The ability to write in a programming language is an essential skill nowadays. Why? Because computers and technology surround us. From factories and transport to household appliances – some sort of programming language is the supporting structure of most things we do in life. Think about it, almost every single aspect of our lives is somehow dependent on some sort of gadget, and this is dependent on some sort of programming language.
A programming language is basically a language that’s made up of commands, that are inputted into a computer system so that you get an output. These commands are written and are characterized by syntactic unambiguity, and have a strictly defined set of words and symbols. The first programming language, for example, was actually a special machine code that consisted of units and zeros connected in chains.
Post-war times then gave rise to Plankalkühl, which was the first high-level programming language designed for engineering. Fortran was later created in 1954-1957, and it was grown and improved upon, and it is still used by programmers today. These two are considered pioneers in the world of programming languages.
How many programming languages are there nowadays, I hear you say? Answering this question requires serious research. The number is determined by your definition of ‘programming language’, and this will differ depending on whether or not we count ‘varieties’ as separate languages or not. Different sources stipulate that there are between 1,000 to 10,000 programming languages being used across the globe today.
Besides, new programming languages appear regularly, and many companies develop their own language! Each language also serves its own purpose, for example, some are used for mobile applications, others for working with microcontrollers, creating desktop programs, and analytics.
Let us now discuss the most popular programming languages of 2020.
- Python
Python is a powerful tool that is used for creating programs for a wide variety of purposes, and can be used by beginners.
Python can be used to solve problems of various types, and it is an interpreted programming language.
It can significantly simplify the debugging of programs, and one of its features is its dynamic typing. It also has good support for modularity, no memory leaks, and integration with C/C++.
- JavaScript
JavaScript is a programming language intended to bring more interactivity to a website. It is also the language used in game and animation development.
JavaScript is a fully-fledged dynamic programming language that was invented by Brendan Eich.
It allows you to create image galleries, dynamic page layouts, games, 2D and 3D graphics, complex applications using databases, and much more. Plus, it’s fairly compact and flexible.
JavaScript is one of the most widespread languages in programming, and it is supported by all operating systems, and used in all types of browsers, both on desktop computers and mobile devices.
- Kotlin
Kotlin has been influenced by many languages including Java, Scala, Groovy, JavaScript, and Swift.
It allows you to write programs in both object-oriented and functional styles. It is also a language with a clear and understandable syntax, and is quite easy to learn.
Kotlin is a relatively young language, but it can be compiled into JVM bytecode or JavaScript, and its programs can use all existing Java frameworks and libraries. Its source code is also open and null-safe.
- С++
C++ is a compiled general-purpose programming language that supports different programming paradigms, including procedural, generalized, and functional.
C++ is made up of a set of commands known as the source code, and these commands are divided into “functions” and “keywords.” Keywords are the basic building blocks of the language, whereas functions are complex building blocks.
C++ remains one of the most popular programming languages, and is widely used for software development.
Its scope includes the creation of operating systems, a variety of application programs, device drivers, applications for embedded systems, high-performance servers, and entertainment applications.
- Java
The majority of big companies use Java in one way or another, for example, many web-applications are written in Java.
It was developed by Sun Microsystems in the early 90s, and it is a general-purpose programming language, object-oriented, and strongly typed.
The syntax of the Java language is similar to that of other C-like languages. Some of its features include case sensitivity, identifiers always start with a letter (A-Z, a-z), $ or underscore _, and the name of the program files should match the name of the class.
- Swift
Swift is Apple’s intuitive programming language that can be used to create apps for iOS, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch.
It is very reliable and gives developers unprecedented creative freedom.
Swift is a safe and fast programming language, and there are no undefined or uninitialized variables in Swift, and no errors with array dimensions.
It has explicit handling and automatic memory management, and it incorporates the best features of modern languages.
It is a powerful programming language but even a beginner can learn it.
- R
R, along with Python, is one of the best programming languages in 2020 for data analysts and data scientists.
It’s a language typically used by statisticians, and it is used for statistical inference and data analysis.
R works for ad hoc analysis and when you need to do a one-time dive into a dataset to see results.
The R language is used to run R programs and to get results (graphic or text) within Mediawiki, which is the software behind Wikipedia.
- C
C was created by Dennis Ritchie from AT&T Bell Laboratories, as a high-level programming language for developing the UNIX operating system.
It is universal, and has gained popularity among programmers because you can combine high and low-level programming languages together.
It consists of a set of procedures (often called functions, even if they do not return values), and they contain statements and other elements that tell the computer what to do.
Most programmers use the C programming language for serious developments because of its freedom of expression, portability, and extreme accessibility.
- PHP
PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is a common open-source general-purpose programming language.
It was designed for web development, and its code can be embedded directly into HTML.
It is intended for web applications and websites, and it’s a so-called server-side programming language or backend. Its features are quite extensive, and with its help you can create applications of almost any complexity.
- TypeScript
TypeScript is a JavaScript-based programming language, and its development began in 2012.
TypeScript is a strongly typed and compiled language, which is perhaps closer to Java and C#.
It implements many of the concepts inherent in object-oriented languages, such as inheritance, polymorphism, encapsulation, and access modifiers.
A superset of TypeScript is made to provide the functionality necessary to develop and maintain large applications.
It supports static code analysis, symbolic navigation, function completion, and code refactoring.
Conclusion
Hopefully, our article has helped you to navigate the world of programming languages. As you’ve probably noticed, Python is ranked first as the most popular programming language in 2020. Luckily, our courses offer training in Python from the best instructors in the field. Feel free to join!