A general-purpose language is a computer language that is broadly applicable across application domains, and lacks specialized features for a particular domain. This is in contrast to a domain-specific language (DSL), which is specialized to a particular application domain. The line is not always sharp, as a language may have specialized features for a particular domain but be applicable more broadly, or conversely may in principle be capable of broad application but in practice used primarily for a specific domain.[1]
General-purpose languages are further subdivided by the kind of language, and include:
A programming language that is used to solve a wide variety of problems. Languages such as C, C++ and Java are examples. Contrast with special-purpose language. See general purpose.