With the development of technology and its wide applicability, programming languages have become an integral part of our lives. It is a set of rules written in any language (C++, C, Java, Python) that people use to make applications on PCs or mobile devices or just for websites.
In this article, we will discuss the features, uses, cons,
and pros of the top eight programming languages for web development. There are thousands of programming languages out there but we’ve narrowed
it down to the top eight that should be on your radar when it comes to
programming.
By the end of this article, you will be able to have a
better understanding of these programming languages.
The Most In-Demand Programming Languages
1) Python
Written, edited, maintained, and supported by volunteers as
well as experts from the software development community, Python is an
open-source language that’s easy to learn and use. It’s one of the most popular
languages found on GitHub; a platform used for web development by beginners and
established software developers alike. That’s because it’s so simple,
especially when compared to other programming languages.
It has also proven useful in dealing with numbers as data
science alongside backend web app development work. An exclusive collection of
standard libraries makes this programming language one of the top choices for
developers.
Applications:
- Data
science
- Back
end development
- App
development
Advantages:
- Backed
by dynamic typing capacity, Python makes it easier for developers to
create complex websites that need frequent changes.
- It
is a well-organized web development language that combines efficiency with
several programming languages like C#, Java, and C. It can be linked with
favored web development frameworks like Flask and Django for the creation
of the web-based application.
- Python
is a high-level programming language that is easy to learn and
developer-friendly. It is very easy to code in python language.
- Python
offers a rich set of functions and modules to ensure that you don’t have
to code for every small thing. It has a large standard library for
unit-testing, web browsing, regular expressions to name a few.
Disadvantages:
- As we
discussed above Python is a dynamically-typed and interpreted language,
line-by-line code implementation leads to slow execution.
- Python
language utilizes large amounts of memory. Low memory optimization while
building applications is one of its major disadvantages.
- As
Python language is not memory efficient and has slow execution, we don’t
see Python on mobile or client-side applications. Python is weak in Mobile
Computing whereas it is widely used in server-side programming.
2) Java
Java was created in 1991 by James Gosling, Mike
Sheridan, and Patrick Naughton and was first named ‘Oak’. The language was
inspired by languages like C and C++. One of Java’s most notable features is
that it runs on the principle of ‘Writing Once, Run Anywhere’ – it is designed
with portability for varying hardware and OS configurations in mind.
Java is also what powers Android applications, it’s the
programming language for installing and developing software on your
computer. It’s also worth mentioning that there are a variety of
libraries in Java that make all the applications we use every day possible!
These include the Spring Framework, JUnit, and the Hibernate Object Relational
Mapper (ORM).
Applications:
- E-commerce
- Finance
- App
development
Advantages:
- It
works on various platforms (Mac, Windows, Raspberry Pi, Linux, etc.)
- Java
is open-source and free
- It
has extensive community support (millions of developers)
- Java
is close to C# and C++. Programmers can easily switch to Java or vice
versa
- Java
gives a clear structure to programs and allows the reusing of codes,
thereby lowering development costs
Disadvantages:
- Slow
and has poor performance compared to languages like C or C++
- Java
consumes more memory
- Java
offers not so attractive look and feel of GUI
- No
backup facility
- Requires
significantly large memory space
3) JavaScript
According to Stack
Overflow’s 2020 Developer Survey, JavaScript is the widely accredited and
most used programming language across the globe. JavaScript is used to
manipulate web pages and make them do things their creators may not have
originally intended.
By combining JavaScript with HTML and CSS, programmers can
create highly-interactive websites with cool features like animated graphics,
interactive maps, clickable buttons, and more. Utilizing these three languages
together empowers coders to take control of a website’s behavior and
capabilities while also providing users with a smoother user experience
overall.
Applications:
- Game
development
- Web
development
- Building
web servers
- Mobile
apps
Advantages:
- Client-side
JavaScript is super quick as it can be run instantly within the
client-side browser. Unless there’s a need for outside resources,
JavaScript is unimpeded by network calls to a backend server.
- It is
relatively simple to learn and implement
- JavaScript
is highly interoperable as it plays well with other languages and is
widely used in a variety of applications.
- Gives
the capacity to create rich interfaces
Disadvantages:
- Since
the JavaScript code is viewable to the user, others may use it for
malicious purposes.
- JavaScript
is interpreted differently in different browsers this makes it difficult
to read and write cross-browser code.
