As a developer over 6 years, I am often asked with the following questions.

• Which programming language should I learn?
• Which is the best language around the world?
• When should I consider using a new language for my project?

If you have the same concerns, you are right for reading this sharing. This blog will be structured with these questions.

Programming languages overview

The emergence of language is a great leap in human civilization. With language, we can freely exchange ideas, transmit information, and even use it as a vehicle for literature and art.

Likewise, computer programming languages are a great invention. With them, we can make computers work the way we want, and we can give full play to our creativity to create software products that benefit mankind. Today, software has become one of the driving forces that empower the development of the digital economy. Our day-to-day activities are powered by thousands of pieces of software. When you are using social platforms such as Facebook, in addition to the local Facebook app itself, the cloud also runs a lot of software, Linux operating systems, web servers, databases, and more.

As we have seen, different regions speak different languages. There are more than 200 countries and regions in the world, and there are more languages than this. But the language that can be used internationally is basically only English. Similarly, there are many computer programming languages, and they target different application areas. C language should be a more general one.

So how many programming languages have we created？I don’t know what the exact number is, and it’s not necessary to try to make this statistic. Even when your technology is good enough, you can create a programming language by yourself. To arrive at the goal, it is mainly necessary to master solid compilation principles and implementation methods.

In such a huge world of programming languages, there are only a dozen or so that are very popular. We basically choose one of these languages to start learning programming. Which would they be? C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, Python, SQL and more. If you want to get a specific list, please refer to TIOBE index for details. When consider the popularity of programming languages, TIOBE index is a widely used indicator.

Which is the best language in the world

For this question, I think the answer is clear.

There is no such thing as the best programming language in this world, and I think there are two main reasons. On the one hand, each programming language has its own area of ​​focus, and developers have different preferences, so it is difficult to have a unified standard to judge which is the best. On the other hand, technology is developing rapidly at the speed of Moore’s Law, and every two years, there will be a big change. Therefore, the latecomers will continue to stand on the shoulders of the predecessors, becoming stronger and more friendly.

Actually, I prefer another statement. Which is the most suitable language for my current project? This can be selected according to the application scenario and the experience and preference of the team developers.

In a word, what suits you is the best.

Programming language usage trend

How can I keep track of the latest usage trend of programming languages?

TIOBE index is widely used indicator by the industry. The index is calculated from the number of search engine results for queries containing the name of the language. And it is updated once a month. You could visit wikipedia for more detailed information.

This is a screenshot for this index (top 10) in Jan, 2022.

So, which language should you use for your project? I think you can take this index into consideration.

Likewise for questions like what programming language should I learn. This index can also be used as a reference element. We should choose a language that is widely recognized and meets the needs of our application to learn. The benefits of doing so are obvious. Firstly, such languages are widely used, and it is easy for us to find peers to solve problems together. Secondly, we can find a lot of documentation online. Lastly, learning such a language well will be useful, and there will be no problem of spending a lot of time learning and finding it useless.

The whole blog is over, thank you for reading and sharing.