its father.

Correct answer: Dennis Ritchie
Easy
  • A. Compiler
  • B. Interpreter
  • C. Linker
  • D. Loader

Explanation: An interpreter translates and executes source code one statement at a time while the program runs.

Correct answer: Interpreter
Easy
  • A. Boot
  • B. Bug
  • C. Biff
  • D. Strap

Explanation: A bug is a fault or defect in a program that causes incorrect or unexpected behaviour.

Correct answer: Bug
Fairly easy
  • A. Interpreter
  • B. Simulator
  • C. Compiler
  • D. Commander

Explanation: A compiler translates an entire source program into machine code or another lower-level form before execution.

Correct answer: Compiler
Hard
  • A. Leech
  • B. Squid
  • C. Slug
  • D. Glitch

Explanation: Glitch is common computer jargon for a minor fault or unexpected malfunction in software or hardware.

Correct answer: Glitch
Moderate
  • A. Dennis M. Ritchie
  • B. Niklaus Writh
  • C. Seymour Papert
  • D. Donald Kunth

Explanation: Dennis M. Ritchie created the C programming language at Bell Labs in the early 1970s. Niklaus Wirth is associated with Pascal, not C.

Correct answer: Dennis M. Ritchie
Moderate
  • A. BASIC, COBOL, Fortran
  • B. Prolog
  • C. C, C++
  • D. Assembly languages

Explanation: Assembly language is a low-level language closely tied to a processor's instruction set and registers.

Correct answer: Assembly languages
Hard
  • A. Assembly language
  • B. Machine language
  • C. Source code
  • D. Object code

Explanation: The earliest computers were programmed in machine language, using binary instructions directly understood by the processor.

Correct answer: Machine language
  • A. my_var
  • B. _score
  • C. return
  • D. total3

Explanation: In C programming, identifiers are names given to variables, functions, constants, and other user-defined elements.

Correct answer: return
  • A. float
  • B. int
  • C. double
  • D. long

Explanation: In many computer systems, including most modern systems, an int (integer) data type typically takes two bytes in memory.

Correct answer: int
  • A. 0
  • B. 1
  • C. 2
  • D. 4

Explanation: The percent sign (%) in this context refers to the modulo operation. The modulo operation calculates the remainder after a division is…

Correct answer: 0
  • A. long
  • B. char
  • C. float
  • D. int

Explanation: The float data type in C is a single-precision floating-point data type. It is commonly used to represent numbers with decimal points.

Correct answer: float
  • A. define
  • B. loading
  • C. allocating
  • D. initializing

Explanation: Initializing a variable refers to assigning a value to it at the time it is declared.

Correct answer: initializing
  • A. exponentiation
  • B. multiplication
  • C. integer reminder
  • D. division

Explanation: The modulus operator (%) in C programming is used to find the remainder after a division operation.

Correct answer: integer reminder
  • A. zero
  • B. garbage
  • C. 1
  • D. nothing

Explanation: When a variable is declared in C but not explicitly initialized, its memory location is allocated but not assigned a specific value.

Correct answer: garbage