Today there is a great demand for the profession of programmers due to the growing interest of people in the Internet and games. According to statistics, the salary of blockchain technologies has risen by 514% and AR/VR by 1400%. These numbers are the consequences of people’s activity on the Internet and the high demand for games.
The number of programming languages in the world is so high, there are more than 8,000 types of them. Moreover, every year trends for programming languages change, and the requirements for programmers are lower. Thus, it is necessary to know what types of them are basic and need to be learned.
You can work as a web designer, developer, or programmer to write codes. And the better you do your job, the better the project will be. Now there are a lot of programmers, but real skills are rare, so such specialists are appreciated. If you are new to the programming industry, you should pay special attention to choosing a language to learn. In today’s article, we have collected the top of the most popular and demanded programming languages that will always be relevant, as well as the description of their pros and cons. Let’s go!
JavaScript for Web Development
JavaScript is a programming language that is commonly used as an embedded tool for programmatic accessing various application objects. From the web development point of view, without knowledge of this technology, it is impossible to create modern interactive sites. It is used not only for developing web pages but also for various applications and games.
But why is this programming language so widespread? The main advantage is full integration with HTML, which allows transforming the page without restrictions. Using JavaScript, a programmer can:
- Determine the appearance of elements;
- Receive user data;
- Interact with the server (AJAX);
- Perform positioning of objects;
- Quickly integrate any tags into the page code.
It is the smallest part of the JavaScript advantages, experienced programmers with longtime skills are able to diversify its opportunities.
Advantages of JavaScript
- One of the main advantages of learning JavaScript is the wide range of lessons and videos about this programming language. The main reason for this is the world’s popularity. You can find answers to all your questions on YouTube and Google. Many experienced programmers do a bunch of tutorials on JavaScript;
- It is a universal programming language that can be used everywhere. Do you want to do the front-end, back-end, or maybe a full-stack right away? Do you want to create websites, desktop, or mobile applications? Well, now all this is possible with JavaScript. Have you heard of Serverless Computing as well? Fear not, it is also possible with JavaScript;
- JavaScript is very efficient. Have you heard of Netflix or PayPal? These two companies and many famous others with loud names decided to switch to JavaScript (especially Node.js). And it paid off for them, their sites became faster, required less budget and time for development and support. All in all, it was a win-win decision;
- JavaScript is one of the most demanding programming languages that is worth learning. Thanks to many guides, video lessons, and books on this topic, you can become a valuable expert. Moreover, the JavaScript language is developing very quickly and new technologies are constantly being introduced, which makes the study of this language universal and accessible.
Disadvantages of JavaScript
- Many small annoying mistakes at every stage of the work. Most of them are easily corrected, but their presence makes this language less professional than others;
- Reduced security level due to free access to the source codes of popular scripts.
Python for General Purposes
Python is the fastest-growing programming language in the past few years. It is widely used in-game and applications development. Python is a general-purpose scripting language. Scripting languages are usually used for small tasks, but Python does not fit into this framework in any way. Unlike JavaScript, Python is not limited to web development.
Python code is executed by an interpreter program. This allows Python code to run on any platform that has an interpreter installed. However, the code is not processed in advance, but in the process, and this reduces the speed;
The most popular industries where you can use Python are Data Science, Automation, and Web Development. Take a look at the areas in which Python is widely used:
- Game development
Many computer games were written entirely in Python. It is a mistake that this language is not suitable for writing large games, but it was used in the development of many popular games, such as Battlefield 2 and World of Tanks.
- Web development;
Python is widely used for web development. To work with it, frameworks are connected, and there are even separate engines for creating sites in Python.
- Artificial intelligence projects, neural networks;
- Data Science and analytics.
Python is often used for Data Science. This programming language helps to write machine learning algorithms and develop analytical applications. It helps data storage and cloud services work more efficiently.
Of course, there are many other areas where Python is the most suitable and profitable programming language. We gave you examples of the most important of them.
Advantages of Python
- Python is as easy to learn as JavaScript. You should definitely try Python if you’ve never written code but want to get your first program working as quickly as possible. Moreover, Python is suitable, not only for web development, but is widely used in other areas that we described above;
- Since Python is one of the highest in the top most popular programming languages in the world, you can easily find any information you are interested in about it. A bunch of video tutorials and guides on YouTube, as well as useful articles on Google, will help you learn the language on your own, and it will not take much time if you study it intensively.
