A programming language contains instructions that direct a computer to perform a specific task. Computer programming languages have evolved over time. Numerous communities have contributed to the development of programming languages.

In the current technologically rich era, the number of programming languages has been increasing day by day. It becomes a challenging task for a novel computing enthusiast to choose which language best fits the situation. Keeping in view the importance of programming languages, this informative guide provides a list and a brief explanation of the best programming languages to learn in 2022.

Best Programming languages in 2022

The continuous evolution of programming languages intends to overcome the limitations of existing programming languages or to add some flavor to the world of programming. A coding agnostic user switches the languages to better serve the community with the latest and best features of a programming language.

Here, we have listed down the best programming languages to learn in 2022 along with their advantages and disadvantages.

C

The C language is based on the COBOL language which is known as the father of programming languages. C language is known as the mother of most programming languages. With the invention of the C language, the programming community came to know about structured programming.

Initially, the C language support was available for UNIX-like operating systems. However, the C language emerged as the most used programming language with cross-platform support. C language acts as the building block of operating systems such as macOS and Windows. Moreover, applications such as Oracle DB, Git, and Python Interpreter are also developed in C language.

Pros of CThe following distinctive features enforce the novel developers to learn the C language in 2022:

• Base of programming languages: The famous programming languages such as Python, Java, JavaScript, PHP, and Perl, are developed using the C language.
• Portability: The code of C language is machine/system independent, and the code can be executed on various machines
• Structured Language: The testing and maintenance of the C programs are effective as the code is divided into multiple chunks.
• Data Structure: The algorithmic implementation of the C language provides the smooth computation of the program.
• Dynamic Memory: The memory of the objects can be allocated at the run time.
• High level and low level: The C language allows you to write in high-level as well as a low-level language programs. For instance, the kernels and drivers are developed using the low-level functionality of the C language and the high-level aspect focuses on developing software applications.

Cons of CApart from the extensive list of advantages, the C language does have some limitations which are described here:

• OOP: C is the basic programming language and does not offer object-oriented concepts (Inheritance, Polymorphism, Abstraction, Encapsulation). Moreover, C does not have any constructor/destructor due to the absence of basic OOP concepts.
• Run Time Checking: C compiler shows the errors after the complete execution which makes it difficult for checking the lengthy code.
• Exception Handling: Exceptions in programming languages allow you to handle the errors or any bugs. C language lacks the support of any exception handling.

C++

C++ (also known as the C language with classes) is the derivative of the C language and is equipped with Object-Oriented Support. The C++ language is also said to be the main ingredient in the development of various operating systems and software applications.

C++ language intends to develop large-scale applications and software infrastructures that can work in a resource-constrained environment. The C++ language can run all the programs of the C language with minimum/no changes at all. Until now, C++ has been used to develop Operating Systems, Games, embedded systems, databases, web browsers, and much more.

Pros of C++C++ offers a wide range of functionalities backed by the following advantages.

• OOP: The C++ introduced the Object-Oriented feature in basic C language. The code manipulation is quite easy with the help of objects as compared to the basic C.
• Compatible with C and other languages: As C++ is the nearest derivative of C language, thus the C language code can be used in C++ with no/minimum changes. Additionally, Java and C# are also the nearest languages to the C++ language which makes it easier to switch from these languages.
• Scalable: The C++ program is flexible enough to run on small and large scales of data. Therefore, a C++ code can be used to develop resource-intensive applications.
• Extensive Community: The practical usages of C++ enforced numerous contributors to provide courses, lectures, and guides on C++.
• Mid-Level Language: Like C language, C++ also lies between Low-level and High-level languages. The development of kernels and drives refers to the low-level support and the software applications are created in High-level language.

Cons of C++With the passage of time, the following limitations of the C++ language are reported:

• Algebraic Data types: C++ does not support algebraic data types such as tuples and structs. However, C++ offers a set of libraries that overcome the deficiency temporarily.
• Security Issues: C++ offers better security features as compared to the C language due to its Object-Oriented nature. However, the pointers, global variables, and friend function make it less secure as compared to the new languages(Python, Java).
• Pointers: Pointers have slower performance than normal variables and they often cause memory leak issues. Moreover, the uninitialized may lead the program to crash.

JavaScript

JavaScript is the most used client-side programming language and serves as the primary language to develop an interactive website. JavaScript adds flavors to the interface of the webpages alongside HTML and CSS. According to a survey, more than 97% of the websites use JavaScript as their client-side programming language. Apart from its strong front-end support, JavaScript also serves as the server-end programming language.

