In today’s rapidly evolving tech landscape, understanding computer programming languages is more crucial than ever. By mastering these languages, you can develop the cutting edge software or taking it to next level of innovation in many industries.
This article from Designveloper highlights 15 essential computer programming languages you should learn right now. This guide is for both beginners who are ready to start exploring the world of tech and experienced developers who are interested in learning new things so they can stay ahead. It is time to find out what programming languages will determine the future of technology.
An Overview of the Most Popular Programming Languages to Learn Right Now
The world of computer programming languages is constantly evolving, and staying updated with the most popular ones can give you a competitive edge. In November 2024, Python maintains its glistening spot at the top of the TIOBE Programming Community Index for another month, with an index (or market) share of 22.85% — still the undisputed king of programming communities. It has a vast library which makes it one’s most preferred for web development, data analysis and machine learning.
Finishing in second place once again, Java continues to be a strong contender because of it’s portability and widespread use in enterprise applications. Typescript has been the shift towards the static type super set for Javascript, especially for web development, as it offers the static typing, along side some other features like support , writing manage, and improves code quality.
Memory safe and performant Rust has surged to 14th, a sign of rising interest in systems programming security. But the reasons Go got as high as number seven (its highest ever ranking) are due to its being simple and efficient in deployment — not to be mixed up with the reason it’s Essential.
This shows that the industry is going after performance, security, and ease of use. As companies start to take up AI and machine learning, languages as Python and Rust will probably be in increase for demand. Watching these trends keeps you better informed on what to learn and those to achieve mastery on.
In the next section, we will walk you the strengths and features of each computer programming language.
Resources for learning
Learning computer programming languages has never been easier, thanks to a wealth of online resources. Here are some top picks to get you started:
- Codecademy: Provides interactive coding sessions in languages like Python, Java, JavaScript, C++, SQL, etc. Whether you are a beginner or experienced programmer, this one is perfect.
- freeCodeCamp: Features free programming and computer science courses including popular languages (such as Python and JavaScript).
- Coursera: Offers features courses from the top universities like Harvard and MIT in languages like Python, Java, C++, etc.
- Udemy: One marketplace with thousands of other courses about programming languages from people in the industry.
- Pluralsight: Includes courses that focus on skill development in languages that are on the top of the popularity ladder — such as JavaScript, Python, and C++.
From free to paid, there are a wide variety of these platforms, so whatever the budget and learning style, there is room for you. Happy coding!
Top 15 Best Computer Programming Languages
The world of computer programming languages is constantly evolving, with new languages emerging and existing ones gaining popularity. The latest stats from Statista revealed that over 62 percent of all developers worldwide use JavaScript, while around 53 percent use HTML/CSS. SQL, Python and TypeScript, completing the overall top five languages. It shows that one needs to stay current with temporal trends in programming languages so as not to be left behind in the race.
1. Python
In recent years, Python has become one of the most popular programming languages. As highlighted in a Statista report for 2024, Python is one of the five most commonly used programming languages globally; other languages in use are JavaScript, HTML / CSS, SQL and TypeScript. It’s becoming highly popular not only because of its simplicity but also versatility which is the reason it’s suitable for beginner developers as well as experienced ones.
Python is easy to use and read and therefore very popular in web development, data science, artificial intelligence, automation, etc. For example, Python libraries such as Pandas and NumPy are commonly used by data scientists to work with and analyze large datasets in an efficient manner. Furthermore, Python has vast library and frameworks like Django for web development and TensorFlow for machine learning which offer excellent tools for crafting complex applications.
In addition, the language’s open-source nature and a strong community support has also played into its widespread adoption. Since the coding world is mostly driven by the community, Python’s community always keeps developing new and existing libraries and tools in Python and they constantly keep updating in order to give developers what’s latest and what works best.
