What languages are likely to dominate the coding world for the next few years too

When starting out in the programming world, beginners often face the dilemma of choosing which programming language to learn first. Questions like, 'What are the most popular programming languages,' 'Will the chosen language have any relevance in the future,' 'Where to learn to code,' 'Learning which language will provide more benefits professionally", continue to rattle the minds. At the same time, while we worry about lagging in the fast-paced technological world, new programming languages (Elm, Rust, Kotlin, Elixir, Crystal, etc.) emerge, poised to overtake an older one. Furthermore, learning to code these languages is important as they provide programmers a crucial medium of connecting humans to computers. Since computers cannot comprehend the languages of the common man, these programmed commands can be used to control the behavior and output of a machine through accurate algorithms. Hence, helping us harness the power of computing in all human endeavors and projects.

It is true that in programming, one must stay up to date with newer languages, as it helps identify the pluses and minuses of new languages. It also helps carry a comparative analysis of whether the new language is better for solving a programming problem than one's current favorite. However, soon people realize that there is no perfect programming language, and they all offer something a little different. Meanwhile, irrespective of the reasons and demands, some programming languages will continue to stand the test of time for the next few decades. Analytics Insight brings you a list of popular programming languages that aren't disappearing any time soon. This list has been compiled based on data sourced from the TIOBE Programming Community Index and Github. TIOBE is a software quality company that generates an index of the most popular programming languages, and Github is one of the largest code repositories in use today. We have also mentioned code for "Hello, World! " one of the first codes practiced in every programming language. This will also give an overview of basic syntax in each of these languages.

C

C is one of the popular programming languages which is used to develop system applications running on operating systems like Windows, UNIX, and Linux. It is also one of the oldest coding languages still around today, but it doesn't mean it is obsolete. It provides the programmer with maximum control, allowing easy customization and the ability to edit without working to a set framework. It has been the founding platform for many programming languages like C++, C#, Python. As per TIOBE Index, C, jumped from the 2nd position last year (November 2019 list) to the topmost position this year. Its current rating is 16.21%.

Code for Hello, World in C

#include

int main()

{

printf("Hello, World!");

return 0;

}

C++

Build on C, C++ is powerful and popular. It is an intermediate, object-oriented language and can run on multiple hardware. It supports many of OOP's concepts like polymorphism, inheritance, data hiding, encapsulation. It helps power major software such as Firefox and Adobe and is also used to develop computer games. Did you know, Gaming engines Unity and Unreal are both written as well as maintained in C++ ? Although web talk predicts C++ will be dying soon, in reality, it will be tough to replace a language that forms the core of many programming projects. According to TIOBE Index, C++ is pegged at 4^th rank with an increment of 1.99% from November 2019 and rating on 7.60%.

Code for Hello, World in C++

#include

int main()

{

cout << "Hello, World!\n";

return 0;

}

Java

Touted as one of the "write once, run anywhere" languages, Java was expressly designed for use in the distributed environment of the internet. Now thanks to Android growth, Java's popularity is booming! Also, owing to its stability and reliability, it's widely used for enterprise-based web application development too. Java is a strongly-typed language and runs inside a virtual machine that includes garbage collection. Moreover, it is an object-oriented programming language, therefore bearing similarities to C++, C#. Though it has been recently overtaken by Python as per the TIOBE Index, it doesn't mean its popularity in the programming community is dying. Currently, it ranks third in the list with a rating of 11.68%.

Code for Hello, World in Java

class HelloWorld {

public static void main(String[] args) {

System.out.println("Hello, World!");

}

}

Python

In the TIOBE Index, Python is currently the second most popular language in the world, behind C. From November 2019 to November 2020, the use of this language surged by 2.27% to achieve a 12.12% rating. It has become the most used programming language for data science practices. Developed by Guido van Rossum and launched in 1991, it is an interactive and object-oriented programming language similar to PERL or Ruby. It is mainly designed to be easy to read and very simple to implement. It is open-source, which means it is free to use. Python can run on all the operating systems. Also, it has an abundance of libraries like TensorFlow, Scipy, and Numpy.

Code for Hello, World in Python

print("Hello World")