- The
code is always visible to everyone, anyone can view JavaScript code.
4) Kotlin
Kotlin is an all-purpose programming language developed in
2011 by JetBrains, that has built world-class IDEs like IntelliJ IDEA,
PhpStorm, Appcode, etc. It’s a statically typed language for the Java Virtual
Machine (JVM), and a general-purpose language.
Kotlin is widely used for Android development. One of the
best things about it according to developers is that by utilizing Kotlin,
you’ll be able to achieve greater levels of safety and concision as well as
make your code more fun and readable.
Applications:
- Android
development
- Back-end
web development
- Full-stack
web development
- Multi-platform
mobile development
Advantages:
- It is
crisp and to the point. You’ll be able to save a lot of time otherwise
spent writing boilerplate code in Java.
- Sometimes,
adding features to a language means it has more overhead, which can lower
its performance. Kotlin has no runtime overhead.
- Kotlin
can easily handle nulls. If you have not prepared for a null, it can crash
a program in Java. However, if you just add a simple operator to variables
that may be null to avert crashes.
- It
can run on multiple platforms that’s why it is easier to use Kotlin to
build cross-platform apps.
- It
can be easily maintained as it is assisted by several IDEs including
Android Studio and other SDK tools. Owing to this, it can easily maximize
the developer’s productivity.
Disadvantages:
- Although
Kotlin is in high demand and popularity across the developer’s community
still very experienced experts are available in the field.
- In
some cases like performing incremental builds, Kotlin works faster than
Java. But, Java stays incomparable when it’s about creating clean builds
for android apps.
- Though
the number of Android app developers who have learned and mastered Kotlin
is increasing almost every day, there remains a limited number of
resources available in the market to learn the language.
5) R
R is an open-source programming language that can be used as
a forward-thinking tool for analyzing and manipulating data. R is developed by
the R Development Core team and is easily available on popular platforms like
Windows, Linux, and macOS.
It’s built on top of S, another implementation of the S
language, which was designed years ago in New Zealand. Also, the latest edition
includes lexical scoping semantics inspired by Scheme. It allows users to
conduct advanced analytics on their data sets with ease when compared to older
tools that were often far more time-consuming to use.
Applications:
R is used among data miners and statisticians for data
analysis and developing statistical software.
Advantages:
- It
has a rich set of resources. R has over 10,000 resources in the CRAN
repository which are constantly growing. R provides resources for data
science and machine learning operations
- R
is a cross-platform programming language, meaning that it can be run on
any operating system. These include Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, and other
Unix platforms.
- R
allows Data Scientists to do machine learning tasks like classification
and regression, which are used for creating artificial neural networks
Disadvantages:
- In R,
objects are stored in physical memory which differs from other programming
languages like Python. This limits R’s capability to deal with Big Data
because it requires a large amount of data to be held entirely in one
location which is in the memory.
- R
programming is much slower than other languages such as Python, especially
when it comes to responding with packages. The R programming language is
also harder as algorithms are spread across different packages and
programmers not familiarized with packages may find it hard to implement
algorithms.
6) PHP
PHP is one of the most widely used programming
languages in the world thanks to its convenience, popularity, and performance.
But what many people don’t know about PHP is that its development cycle
supports the use of a lot of handy tools making it even more efficient.
It comes as no surprise then that this continues to be on
the rise considering that PHP combines both simplicity and functionality thanks
to how easily accessible it is on platforms such as Linux. Combined with
the recognition of the programming language Index (PYPL), PHP is the fifth
hottest coding language globally.
Applications:
- Content
Management System
- Web-based
applications and development of sites
- Processing
of Images
- Graphical
interface design-based applications.
- Developing
the features of Flash
Advantages:
- It
is more stable from a few years with the assistance of providing
continuous support to various versions.
- It
helps in reusing an equivalent code and no got has to have to write
lengthy code and sophisticated structure for the event of web
applications.
- The
popularity of PHP gave rise to the various community of developers, a
fraction of which may be potential candidates for hire.
- Flexibility
makes PHP ready to effectively combine with many other programming
languages so that the software package could use the foremost effective
technology for every particular feature.
Disadvantages:
- PHP
is not that secure as it is open-source. Not suitable for bigger website
applications that are content-based.
- Its
weak type can cause incorrect knowledge and data to the user.