To sum up, Python excels in all the areas mentioned earlier: simplicity, versatility and strong community support. Whether you’re new to the game or working on top of a current skill stash, Python provides a solid base to build upon and plenty of ways to grow and innovate.
2. C++
C++ remains a powerhouse in the world of computer programming languages. Developed by Bjarne Stroustrup in the 1980s, it has grown to be the backbone in systems programming, game development and high performance applications. C++, as per the TIOBE Index, is one of the top programming languages which has been so far and has stayed this way.
One of the major reasons of C++ relevance is the efficient performance offered. C++ is popular for programs written in the language due its speed and low level memory manipulation capabilities. As an example, many game engines like Unreal Engine are built in C++ because of its capability to efficiently run complex computations and graphics rendering.
Plus, C++ has so many rich libraries & frameworks that can be used to do so much. Standard Template Library (STL) consists of a set of general purpose algorithms and data structures that make the development process easier and code reusable. With all this,+C++ is a versatile language that can be used for developing anything from operating systems to high frequency trading systems.
C++ has a steep learning curve and it is quite a powerful yet flexible language. But, there are tools like Codecademy who provide full courses to teach the basics & beyond to those who are learning C++. The C++ community is also very active and lots of forums and online groups exist to support, help, and share best practices.
All in all, C++ is unarguably a robust and versatile programming language that is still relevant in many fields. It is a valuable skill in the programming world which has good performance efficiency, massive libraries, strong community support.
3. Java
In 2024, Java is still one of the most popular programming languages. In fact, according to the 2024 Stack Overflow Developer Survey, Java is second only to JavaScript and Python as being used by 37% of developers. And Java is popular with huge enterprise envolved and AI/ML applications because of the versatility and robustness.
According to the 2024 State of the Java Ecosystem Report by New Relic, Java 21 released in September 2023 has spread after being picked up quickly. Virtual threads and upgraded libraries were brought to this version, making it more stable and performing higher than past versions. It also reports that 35% of applications now rely on Java 17 — a rise from the previous year.
Java is very popular in the industry that’s why recruiters demand job seekers who are familiar with it. Recruiters expect Java skills, and for good reason—around 40% of all recruiters are looking for them. There are extensive libraries and frameworks like Spring and Hibernate which are available for Java, making the development of large and complex applications a breeze.
In summary, Java’s enduring popularity, backed by its strong ecosystem and continuous improvements, makes it a top choice for developers and a valuable skill for anyone pursuing a career in computer programming languages.
4. C
C remains a cornerstone in the world of computer programming languages. A rich influence of its own known back to the 1970s doesn’t go unnoticed. Even though newer languages are coming into existence, C is still widely used, especially in system programming, embedded systems and applications that demand high performance. The IEEE Spectrum’s 2024 report expects C to be among the more popular languages, but it has lost somewhat of its popularity over previous years.
C’s efficiency and control over system resources is one of the reasons of its enduring popularity. In addition to these, the system provides full access to the hardware, essential to the development of operating systems and firmware. But, language complexity and the suspicion of security vulnerabilities have caused a surge of interest in safer alternative like Rust.
The 2024 Stack Overflow Developer Survey declares that even though C is still used widely, developers are growing tired of it and it’s being supplemented by newer languages with better memory safety and a wider array of features. The impetus for this shift is for more secure and maintainable code writing in the complex software environment of today.
Finally, we conclude that C’s legacy in computer programming is assured; the landscape is changing, however. The pros and cons of newer, safer languages versus C’s performance are tough choices that developers must make. This continues to be an important decision for developers crafting robust and efficient systems in the industry as it continues to develop.
5. C#
Microsoft developed C#, now a well-known, powerful programming language. It is a member of the .NET framework and has been utilized for development of different sorts of applications, for example, web based, portable, work area, and gaming applications. According to the TIOBE Index report in November 2024, C# stands at the fifth spot in most popular programming languages and is rated at 4.98 out of 10. C# is down slightly from previous years, but it’s still one of the top choices for many developers.