Pros of JavaScriptJavaScript is widely used because of the following distinctive features:

• Speed: JavaScript is executed just in time with the browser which states that JavaScript does not require any compilation.
• Simple: The syntax of JavaScript is simple enough to learn and implement for computing enthusiasts. The syntax of Java is said to be the building block of JavaScript.
• Functionality: The developers may create JavaScript code snippets and use them for later use to save time. For example, a well-known extension of the Firefox browser (Greasemonkey) enables a developer to reuse the existing code snippets.
• Versatile: JavaScript is unbeaten in front-end development. Additionally, JavaScript also provides backend support via NodeJS.
• Interface: JavaScript provides extended front-end libraries support such as ReactJS, and AngularJS that lead to the development of interactive pages.

Cons of JavaScriptJavaScript leads the table of programming languages. However, there is no perfect language. Therefore, JavaScript does have some limitations that are listed below:

• Security: The code of JavaScript is easily reusable, and it is possible that the code is being reused without proper authentication. This lack of verification leads to a security threat to the website, or the data being used.
• Browser Support: The JavaScript code may behave differently on different browsers. The browsers that are not updated yet may lag in processing the newly added functionality of the JavaScript.
• Debugging: JavaScript’s output relies on the browser and the browser does not show any error or guidelines to fix the error. However, several code editors provide the debugging feature for JavaScript, but they are not efficient enough.

Java

Java is an open-source and cross-platform support server-side programming language. Java is the king of server-side programming languages. In the computing field, Java is used in the backend of well-known sites such as Google, YouTube, Twitter, and Amazon. Generally, it is used in mobile app development, desktop applications, cloud applications, Artificial Intelligence, IoT applications, etc.

Pros of JavaJava supports various kinds of features that are listed as follows.

• Easy to Learn: The Syntax of Java is easy to learn for computing enthusiasts. The code of Java is easy to write, debug, maintain and reuse.
• Platform Support: Java is a platform-independent language and thus Java can be executed on Windows, macOS, and Linux. You need to write the code once and you can run it on any machine that has Java Runtime Environment support.
• Robustness: Java provides strong memory management alongside handling the exceptions. Additionally, Java code provides a secure environment with its type checking functionality.
• OOP: Java is object-oriented programming that states that it depends on the data and objects rather than the traditional logic or functions. The dependency of Java on objects makes it convenient for complex and large programs.
• Mobile App Development: Java is the leading programming language in the mobile app development domain. A well-known IDE named Android studio is also based on Java.

Cons of JavaJava has some disadvantages which are described below:

• Performance: Java is an interpreted language and thus makes it slower in performance as compared to C and C+.
• Complex Code: Java code comprises numerous words and complex sentences which leads to poor readability. The verbose nature of Java codes is the primary reason for these complex sentences.
• Cost: Java consumes more memory and requires higher processing which requires better hardware to run a Java-based application.

Python

Python is an interpreted programming language used for software development, automation of tasks, data analysis, and data visualization. Its extensive features for data analysis and data visualization made it a leading programming language in Data Science. Python supports various libraries such as Tensor Flow for the calculation/analysis of complex statistical data.

Pros of PythonThe following list of features are the key factors in making Python a best programing language:

• Usability: Python is easy for a novel user to learn and use the language. The syntax of python is as simple as simple English. Consequently, Python code is easy to understand, write, and reuse.
• Community Support: Python is an open-source language and thus anyone can use its code. There is a python community that provides a continuous integration of libraries and adds to the effectiveness of python.
• Libraries: The built-in library support of Python comes with tens of libraries. Apart from this built-in support, the Python Package Manager (pip) adds an extended set of libraries.
• Portability: The python code can be executed on various platforms until the code is written in a system-dependent environment.
• Interpreted Language: The execution of the code is stopped instantly as soon as an error occurs. This instant reporting makes the debugging process much easier.
• Cons of PythonAlthough the Python language provides a long list of advantages. It has a few disadvantages as well that we are listing down here:
• Slow Execution speed: Python is an interpreted language, and it takes time to read a code line by line. Therefore, Python is not suitable where the execution time is the main priority.
• Memory Consumption: The number of data type support of Python makes it advantageous but at the same time it consumes more memory. Therefore, Python is not suitable for memory-oriented programs.
• Mobile App Development: Python is well known for its server and desktop development. However, it is not efficient for mobile app development because of its memory consumption.
• Runtime Errors: Python chooses a data type based on the value assigned to a variable. This dynamic behavior of Python leads to runtime errors as the same variable may be storing a different data type in the later part of the program.

