Do you know that there are more than 265 programming languages exist for developing mobile applications, web applications, websites, computer software, etc? With such a huge availability of options, no wonder you may ask a question “What programming languages should I learn?” or if you an entrepreneur then you may baffle to choose a programming language for your product’s development.
But there are only a dozen products which are used by the programmer, and their coding language priorities change from year to year. Hence, in this article, we have listed the programming languages which are trending in 2021.
We have analyzed TIOBE rankings and Github’s PYPL for listing the top 10 programming languages of computer programs, software, and web or mobile applications.
Ranking of Programming Languages
The principle of PYPL and TIOBE rankings is the same – “The more time the language is mentioned, the more popular it is.” However, the approaches of these rankings are different.
TIOBE checks the quantity of 25 search engine results including the major one’s Google, Bing, Yahoo!, YouTube, Amazon, Wikipedia, etc.
While the PYPL checks for the language tutorial search made on Google by exploring Google Trends. It is no surprise that TIOBE results will differ from PYPL’s. We will check the most popular language by both ratings and choose the most accurate one.
TIOBE Rankings
As per TIOBE, the most popular language last year was Java. It observes a slight change of only -0.01% in rating. While Java is holdings its position securely, C is getting a better position with an increase of 2.4%, along with C# (+2.07%), and Python (+1.41%).
Here are the rankings:
The TIOBE ranking doesn’t consider the best programming language to learn, or a language with maximum code lines to write. This ranking is for those developers who want to know whether they are up to date with the current language trends for developing a new application.
PYPL Rankings
This ranking particular consider a language which is best suited for learning in the Google search trends. It has given 1st position to Python, while 2nd and 3rd to Java and JavaScript respectively. Languages lie Visual Basic .Net or SQL don’t even get the position in PYPL Top 10 programming languages ranking.
Some of the most progressive languages in this ranking are Python, Kotlin, and JavaScript.
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Here are the detailed rankings:
We will discuss each of these popular languages in more detail.
Best Programming Languages in 2021
We will use PYPL as a basis in this article to know the most used programming languages in 2020. We will not consider a framework like Angular or Vue, but only programming languages.
Python
Python is ranked top in our list as the best backend language in 2020. The language is focused on writing automation scripts or developing prototype apps for both web applications and mobile development.
Python comes with consistent syntax, uniform standard delivery, frameworks, documentation, and Django. It is an open-source plus object-oriented language with cross-platform solutions. You can access several modules with an asynchronous coding design. You can use AL and ML for desktop as well as web applications.
Apps that use Python:
- YouTube
- Instagram
- Dropbox
- Reddit
- Quora
- Spotify
Java
Java is a very popular language for developing apps among programmers. It is used by many of the world’s biggest companies for their web applications and backend systems.
Java is also an official language for building Android mobile applications. It is backed by the tech giant Google. Most of the apps present on Google Play Store are written in Java.
The programs written in Java are portable across multiple operating systems. It has a stable environment with high-quality code compilation.
Apps that use Java
- Twitter
- LinkedIn
- Amazon
- eBay
JavaScript
You must have heard of many popular frameworks that are based on JavaScript such as Angular, Node, Express, React, etc.
JavaScript is the basis of frontend development. The sites wouldn’t have been captivating to the users if there would be no JS. With the release of ECMAScript 6 devs started to use JavaScript for both clients- and server-side programming.
JavaScript gives you access to several frameworks with data validation functionality and is compatible with many other programming languages.
Apps that use JavaScript:
- Yahoo
- eBay
- Amazon
- Wikipedia
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C#
You must have heard of the popular C language. C# is another version of it but with some Java features in it. You can create anything with C# whether it is a server app or a mobile game. C# is a multifunctional language. It is deeply integrated with Windows and has dynamic variables. It gives you enumeration support and native resource-management idioms support.
Apps that use C#:
- Microsoft Office
- Internet Explorer
- Skype
- PhotoShop
- Visual Studio
PHP
PHP is the most popular language for developing web applications or websites. You can develop almost every kind of website including e-commerce, healthcare, education, sports, etc on PHP. The world’s most popular framework for developing websites – WordPress, is based on PHP.
Hence, web developers mostly used PHP. It is an open-source server-side scripting language with a short learning curve. It is cross-platform and comes with support for working with MySQL.
Apps that use PHP:
- Wikipedia
- Yahoo!
- WordPress
- MailChimp
- Flickr
C/C++
C or C++ are having the same popularity on Google Trends.
C is one of the oldest programming languages, and it is still a popular programming language. Many popular software and applications have been developed in C.
C++ is a better version of C as it takes the concept of OOPS i.e. object-oriented programming. Hence, there are many properties that are the same in both languages such as the same basic syntax, comes with basic memory model close to the hardware and separate compilation however the mechanism for exporting interfaces is the same.
Apps that use C/C++
- Mozilla Browser
- Microsoft Windows
- Adobe Products
R
R is mostly used by data scientists and data analysts and is one of the most popular programming languages for this niche. It is popular for statistics. R works for Adhoc analysis and exploring datasets, for statistics-heavy projects, and one-time dives into a dataset. R can run R programs and gets results in the format of text or graphics within Mediawiki, a software backing Wikipedia. It acts as an interactive statistical environment and is great for statistics, data analysis, and ML algorithms. It can run on Linus, Windows, and Mac OS X.
Application areas:
- Banking analysts
- Healthcare data analysis
- Consulting
Objective – C
This was the most popular language for developing iOS applications till 2014 when Apple introduced Swift. So, it was replaced by its successor Swift. Hence, most of the iOS applications are focused on Swift.
But it is still popular in Objective-C because many iOS applications that are on Objective-C are still maintained by the iOS developers.
It is built on top of C and use static libraries. It is supported by Apple for iOS, macOS, iPadOS, and uses the run time code compilation.
Apple Music and iTunes are on Objective-C.
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Swift
As we mentioned above, Swift is the successor of the most popular iOS development language Objective – C. You can get the indication of swiftness through its name Swift. It is 2.6 times faster than Objective – C, and 8.4 times faster than Python.
The syntax of this language is quite simple and Swift is also open-source. A developer can’t just easily write this language, but can also easily read and maintain as well. It comes with a stable version of Apple’s platforms. You can also use it with Objective –C.
Apps that use Swift
- HubSpot
- Lyft
- Pandora
- Khan Academy
- LinkedIn
Kotlin
Kotlin is a highly popular programming language because of the huge presence of Android devices in the world. 80% of Kotlin programmers use the language to build Android apps, 31% for back-end applications, 30% for SDK/libraries.
It can be work with Java, hence you can use all Android libraries in the Kotlin app.
Apps that use Kotlin
- Slack
- Netflix
- Evernote
- Basecamp
Read more: Factors to consider while developing mobile apps for foldable phones
Final Words
You can’t decide what language will suit your project just be checking out the trends of language. Instead, you will need a proper consultation to know the requirements of your project and which language would be best for them.
At Amplework Software, the best mobile application development company in India, we are not just limited to develop the best mobile applications in their niche, but also provide an expert suggestion and complete consultation to our clients free of cost. Let us know your idea.
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