The ease of use and readability is also one of the reason of C# being so popular. The language is meant to be very simple to learn and is powerful enough for novice programmers while still being powerful enough for expert programmers. Another thing that C# is also known for is its strong community support, with plenty of resources, tutorials and forums that developers can take advantage of when solving problems and improving their skills.
Hundreds of thousands of companies worldwide use C# to build their software, for all types of industries from media, finance, healthcare or gaming. For example, Unity Technologies popular games are based on C#. Additionally, the language is relatively flexible to work with for large scale projects with its ability to integrate with other .NET languages such as VB.NET and F#.
6. JavaScript
JavaScript has long solidifyed itself as one of the best languages in the world. The 2024 Stack Overflow Developer Survey showed how 62.3% used JavaScript in the last year. Used for front end and back end development due to the fully developed Enviornment like Node.js, this is a very versatile language.
JavaScript enjoys great popularity thanks to its use in numerous platforms and devices. In September 2024, only 1.1% of sites aren’t using JavaScript as a client-side programming language. JavaScript is indispensable to web development, and high adoption rate is because it can enable to create interactive and dynamic web pages.
JavaScript has over 11 mln users in the global community of JavaScript developers and 73% of front end developers use JavaScript as the main programming language. This large community carries plenty of resources, libraries and frameworks to be used by developers to build highly sophisticated applications.
But JavaScript’s reach is not limited to web development. It is also used in mobile app development, game development and even the data analysis. Once you’ve got the basics — and the syntax is pretty easy — you find it’s so flexible and the community updates on a continuous basis, making it a skill that can never be left behind for developers.
7. Go
Golang, better known as Go, has gone on to gain a lot of popularity. Go climbed to its highest ever position on TIOBE Index in November 2024. Go has been in top 10 for some time and this marks a significant milestone for the programming language. It has also attracted a growing number of developers thanks to language’s simplicity and efficiency.
Go’s performance is one of its main drivers of the popularity. speed & easiness to deploy go programs. Go is thus very well suited for cloud and network services where performance and scalability are the key requirements. Go has been used by the likes of Google, PayPal and American Express who have successfully built and scaled their services with Go.
Something else great about Go is its substantial standard library together with support for many IDEs, which makes it a proper choice for web development. Thanks to Go’s built in concurrency features, developers can write efficient and scalable web applications. As an example, Go is used by Cloudflare to process high latency http connections and its entire DNS infrastructure.
Also, go has been a favorite among developers due to its simplicity and readability. It is easy to learn the syntax of the language and with an automatic formatter and doc generator you can keep your code clean and… As a result, it has been applied widely within development operations and site reliability engineering.
To sum up, with performance, simplicity but also strong community support, Go is a clear winner for many developers and companies. As it continues to climb the popularity charts, it is likely to become even more prevalent in the world of computer programming languages.
8. Fortran
Fortran — or Formula Translation — is a survivor. IBM started the development of it in the 1950s to make programming more accessible to scientists and engineers. Today, such Fortran is a powerhouse in scientific computing and high performance computing (HPC).
Fortran’s long standing popularity owes itself to its efficiency in numerical computations. It is extensively used in the weather prediction, computational fluid dynamics and computational chemistry fields. Over the years, the language has evolved greatly and the latest standard, Fortran 2023, has added object-oriented programming and parallel computing features, among others.
Yet Fortran remains relevant. The TIOBE Index ranks Fortran among the top ten programming languages in use today in critical applications. Reports from IEEE as well as other organizations such as such as discuss Fortran include its wide usage in scientific libraries and numerical software.
One of the great strengths of Fortran is its ability to be run on various systems as long as there is a Fortran compiler. This is critical if your researcher or engineer needs to trust the tools to be doing complex calculations. The language has been getting recognition for both its robustness and performance in benchmarks concerning the world’s fastest supercomputers.
