V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms (February 2016):
3GL
3rd Generation Language
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):
third generation language
3GL
(3GL, "high level language") A 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 second generation language, fourth generation
language.
(1996-05-30)