What does it mean to be a "high-level" programming language?

Question

I am assuming that "high-level" relates to abstraction, but I've only heard about abstraction in terms of code (variables, functions, functions with parameters, classes, etc.). If high-level means that the language doesn't require the programmer to write in binary or assembly code, then aren't all programming languages "high-level"? Can anyone give me examples of a few "low-level" programming languages?

Thanks!

Answer 1

Some languages are lowerlevel than others because they are nearer to the hardware. In C/C++ for example you have to manage you memory manually and in java or python you have a garbage collector that takes care of memory management for you. This reduces the probability of bugs but makes it difficult to write code that needs a minimal runtime like a kernel. This is why C++ focuses on so called zero-cost abstractions

Answer 2

The high level languages are multipurpose and interpreted languages. They use some programming concepts that aren't in the lower level languages. A good example of that is the OPP(object oriented programming). Beside, they don't interact with the hardware.