In a nutshell, Fortran represents living proof that well designed programming languages have a staying power indeed. Its continued use in scientific and engineering domains underscores its importance in the world of computer programming languages.
9. Visual Basic
As of now, Microsoft Visual Basic still remains popular with beginners and professionals. In November 2024, the TIOBE Index ranks Visual Basic 8th with a rating of 1.95%, down by 0.15% from last year. However, it is still very common to use and is used in many application especially in small and medium sized enterprises for rapid prototyping and ease of use.
That being said, Visual Basic is one of Microsoft’s core products, as it integrates with Microsoft’s development tools, such as Visual Studio. Thus, it allows developers to build Windows Forms applications and other .NET based project much handier. Furthermore, Visual Basic also has plain syntax that makes it easier for new programmers to learn programming basics.
Reporting can be done by creating reports as well using tools such as Crystal Reports and ActiveReports. These tools provide developers with an interface through which they can design and generate detailed reports from data maintained in the databases, and make for a good tool in the business applications.
Although old, Visual Basic still has value as programmers find it easy to use and there is a community that supports it. Regardless if you are just getting started or simply looking to simplify your development process, using Visual Basic is worth it.
10. SQL
Structured Query Language, or SQL, is a powerful tool for creating and manipulating databases. It is widely applicable in data science, business intelligence as well as in web development. SQL is among the top 10 programming languages that are used in various parts of the world and among the highest, and it goes on to rank 10th in the world according to the TIOBE index ranked in November 2024. However, the reason for popularity is dependent on this tool’s versatility and efficiency for big datasets.
SQL is one of the key strengths because of its power to do complex queries and data analysis. For instance, businesses use SQL to create reports to help in decision making processes. Functions like SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE are executed by SQL to retrieve, add, modify or delete data from databases.
Furthermore, data scientists and analysts need to know SQL. This gives them the ability to pull out important information from raw data which is why it is a handy skill to have in the job market. According to a DataCamp report, SQL is among the top programming languages for data scientists in 2024.
SQL seems to be an easy language to learn, one more than anything practical. There are a lot of tutorials and exercise online resources such as W3Schools that can help beginners get started with SQL. Its widely accepted due to its continued relevance in the tech industry and wide adoption is because of this accessibility.
All in all, SQL is still a critical tool for any database and data analysis professional. The robustness and the fact that it’s easy to use makes it a key option for both developers and analysts.
11. Delphi/Object Pascal
For RAD programmers, Delphi/Object Pascal still has a real punch. Originally developed by Borland but latterly maintained by Embarcadero Technologies, Delphi was and still may be coded with Object Pascal language and is well known for its visual component based software development.
Delphi is one of the rare languages that allows you to create rich and responsive user interfaces from desktop applications. As a result of this, it is a well chosen compiler for developing Windows desktop applications, database applications and enterprise level software. Companies such as those in finance, healthcare, or manufacturing, for example — all use Delphi to create a customized software solution for their businesses.
Even though web development and mobile development are increasingly prevalent, Delphi has managed to stay relevant with a passionate community. The language’s popularity has regained its lustre, with its upgrades to the fourth place in the TIOBE index ranking in 2024. In part thanks to the Delphi community, which has worked and created open source libraries for the language.
It nicely fits for client–server applications due to the fact that Delphi provides strong support for database connectivity and multi–tier architecture. However, its ease of use and high powered functionality also makes it an incredibly useful tool for scientific and engineering software, medical applications, and financial tools.
To summarize, even though Delphi/Object Pascal isn’t as popular for programming as some other newer languages, it’s a strong and flexible development option for creating desktop and enterprise applications. Its dedicated community and ongoing improvements ensure that it continues to be a valuable asset in the world of computer programming languages.
12. PHP
Web development with PHP continues to be a popular choice for developers. PHP accounts for 75.5% of all websites whose server side programming language is known that are not individuals as of November 2024. PHP has a high usage rate because it’s easy to use and flexible making it a go to language for many web developers.