- Python is used by giant companies. Many organizations we know, such as Amazon and Spotify, use Python to go through analytical research. It may surprise you, but Instagram and YouTube are entirely written on Python. Even Disney uses this programming language to make unimaginable animations.
- Python will always be popular and widely used. After all, with its help, people collect data on purchasing activity, build hypotheses, and find new solutions for company growth. Machine learning algorithms are also being developed in Python. For example, Netflix wrote its recommendation service in this programming language.
Disadvantages of Python
- Productivity. Most developers, and the creator of the language, agree that Python is not as fast as can be. Unfortunately, if you compare Python to other interpreted languages, you will notice that Python loses in performance. But this can be easily leveled with C implementations of a problem area of code. Nevertheless, in today’s capacity, it is not very noticeable.
- Dynamic typing. This important aspect consumes more resources than it could, but is often offset by internal caching.
Java for Basis Purposes
Java is a universal and basic programming language that will never lose its popularity. Java is a general-purpose programming language and refers to object-oriented and strongly typed programming languages. Companies appreciate Java for its reliability and durability. It has been proven over the years and it will be an excellent decision to try to study it. Oracle now owns this programming language and they claim Java runs on more than 3 billion devices.
It is used everywhere and it is a powerful tool for the development of any project. Take a look at the list of Java use below:
- Android applications – Java is practically the only language for them;
- Desktop applications;
- Industrial programs;
- Banking programs;
- Scientific programs;
- Programs for working with Big Data;
- Web applications and web servers;
- Embedded systems – from small chips to special computers.
Advantages of Java
- The main advantage of learning Java is that it will give you many advantages in your work, programmers who know Java are now in great demand and earn a lot. Your code will work on any platform that supports Java, as we said above. And this is the reason why it is so popular. Java is a universal programming language;
- Java is one of the oldest and most reliable programming languages. This fact can be justified with the help of another fact: the world-famous Minecraft game was written in Java. By the way, the first mobile games in the early 2000s were written in Java. Moreover, there are not many technologies that can boast that they have been relevant for more than 20 years;
- The Java language doesn’t depend on a platform. One of the main advantages of the Java language is the ability to port programs from one system to another. Because Java programs are platform-independent at both source and binary levels, they can be run on a variety of systems.
Disadvantages of Java
- Complexity and verbosity of the code. When writing codes on Java, there is a forced use of a large amount of unnecessary text. It can be annoying for some programmers, while others like it, because a lot of words create understandable code;
- If you have a desire to work with Java for commercial purposes in the future, you should know that Oracle introduced a fee for its use 2 years ago. The effectiveness of this programming language is highly appreciated, but this factor should also be taken into account.
C++ for Game Development
This type of programming language is one of the most difficult for learning. But if you start learning C++, the reward will be too high: the knowledge of this programming language is now appreciated. Many games of worldwide popularity have been written in C++. Among them are Counter-Strike, World of Warcraft, Doom III Engine, and many others.
C++ is an object-oriented language, which means that codes can be divided into classes and objects. C++ is widely used for software development and is one of the most popular programming languages. The C++ use includes the creation of operating systems, a variety of application programs, device drivers, high-performance servers, and entertainment apps. There are many implementations of the C++ language, both free and commercial for various platforms.
Why has C++ become so popular? Where can you use it? Take a look below to know.
- Creating other high-level languages;
- Writing various editors;
- Game development on different graphics engines;
- Writing programs for complex operating systems.
Advantages of C++
- A variable cannot change its data type. This means that during auto-completion, the IDE will offer only those methods that apply to this data type. Static typing also significantly reduces errors. Many of them can be founded at the compiling stage;
- The versatility of C ++ is another significant advantage of this programming language. Having mastered the basics, the developer will be able to write simple desktop applications for Windows, Linux, and Android games in C ++;
- High demand for C++ programming language can be profitable for you. The salaries of C++ programmers are higher than other ones. This is because of the language’s complexity.
Disadvantages of C++
- The presence of many features that violate the principles of type safety leads to subtle errors that can easily creep into C ++ programs. An important role in this issue is played by the refusal of the C++ author from the idea of using automatic memory management (for example, garbage collection). Thus, buffer overflow vulnerabilities became the main part of C ++.
- Connecting an external module interface via preprocessor insertion of a header file (#include) seriously slows down compilation when connecting a large number of modules.
The Bottom Line
In today’s article, we gave you examples of the most popular programming languages with high demand. Each of them has its qualities. Make your choice based on our information and dive into the programming world right now!
