Top programming languages to learn in 2020: JavaScript, Python, Java and more

The Indian Wire Staff

4 years ago

“A language that doesn’t affect the way you think about programming is not worth knowing.”
― Alan J. Perlis

What is a programming language:

Wikipedia defines a programming language as, “A programming language is a formal language, which comprises a set of instructions that produce various kinds of output. Programming languages are used in computer programming to implement algorithms.”

For beginners just stepping in the world of programming, the biggest dilemma is to decide where to start from or which language to opt for first in order to make your career grow as a programmer in 2020. At times, even professional coders face situations where learning a new language seems to be more fruitful.

Choosing which programming language to learn involves a number of points to keep in mind. You will need to find a balance between the time and effort involved in learning any language and the perceived benefits of the language.

Which programming language is the best? -is an example of the wrong statement of the question.

Instead, you should be asking:

Which programming language is the most suitable for …

Which programming languages are used for …

So we are in December of 2019 and as the year is about to end, here’s a list of what programming languages will be in demand in 2020.

One of the easiest ways to pick the best programming languages to learn in 2020 is to study the market trend and work accordingly. However, I will make your task a bit easier as I have compiled a list of the top 10 in-demand programming languages of 2020. So, let’s get straight into this. Here is how the list goes:

Contents

Top Programming Languages To Learn In 2020:

1. JavaScript:

JavaScript is one of the most powerful programming languages out there. It is impossible to be a software developer nowadays without the usage of JavaScript in some way. It is one of the best programming languages to learn in 2020. According to the Stack Overflow’s 2018 Developer Survey, 71.5% of professional developers ranked JavaScript as the most popular programming language for the sixth year in a row.

People often ask which programming language is best for web development? Well, if we go by the stats the answer is unsurprisingly JavaScript.

JavaScript is everywhere. It’s vital to both front-end and to back-end developers.

Pros:

Speed: Being client-side, JavaScript is very fast because any code functions can be run immediately instead of having to contact the server and wait for an answer.
Simplicity: JavaScript is relatively simple to learn and implement.
Versatility: JavaScript plays nicely with other languages and can be used in a huge variety of applications. Unlike PHP or SSI scripts, JavaScript can be inserted into any web page regardless of the file extension. JavaScript can also be used inside scripts written in other languages such as Perl and PHP.
Server Load: Being a client-side reduces the demand on the website server.

Cons:

Security: Since the code executes on the users’ computer, in some cases it can be exploited for malicious purposes. This is one reason some people choose to disable JavaScript.
Reliance on End User: JavaScript is sometimes interpreted differently by different browsers. Whereas server-side scripts will always produce the same output, client-side scripts can be a little unpredictable. Don’t be overly concerned by this though – as long as you test your script in all the major browsers you should be safe.

2. Python:

Python is one of the general-purpose, user-friendly and one of the most versatile programming languages to know. Python has seen a significant rise in the index and deemed as one of the most popular programming languages in recent years due to the wide variety of libraries it offers.

According to Stack Overflow, there is one section which says “To be adopted or migrated to be—or to migrate too soon”, and for python, it’s 12% which is the highest for any programming language. People who have migrated to Python are close to around 42%, and therefore in my list of most in-demand programming languages in 2020 is Python.

Python is being used by many for various purposes now some of which are Software Engineer, Software Developer, Web Developer, Quality Assurance Engineer, Data Science.

Pros:

Python is easy to learn for even a novice developer. Its code is easy to read and you can do a lot of things just by looking at it. Also, you can execute a lot of complex functionalities with ease, thanks to the standard library.
Supports multiple systems and platforms.
Object-Oriented Programming-driven.
With the introduction of Raspberry Pi, a card-sized microcomputer, Python has expanded its reach to unprecedented heights. Developers can now build cameras, radios and games with ease. So, learning Python could open new avenues for you to create some out-of-the-box gadgets.
Python has a plethora of frameworks that make web programming very flexible.
Gives rise to quick development by using less code. Even a small team can handle Python effectively.
Allows scaling even the most complex applications with ease.
A large number of resources are available for Python.

Cons:

Python is slow
Python is not a very good language for mobile development.
Python is not a good choice for memory-intensive tasks.
It’s near impossible to build a high-graphic 3D game using Python.
Has limitations with database access.
Python is not good for multi-processor/multi-core work.

3. Java:

Java undoubtedly makes it to the list of top programming languages to learn, be it any year. According to Stack Overflow’s 2018 survey, 45.5% of professional developers favor. There’s a great saying ”write once run everywhere” capture one of the keys that make Java so valuable, the reason for Java’s enduring appeal being the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) which makes it cross-platform compatible. It is still one of the best coding languages to learn.