One of the main reasons why PHP is so popular is that it works well with all web servers and with multiple databases. It (PHP) is used in server side scripting for developing websites such as Facebook, Wikipedia, and WordPress. It’s an indication of PHP’s reliability and scalability.
In the same spirit, the most recent versions of PHP, like PHP 7 and PHP 8, bring performance improvements and new features as well. W3Techs reports that 49.3% of the web runs PHP 7 and 37.7% runs PHP 8. However, better memory management and faster execution times are critical for today’s web applications, so these versions also win.
While PHP has advantages, it also has its own challenges, including security vulnerabilities and needing frequent updates in order to keep up with modern web standards. But these problems are still being addressed by the PHP community through updates and improvements on the regular.
Therefore, being unnoticed quite possible for an excellent language like PHP. PHP is made to deal with big scale applications and works perfectly with different innovations; hence the potential to stay to be a top investigating web development project.
13. MATLAB
Technical computing is usually done in MATLAB. It is an easy to use environment of integration in computation, visualization and programming. MATLAB is widely used in the academia and industry for data analysis, algorithm development and modeling and simulation. As per recent reports, MATLAB still remains the first choice among engineers and scientists because of its powerful toolboxes and easy to use characteristics.
The Statistics and Machine Learning Toolbox is one of the MATLAb toolbox which stands out. Functions and apps in this toolbox help to describe, analyze and model data. It’s a tool that allows users to perform tasks like clustering, regression and classification which makes it a great one for data scientists and engineers. The toolbox also supports more advanced techniques, such as principal component analysis (PCA) and dimensionality reduction that are necessary for dealing with large datasets.
Another cool feature is MATLAB’s Report Generator. Users can generate full reports from their MATLAB applications. Amongst these reports, they can be presented in PDF, MS Word, HTML formats. One of the best uses of this feature is when sharing research findings and the results with required colleagues or writing the same down.
In addition to its technology capabilities, MATLAB is famous for its community support. The creators of MATLAB (the MathWorks) have plenty of documentation and tutorials that explain all the things you can do with this software, plus a dedicated wiki and forums on which users find inspiration, ask for a hand, and share what they know.
14. Rust
The Rust programming language has quickly received the admiration that developers have for it. The 2023 Stack Overflow Developer Survey claims Rust is the most admired language, with over 80% of those using it wanting to use it again next year. As proof, this is becoming more and more popular, and the community backing it is growing strong.
The safety of Rust is one of its key reasons for popularity. It is designed with the intention that it will avoid common programming errors like null pointer dereferences and buffer overflows, security vulnerabilities. Rust is therefore a great option to write reliable and efficient software.
Rust’s performance, too, is notable. Rust has proven itself to be faster and more efficient than other entrenched languages, as benchmarks attest. Three, this is very important for stuff like web servers and game engines that need to be fast.
Rust community is amazing and still growing. 47% of Rust users say they’re productive with the language, and 75% of all Rust users report they can write production code. Additionally, the survey displayed that 81% of people use Rust on a weekly basis.
There are a whole lot of libraries and tools for Rust’s ecosystem that make it easier to get started and develop complicated applications. A nonprofit organization, the Rust Foundation, funds and offers resources for developers, all to support the language and its community.
Finally, Rust is a secure and powerful programming language with high performance. The ecosystem of its growing community is robust, which makes it a great choice for developers aiming to create high quality software. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced developer, I’d recommend you to take it for your next project.
15. Swift
Swift has quickly become a favorite among developers, especially those working on Apple platforms. It is a powerful and intuitive programming language for iOS, OS X, watchOS, and tvOS apps that provides modern features, while enabling Objective‑C code to remain fully compatible with Swift. Since then, it has become quite popular ranked number 15 at the 2021 Stack Overflow Developer Survey.
