When it comes to software development and building the best product on the market, it’s important to know which language is right for your specific project. No two programming languages are the same, and their capabilities vary widely. Similarly, the frameworks developers use to accomplish a range of tasks using a given language also vary. Here, we’ll look at the hottest programming languages for developers right now and where they’re most in demand.
What’s exactly is a programming language?
A programming language refers to a set of grammatical rules and vocabulary that can be written by developers to enable computing devices to perform specific tasks. There are many different types of languages that can be used in the development of software. The specific language chosen will depend greatly on developer or company preference as well as the needs and types of software being developed.
Why do programming languages matter?
Understanding what languages your product needs will determine how you go about recruiting top-tier talent for your dev teams. Different languages also are better suited to specific applications.
What are the 4 types of programming languages?
The most popular programming languages around all have one thing in common: multi-paradigm support. This allows skilled developers to use whatever paradigms suit their needs easily. The most common paradigms are:
- Imperative: This paradigm involves computations that are guided through sequences of steps in which variables are referred to or changed.
- Logic Programming: This paradigm solves problems through logical assertions regarding a situation. Data and logical deduction are a computer’s primary role in this paradigm.
- Functional programming: This paradigm informally views subprograms as functions, taking in arguments and returning a single solution.
- Object-Oriented Programming (OOP): This paradigm views real-world objects as separate entities with their own state that can only be modified by “methods” or built-in procedures.
The most widely used programming language
JavaScript
The undisputed king of software development, JavaScript closed out 2021 by topping StackOverflow’s Developer Survey for the ninth year in a row as the most used language among devs. Famous as a scripting language for webpages, JavaScript has been providing robust interactivity, smooth UX/UI, and powerful application development capabilities for webpages since the ECMAScript5 standard was released in 2009.
Today, more than 97% of all web pages on the internet utilize JavaScript. With millions of developers worldwide, dozens of actively maintained toolkits, and a wide range of use cases, there are few things you can’t do.
Most used in:
- Webpage development
- Web Apps
- Mobile and Desktop Apps
- Client and Server-side Programming
- Game Development
Top frameworks trending for 2022:
- Svelte
- AngularJS
- ReactJS
- VueJS
The leading language in data science
Python
Continuing its steady rise, Python is now firmly in the top 5 most used languages in the world. A high-level OOP language, Python is often one of the easiest programming languages to learn. While Python may be easy to pick up, it’s still one of the most powerful programming languages available thanks to its versatile, actively maintained libraries.
The growing interest in Big Data has given Python a massive boost in popularity thanks to its excellent packages for data manipulation, SQL interfacing, Machine Learning/DeepLearning, and much, much more.
While Python is now the language of choice for most data science applications, it still trails behind JavaScript for use in software development. This doesn’t mean it’s not extremely popular––Python is still a favorite for many newer developers.
Mostly used in:
- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
- Data Science and Data Analytics
- Webpage development
- Web Apps
- Mobile and Desktop Apps
- Automating workflows
Top Frameworks trending for 2022:
- Bottle
- Django
- Pyramid
- Flask
- Web2Py
Which languages are on the horizon?
TypeScript
Initially designed by Microsoft as a superset of JavaScript to address its shortcomings, TypeScript was a sleeper when first released in 2012. Fast-forward to 2019, the language started generating buzz with the addition of improved functionality including:
- Optional static typing
- Improved integration with IDEs
- Improved bug detection
- Advanced code navigation
- Support for code refactoring
Another advantage is that any libraries, frameworks, or code from JavaScript can be used with TypeScript. Typescript’s optimization for larger-scale applications, also makes it popular for enterprise-level development.
Rust
While not the most widely used, Rust has been Ranked a developer favorite for the past 5 years in StackOverflow’s annual Developer Survey, with more and more devs picking it up in recent years. Where traditional languages like PHP, C, and C++ have slipped, Rust has quietly been gaining ground.
Some of Rust’s main advantages include:
- user-friendly compiler
- streamlined package managers
- type inspection
- auto-completion
- bug detection
Another advantage is its speed; Rust is fast, reliable, and safe. It’s no wonder that tech giant Microsoft has been pushing Rust over C and C++ among its devs.
Which programming language should you use?
A lot of the decisions behind choosing a programming language will come down to the project’s specific requirements and your team’s familiarity with the languages that can fit the project. Some common considerations to review before making a decision are as follows:
- Application type: What type of application are you trying to build? Will it be web or mobile-based?
- Platform: Which platform would you like your application to run on? Windows, Linux, etc.
- Maintainability: Does this language look like it will stand the test of time? (Consider popularity)
- Performance & Scalability: How many users are you expecting on the application? As your company grows, can the language handle the growth?
- Security: Does the language have a good track record in preventing cyber threats and hacking?
- Community: Is there a strong community to help support issues that may arise. (GitHub, Reddit, StackOverflow, etc.)
- Time constraints: Is the language well-known enough or easy enough to learn to meet the time constraints imposed by business stakeholders?
Don’t forget developer expertise
While these programming languages are certainly leading the pack, it’s important to talk to your experienced developers to decide what language is best for your product. There is no substitute for developer expertise. To learn more about building the best dev team for your business head to our blog post here.
Tracking programming expertise
Regardless of the language your software is running on, your software development efforts need to be at their best to get the highest ROI. Foreworth analyzes source code and gives leaders code quality and team productivity metrics to ensure they’re getting the most out of the programming languages they’re using. For more information on how you can better track your team’s code creation, click here.
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