Top 10 Programming Languages To Learn In 2021
- Python
- JavaScript
- Java
- Swift
- GoLang
- C#
- C++
- Scala
- Kotlin
- Ruby
1. Python
Python is the fastest growing general
purpose, high-level programming language with an emphasis on code readability.
It has notable features like
- Open-source programming language
- Extensive support modules and community development
- Easy integration with web services
- User-friendly data structures
- GUI-based desktop applications
It is also one of the most preferred language in
the fields of Data Science, Statistics, Analytics, ML and AI with R as its only
real competition.
Reasons for Demand
- Python-based web development frameworks like Django, Pyramid, and Turbo Gear are easy to learn,
feature-packed and popular
- It has packages such as NumPy and SciPy that are commonly
used in the fields of scientific computing, mathematics, and engineering
- Its application in sophisticated deep learning and machine
learning makes it a great choice for the academically inclined
- Has a wide range of applications like creating famous video
games, developing 2D imaging as well as 3D animation packages
- Highly demanding in the job market with over 894k GitHub
repositories and an average salary of python developer is $116,379 per
year
- Multi-purpose language used by popular companies like
YouTube, Instagram, Pinterest, SurveyMonkey, Quora, Mozilla, and Spotify
2.
JavaScript
Along
HTML and CSS, JavaScript is the programming language that built the Internet.
So, it’s a pretty big deal. Universally known as the language of web developers,
JavaScript is a feature-rich object-based scripting language. Featuring
asynchronous event handling and crisp syntax, it has found widespread use in
the field of web development. What started off as a simple client-side
scripting language, is now a highlight within the web development community
featuring multiple frameworks for both backend and frontend development.
Reasons for Demand
- In extension to absolute JavaScript, various popular
libraries and frameworks make JavaScript development easier
- Most accessible supporting technologies related to JavaScript
are JSON, jQuery, Angular, React (JS Library), etc
- Fundamentally a front-end language, it can also be practiced
on the server-side throughout Node.js to create scalable network
applications
- Majority of tech giants like Google, Facebook, Twitter,
Gmail, and YouTube rely on JavaScript to design interactive web pages and
dynamically display content to users
- Recognized as most conventional programming languages the
average JavaScript Developer Salary in the US as per Indeed is
$109,462 per year
3. Java
Owned
by the Oracle Corporation, Java is one of the oldest, most common, in-demand
computer programming languages in use today. Well, think of some of your
favorite web apps and games. It’s highly likely that Java plays a huge role in
the code that makes them work. Another important factor which has kept Java’s
magic intact among web development companies is its independence from
platforms. This helps developers to essentially “write once, work anywhere” (WORA).
Java is everywhere and the demand for strong developers is literally high.
Reasons for Demand
- Java is highly recognized for its scalability and portability
across multiple platforms from mainframe data centers to smartphone
- Its powerful features include strong memory management, high
performance, backward compatible and top-notch security
- With its presence in almost 3 billion devices, Java’s new frameworks
such as Spring, Struts, and Hibernate have also become very popular
- Forms the base for and used in a multitude of domains
including mobile application, web development, system programming, and big
data
- It is favored by enterprises, with roughly 90 percent of
Fortune 500 companies use Java for building applications and back end
systems
- With millions of users across the globe, the popular users of
Java include Amazon, Twitter, Google and Youtube
- With fantastic community support with above 900k repositories
on GitHub, Java Developers earn around $101,929 per year
4. Swift
Developed
by Apple in 2014, Swift is a general-purpose, open-source language built
using a modern approach to safety, performance, and software design patterns.
It was developed as an alternative to Objective-C to write applications for iOS
and Mac. Deeply influenced by Python and Ruby, Swift was designed to be
beginner friendly and fun to use. This makes it one of the contestants of this
top 10 programming languages list.
Reasons for Demand
- Swift requires less code, hence it becomes easier for
existing techies from JavaScript, Java, Python, C#, and C++ to switch to Swift
without hassle
- It’s features like better readability, speed, and dynamic
libraries ensure lesser errors, reduce application size and improve
performance
- Swift has two major frameworks, namely Cocoa and Cocoa Touch
which are centered around application development
- It is used in a number of iOS apps such as Mozilla Firefox,
WordPress, SoundCloud, and Flappy Bird game
- Because of the tremendous need for experienced Swift
developers, the average programmer who knows how to use this language can
expect huge pay cheque
5. GoLang
Developed
by the tech giant Google itself, Go is one of the latest players in the
programming platform. It is an open-source language which makes it easy to
create simple, secure, and productive software. It combines the best aspects of
functional and object-oriented programming, as well as features a valuable set
of inbuilt development tools.
Reasons for Demand
- The language is straightforward to grasp even for the new
programmers while being extremely powerful at the same time
- Go has been optimized by Google to be incredibly efficient
with memory and has blazing fast speed
- It provides high performance like C/C++ and has efficient
concurrency handling like Java
- Supports multithreading at large and is hence used by a lot
of companies that rely heavily on distributed systems
- Popular projects like Kubernetes, Docker, Hugo, Hyperledger
Blockchain and Ethereum are developed using Go
- It is widely used in startups and some of the companies
that use the language are Jabong, Dropbox, Apple, Twitter, and
Razorpay
- Golang developers are high in demand, and low in supply, so
companies are willing to offer handsome salaries that go as high as to
$120,000
6. C#
Created
by Microsoft, C# is considered to be one of the most powerful programming
languages in the Dot NET framework. It is a powerful, flexible language that
gives you a comprehensive programming foundation which is applicable to Java,
Objective-C, PHP, and more. You can think of C# as a blend of the C++ and the
Java language but Anders Hejlsberg, the creator of C#, says the language is
more like C++ than Java.