This is one of the reasons Swift is so popular: it’s modern, and it’s safe. By design swift code is safe that is it helps developer write the code less prone to error. Features like optional types removing the need for null pointers and also automatic memory management to reduce the chance of memory leaks are operational.
Generelly Swift usage is connected with development of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS applications. It’s a concise language with an expressive syntax yet easy to read and write, at the same performance level as C and C++. As a result, Swift is a great option for high performance applications.
The language is also evolving and Swift 6 has just come out with newer concurrency and generics improvements. These improvements allow developers to write concurrent code more readily and correctly, and make applications run more efficiently.
If you want to get started with Swift — or already are and want to learn more — you’ll find plenty of resources available to you on the Apple developer website: documentation, sample code, and tutorials. The Swift.org website also is a treasure trove of information for novice or experienced developers alike.
Future Trends of Computer Programming Languages
The future of computer programming languages is evolving rapidly, driven by technological advancements and changing industry needs. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are on a steady rise—they are developing the language that can easily deal with complex algorithms and extensive datasets. To give an example, Python still holds this space due to the fact that it provides a very petite and well to AI and ML library.
The other trend is that software development has become more important in the security and reliability. Because of their strong memory safety features, many people prefer languages as Rust in order to avoid common programming bugs and security exploits. This is evidenced by the White House cybersecurity report calling up memory safe languages such as rust to replace more insecure ones like C and C++.
Furthermore, the future of the programming languages is being influenced by the growing prevalence of multi core processors and distributed systems. Indeed, languages for which concurrency and parallelism are a first class citizen are becoming ever more essential, like Go and Kotlin. These languages are meant to be able to take care of more than one operation simultaneously and so are suited well for the modern computing environments.
In addition, developer experience is emphasized, with languages easier to learn and read booming. This is especially evidenced in increasingly popular languages like TypeScript, which have static typing forced upon them to help check errors early in the development lifecycle. TypeScript is also picking up steam as per the Stack Overflow Developer Survey, in which we can see that the language is being adopted more and more.
How Designveloper can help
At Designveloper, we understand the importance of staying ahead in the ever-evolving world of computer programming languages. Having built and worked across many different kinds of projects, we know our way around the future trends and can help you build your projects on top of the most relevant and efficient technologies.
Expertise in Emerging Languages
Additionally, if you were curious about the future of software development, you are likely going to hear more about projects using Python, Rust, and Go, which the team here is skilled in developing. These languages have been implemented by our developers to provide high performance and security.
Custom Solutions
Regardless of whether you require web application development, mobile app development or AI solutions, our uniquely tailored approach caters specifically to your requirements. One of the things we built was a healthcare platform where patients can book appointments and have access to their medical records online.
Proven Track Record
Our team has since 2013 delivered excellent work for clients from all over the world, having completed lots of projects. We are known for our commitment towards excellence in IT market.
Continuous Learning and Adaptation
We know it’s important to stay on top of the latest technologies and trends, so as a team we insure that we are always equipped with the knowledge of how to deal with new challenges. Through this proactive approach we remain at the forefront of the industry.
Comprehensive Services
We provide everything: from state-of-the-art UI/UX design, development of complex systems using GraphQL stack for back-end, to supporting your origination with our cybersecurity consulting, and so on. With our holistic approach, the planning and execution of your entire project is carried out with precision and care.
Partnership with Designveloper means that your projects are in good hands to be constructed with the most modern and relevant programming languages. We want to help you get ahead in the competitive market of software development.
Conclusion
In the future, when more physical objects can become smarter thanks to embedded sensors or programmed commands, the role of software engineers and developers in different domains will prove more important. This promotes them to master their coding skills to produce expected deliverables.
However, no software developer or engineer excels in only one coding language. When the job fair is increasingly competitive and advanced technologies appear to meet more diverse demands of companies and end-users, developers need to enhance their mastery of more computer programming languages that serve their jobs and projects best.
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