- PHP
is known for its poor quality of handling errors. PHP comes with a very
fewer number of debugging tools when it comes to other programming
languages.
- It
is not competent modular thus highly tough to manage. It imitates the
features of the Jawa programming language.
7) C++
C++ is a language ranked 4th in popularity according
to the TIOBE index. It’s one of the standard languages for back-end
development, and it requires very few skills to learn. Its syntax is simple
enough that coding in C++ can be done by anyone who wants to get started with
programming languages.
Many coders prefer C++ because it has many uses and
compatibility with multiple platforms, making it easy for programmers from any
background or experience level to use when needed. C++ is a powerful
programming language that can be used to develop operating systems, create browsers,
and more.
Applications:
- Operating
Systems like Microsoft Windows or Mac OSX or Linux
- Browsers
- Banking
Applications
- Libraries
- Graphics
- Embedded
Systems
- Cloud/Distributed
Systems
- Databases
Advantages:
- C++
is a program design language that’s pragmatic and academically oriented.
The programming language makes use of high-level abstractions to represent
specific concerns in the matter domain.
- It is
easier to use than other low-level languages like binary coding. C++ takes
up more space but it’s much easier to understand and learn, too!
- All
C++ programs must start with the main function for them to run and perform
their functions. As it’s a classic programming language. This
type of computer program often consists of a collection of commands that
tell the computer to try and do “something.” These types of files are
typically called C++ ASCII text files.
- C++
program supports inline function, C++ supports exception handling, its
pointer and references, C++ uses “cin” and “cout”.
Disadvantages:
- C++
doesn’t support Dynamic Memory Allocation, Garbage Pickup, and threads
built-in.
- One
of the primary reasons why C++ is still considered so effective and robust
when it comes to writing programs is because it supports pointers. Arrays,
instead, don’t handle memory allocation as efficiently for example.
Nonetheless, pointers can also be a major turnoff for some programmers due
to their capacity to create problems such as crashes or unexpected
behavior in code.
8) Dart
Dart is used in multi-platform applications like JavaScript,
which is useful to build applications that can be operated on any electronic
gadget. Google’s Dart programming language today is within the Flutter
framework and is a great choice for developing mobile apps because of its many
features and open doors.
In contrast, Facebook’s React Native has increasingly become
a better option as time goes on and has proved to have many benefits compared
to traditional ways of using native code to create mobile apps. Dart is
simpler to master than JavaScript, and it makes certain complicated concepts
less complex. Because Dart has plenty of competition like TypeScript, the
programming market is lucky to have many options for choosing a language.
Applications:
- Used
to build server and desktop applications
- Client
development, such as for the web and mobile apps
- Actively
used with Flutter for developing the frontend of cross-platform mobile
apps
Advantages:
- Dart
is easy to learn. JavaScript programmers will easily be able to pick up
the basics and write code in this language due to its similarity in
syntax. To do so they simply need to familiarize themselves with the
language’s core principles.
- Since
Google is the programmer for Dart, all of the features of the language are
given in detail. This allows you to get answers to almost any questions
that may arise during or after programming.
- Programs
written in Dart tend to run faster than programs created in JavaScript.
- One
can build production quality real-time applications with Dart. It is very
stable and the language supports programming that defines objects and
classes, enforces interfaces, and supposes optional typing mechanisms.
- Dart
has the unique ability to handle both Just in time compiling and Ahead of
time. In AOT, the Dart code can be converted directly into native machine
code whereas in the mode of JIT, it is compiled for exceptionally fast
development cycles and game-changing workflow.
Disadvantages:
- Dart
currently has very limited resources online and it’s difficult to find
solutions to problems. The reason for this is the lack of a larger
developer community, which will support you whenever you want or need help
with anything at all.
- The
Dart framework is currently in development. Developing in Dart now has the
chance of API changes or things like documentation not being perfect. The
amount of information on the web about dart (compared to jQuery) is lesser
than expected.
- Dart
lacks native support in browsers. For developers to be successful with
Dart, they must provide native support for it in all browsers.
Conclusion
As the Software Development industry progresses, so do the coding languages that are being used. It is important to stay up to date on the most popular languages to remain competitive and prosperous in this industry. If you are looking to make a career as a programmer, learn a new language, or work in product support or development, then you should learn these programming languages. They have been proven time and time again to be some of the best in their field when it comes to versatility and quality of code.
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