Reasons for Demand
- Rich set of libraries make compilation and execution with C#
lightning fast
- It is used in backend operations of several popular websites
like Bing, Dell, Visual Studio and Market Watch
- C# uses frameworks like Xamarin and .NET for building mobile
applications and game development.
- C# is mostly used with Microsoft’s .NET framework to design
web forms, windows applications, etc
- The language is best suited for the applications that are
based on Windows, Android as well as iOS since it takes the aid of
Microsoft Visual C++
- Highly recommended language for building 3D and 2D video
games using the popular Unity game engine, which produces one-third of the
top games on the market
7. C++
Sequel to C, C++
is the pioneer of the modern world’s most used programming languages
and root of other programming languages such as C#, Java, and JavaScript.
It is a simple, yet powerful programming language that provides a structured
approach. Both C and C++ are considered high-performance languages and are
widely used in developing applications where performance is a critical issue.
Though old, the practical applications of C++, is the reason why C++ is in this
top 10 programming languages list.
Reasons for Demand
- C++ has remained in high demand due to high performance,
reliability, and variety of contexts you can use it in
- Mostly used in game development, scripting, mobile
applications, especially performance-intensive tasks
- Core areas of development where you can see c++ are virtual
reality, gaming, and computer graphics
- C++ provides generic frameworks and libraries like
wx-Widgets, GTK++, boost, Qt, etc
- You can find C++ in a wide range of applications like Adobe
Photoshop, Google Chromium, MapReduce, Mozilla Firefox, MySQL database
- Companies
like Nvidia, Google, Microsoft, Apple hire skilled C++ developers,
architects, designers offering an average salary of $116K
- MicrosoftWindows and Google
Chrome are the two of the most well-known projects created with C++
8. Scala
Being one of
the powerful high-level programming languages, Scala incorporates functional
programming and object-oriented programming concepts. Scala stands for scalable
language and is one of many attempts to “rewrite Java” while improving its
drawbacks. It tries to make Java more functional by offering advanced features
like string comparison advancements, pattern matching, and mixins.
Reasons for Demand
- Its complex features promote better coding and offer a
performance increase
- It is gaining attention rapidly in the open source community
due to its ability to run on both the JVM and JavaScript runtime
- Scala’s tech stack consists of easy to use diverse set of
libraries, tools, and frameworks. Popular frameworks include play, akka
& apache spark
- The language is versatile, allowing it to be used in software
development, web apps & mobile solutions with game development being
the highlight
- It is already a success given the fact that big companies
like Apple, LinkedIn, Twitter, and The Guardian use it in their codebase
- Being one of the booming technologies of the present market,
Scala developers are paid with an average salary of $117,369 per year
9.Kotlin
Kotlin, the
Google-endorsed cross-platform language that is meant to
interoperate entirely with Java and run on the JVM. Lately, it has become
the most-beloved programming language among developers, according to a Stack
Overflow survey. One of the most critical factors behind Kotlin’s increasing
momentum is its smooth compatibility with the Android Studio 3. In the year
2017, Google declared Kotlin as the official language for android app
development. Which is why you will find Kotlin in almost all the top 10
programming languages lists.
- Kotlin works great with all existing Java libraries, frameworks and runs
with the same level of performance as Java
- The language is statically typed and provides better code
readability and developer experience
- Other improvements of Kotlin are null-pointer safety,
extension functions, and infix notation
- According to GitHub, the number of contributors using Kotlin
to build projects has more than doubled in the past year, making it the
fastest-growing language
- Companies that have publicly declared usage of Kotlin include
Square, Pinterest, and Basecamp
- Average global salary for development on Kotlin is $57k and
the average salary for Kotlin developers in the US is $125k
10. Ruby
Ruby is one of
the most popular languages, developed in Japan in the mid-1990s. Is a dynamic
language which was constructed with an aim to simplify the programming task and
making it more fun. Its popularity is bolstered on Ruby on Rails, a full-stack
web application framework that runs Ruby. The downside of Ruby is it that,
being a dynamically typed language, it is not very easy to maintain and its
flexibility makes it’s slow.
Reasons for Demand
- It easy to learn, straightforward and allows for swift
creation of web applications
- Ruby has an incredibly simple beautiful syntax that
allows a developer to do more but with less code
- Many Silicon Valley unicorns have been built on Ruby,
including Airbnb, CrunchBase, Twitch, Shopify, GitHub, and Twitter
- Lately, Ruby is has become one of the sought after skills due
to its high flexibility as an all-purpose programming language
- Open source projects that employ Ruby include Homebrew,
Discourse, Metasploit Framework, and many more.
- There is a vast community of Ruby developers and the
average salary for a Ruby developer is nearly $90,000 per year
This concludes the list of top 10 programming
languages you should learn in 2021. Ultimately, it’s you who have to decide on
which programming you want to learn. So, take your time in weighing each option
and choose accordingly.