Java is also the soul for Android development and the most common language for developing Android apps. The language is favored by enterprises too, with roughly 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies using Java for building applications and other back end systems.

Pros:

Object-Oriented language.
Java offers APIs for different activities like Database connection, networking, XML parsing, utilities, etc.
Powerful open-source Rapid Development tools and libraries are available.

Cons:

Memory management in Java is quite expensive.
The absence of templates can limit you to create high-quality data structures.

4. Swift:

Next on the list is Swift. Swift was developed by Apple in July 2010 so as to make it easy for iOS developers, replacing Objective-C. Developers use Swift to build powerful, high-performance, native iOS, macOS and Linux apps. It is one of the most used programming languages for iPhone application development because of its immersive ability to employ compilers and syntaxes based on different C-based languages.

Pros:

Easy to Read and Maintain
Scalable
Concise
Safety and Improved Performance
Cross-device Support
Automatic Memory Management

Cons:

Problems with the Compatibility
Speed Issues

5. Kotlin:

Kotlin first appeared as a new language for Java Virtual Machine from a team of Saint-Peterburg programmers called Jet Brains. From the day Kotlin was introduced as an official Android app development language, the language has enjoyed a skyrocketing rise in its popularity.

Pros:

Kotlin requires less code to write
Fewer crashes occur on Kotlin.
Kotlin needs lesser time when it comes to customization and maintenance.

Cons:

Being very close to Java, Kotlin still differs in many aspects. Thus, a certain learning curve is involved for a developer who wants to switch languages.
Slower compilation speed
Small developer community.
Hard to find experienced professionals in this domain.

6. C++:

C++ is a programming language that was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup in 1983. C++ is a more modern, object-oriented version of C. C++ still remains in demand owing to its flexibility, performance and multiple contexts where you can use it. A career in C++ would usually involve the development of desktop applications that are focused on performance-intensive tasks.

Pros:

It is a popular language, and thus, there are many compilers and libraries
Other programming languages like C, C#, and Java have very similar syntax to C++, make it easy to learn for everyone who knows C++.
No garbage collector is running in the background.

Cons:

The syntax is complex, and the standard library is small, making this language very difficult to learn for the beginner programmer.
C++ program can’t support garbage collection or Dynamic Memory Allocation
The object orientation system in C++ is unnecessarily basic compared to other languages.

10 Best Integrated Development Environment (IDEs) for C++

7. Go:

Go is developed by Google and is a minimal language like Python. Go language is also known as golang. Go provides much better features to write concurrent programs compared to others. In this era where multi-core apps are being written, Go addresses the need quite well and also there’s built-in support of concurrency in it.

Pros:

Go Is Fast
Static Typing
Interface Types
Standard Library
Testing Support
Static Analysis Tools
Garbage Collection
Easier Concurrency Model

Cons:

No Generics
Interfaces Are Implicit
Poor Library Support
Difficult Community
Fractured Dependency Management

8. Rust:

Rust language was originally developed by Mozilla Foundation and it operates as a low-level language, suited for performance-critical code. It is a new system-level programming language that is changing the way we think about programming. It is one of the most popular programming languages currently. Rust was created with the purpose of avoiding the dangling pointers, buffer overflows or any other kind of memory errors. Rust is like C and C++.

Pros:

Awesome at managing resources like DB connections and memory.
A decent type system that will allow you to focus on code, rather than hunting bugs.
Very well thought in terms of design and open source libs are really well thought too.

Cons:

Hard to learn.
It doesn’t have a lot of open-source libraries.
It does have all the necessary libs for making your development to be productive, but each area is covered by 1 lib, so you don’t really have a lot of choices.
Awesome at managing resources like DB connections and memory.
A decent type system that will allow you to focus on code, rather than hunting bugs.
Very well thought in terms of design and open source libs are really well thought too.

Conclusion:

Here is a quick summary of the different possibilities that we’ve discussed:

Front-end web development: JavaScript
Back-end web development: JavaScript, Java, Python,
Mobile development: Swift, Java
Game development: C++
Desktop applications: Java, C++, Python
Systems programming: Rust

Hopefully, this list was of some help to the readers who are looking for new ways to get into the programming world. Do Drop a comment if you find this article helpful or even if you have any thoughts to share. I would be glad to know all your thoughts and would love to address them in my next article. If I did miss out on any programming language which you think should be included in the list do let me know.

Have a nice day!!!!