From the past couple of years, mobile apps are growing at a faster rate than ever before, whether we talk about Android or iOS apps. The same pace resulted in the inception of many new programming languages and updates in existing ones. The same innovations and improvements also made many languages obsolete. Take the example of the Java, a 50 line of code written in Java can be written in 30 lines in Kotlin.
Being new to the field of Software Development might confuse you about choosing a programming language to build a game or any other software. But don’t worry, we’ve got your back. Here is the list of top 10 programming languages for 2019.
But before we proceed, do remember that this is not a countdown, for each of these languages has its own set of strengths. So, let’s dwell into the details…
JavaScript
JavaScript first appeared on December 4th, 1995. For a software developer, it is not possible to pursue their career without learning JavaScript. It plays a major role in frontend as well as the backend of a website. JavaScript is also famous for its libraries and frameworks like React, JQuery, Angular, and Node.js.
JavaScript is used by the web’s most popular websites like Facebook, Twitter, Gmail, and YouTube. JavaScript is so powerful that you can even program a DVD using it.
Java
Java first appeared on May 23, 1995. With its robust features like Object Oriented Programming(OOP), platform independence, multithreading, garbage collection, and exception handling, Java established a strong market value.
Java is mostly used for developing mobile apps. If we talk about its developers, the number is around 10 million and it is still increasing on a regular basis.
Python
Python was developed in the late 1980s and was first implemented in December 1989. 30 years later, it still holds a mentionable position in the list of Top 10 programming languages of 2019. Software development companies prefer Python language because of its versatile features and small codes. A program that needs 5 lines of code in Java can be written in 1 line in Python.
Python has large scale support libraries and clean object-oriented designs. Building a scalable multi-protocol network application through python will be a great option.
Kotlin
It first appeared in July 2011 and it is officially supported by Google for Android App Development as a “first class” language in Google I/O 2017. Kotlin is easy to set up as it comes by default with Android Studio 3.0.
Kotlin is very simple, concise and packs some great feature like null safety. Moreover, a code written in Kotlin is less complex as compared to Java. From a developer’s perspective, writing the same code again and again can be frustrating but Kotlin reduces the code by almost 20% and without bugs.
SWIFT
Developed by Apple on June 2, 2014, Swift is a powerful programming language used for programming on all Apple platforms like macOS, iOS, watchOS, tvOS. In 2015, Swift was rated as the most loved programming language on Stack Overflow. It is 8.4x faster than Python and 2.6x faster than Objective-C.
The most notable feature of Swift is that it gives coders a lot of room to experiment without hampering Apple’s proprietary ecosystem. A recent upgrade in Swift allows developers to make minor edits in the existing iOS code to make it Mac compatible, and vice versa.
PHP
The development of PHP began in 1994 and it appeared in 1995. PHP’s original name was Personal Home Page but now, it is known as Hypertext Preprocessor. PHP is used for server-side scripting.
PHP is famous for its frameworks and CMS like WordPress, Laravel, Magento, CodeIgniter, Drupal.
C#
Pronounced as C sharp, C# is a multiparadigm programming language used for general purposes. C# was developed by Microsoft in 2000.
C# is used for creating almost anything, however, its strength lies in building games, desktop applications and dynamic websites. It has the 3rd largest community on Stack Overflow with 1 million plus topics.
Objective C
Objective C was developed in the early 1980s and first appeared in 1984. It is a superset of the C language which provides object-oriented capabilities and a dynamic runtime.
Objective C used to be the main programming language for developing apps for macOS and iOS until Swift arrived in 2014.
C
C first appeared in 1972. With its long legacy of 47 years, the C still ranks among the top 10 programming languages of 2019. And rightly so, after all, C was the first high-level programming language.
It is a structured programming language which allows a programmer to break a complex program into smaller sections, called functions. C has a rich library of built-in functions.
SQL
Structured Query Language is abbreviated as SQL and pronounced as “sequel”. It is a domain-specific language mainly used for managing data in a Database.
It was developed at IBM during the 1970s and first appeared in 1972.
Wrap Up
So that was a list of Top 10 programming languages of 2019. Let’s take a quick recap of all the languages from their usage perspective:
- Front End Web Development- JavaScript
- Back End Web Development- JavaScript, Python, PHP, Java
- Desktop App Development- Java, Python
- Mobile App Development- Java, Kotlin, Swift
- Game Development- C#
I hope you can now choose a suitable language for your project according to the trend. Or, you can simply take help from a mobile app development company to guide you further.