HTML

HTML (an acronym of HyperText Markup Language) is known as the initial step toward the world of programming. Primarily, HTML is responsible to arrange the information on the website therefore it is also known as Markup Language. HTML stands alongside the well-known programming languages but its functionality is only limited to structuring and creating the text.

Pros of HTMLHTML stands in the leading list of programming languages because of the following notable features:

• Easy to Learn: The functionality of HTML depends on the tags defined in the language. The tags are easy to learn and implement for a novel user.
• Browser Friendly: HTML supports all the well-known browsers to get the output of the program written in HTML.
• Lightweight: HTML depends on lightweight tags and thus HTML requires only basic hardware to implement the code.
• Open-Source: HTML is an open-source language, and anyone can get access to the free of cost implementation of HTML code.

Cons of HTMLHTML serves as the best basic programming language. However, it has some drawbacks as well:

• Static: HTML is useful to develop static pages. In the current era, the dynamicity of web pages is the basic requirement that could not be served with HTML.
• Security: The HTML code of a webpage can be extracted easily which makes HTML unsecure.
• Lengthy Code: HTML is easy to learn because of the tags used in it. Each tag serves a single purpose, and a web page may require thousands of tags. Due to this, the length of code keeps on increasing and makes a bottleneck for reusability.

CSS

CSS (an acronym of Cascading Style Sheet) serves in conjunction with HTML. The CSS decides the arrangement of HTML elements to be displayed on the screen. The primary implementation of CSS is observed in the HTML document. However, it can be used in any XML-based document.

Pros of CSSCSS has numerous advantages such as coloring the text, font styling, alignment, and much more. Some of the notable features are listed below.

• One to many: The CSS functionality allows the use of various styles on multiple web pages simultaneously. Without using CSS, the tags like font, and color must be used on every page which makes code lengthy and tedious to implement.
• Smooth loading: The integration of CSS along all the tags makes the page load faster.
• Maintenance: The CSS is applied either internally, externally, or inline. These CSS implementations can be traced and maintained easily.
• Compatibility: The CSS is compatible with the older versions of XML-based languages which makes it favorable for all the web pages whether they are in older or newer versions.

Cons of CSSCSS is the key ingredient in designing an interactive webpage. It also has some disadvantages as well that are listed here:

• CSS levels: CSS offers multiple levels which makes it confusing for the new users.
• Browser Compatibility: The functionality of the CSS depends on the browser support. If the browser does not integrate CSS properly then you will not be able to get the result properly. It is recommended to make sure the CSS is supported by the browser.
• Security: Like HTML, the CSS code can also be extracted which makes it less secure.

PHP

PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is a well-known server-side programming language. It runs on the web hosting server and generates the HTML page for the visitor. PHP adds the dynamicity flavor to the web pages written in HTML. One of the well-known content management systems named WordPress is based on PHP. Additionally, PHP is widely used in eCommerce websites as it can handle database connections effectively.

Pros of PHPThe following list of features makes PHP a leading server-side scripting language:

• Cross-Platform Support: Operating systems such as Linux, Windows, macOS, and Solaris can execute PHP-based code.
• Database connection: In the website era, several websites require a safe and secure connection to the database. PHP has a built-in module to make a stable database connection.
• Ease of Use: The syntax of PHP is easy to use and implement as it is like the native language C. A novel user can easily become familiar with PHP. However, the user who knows C already would require less time to adapt PHP.
• Open-Source: PHP is open-source and free to use. You do not need to pay for any module or any extended functionality.

Cons of PHPPHP is well known for its extensive support on the server side. However, it has some disadvantages as well:

• Security: Open-source features of PHP are a bottleneck to the security of PHP as the code is openly available.
• Competitors: PHP is well known for its server-side benefits. However, various other languages such as Java are easy to learn and implement as compared to PHP.
• Debugging: PHP offers a smaller number of debugging options/tools as compared to other state-of-the-art languages.

Swift

Swift is a multi-purpose object-oriented programming language developed by Apple to replace their old language Objective-C. Swift programming language is developed on the grounds of various other languages such as C#, Ruby, Python, etc. Swift is intended to serve as a basic programming language for Apple’s products such as iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS. Therefore, Swift is marked at the top in the development of Apple-based products.

Pros of SwiftThe Swift is intended to serve as a fast, secure, and efficient programming language for the development of Apple products. Some of the notable features of Swift are provided below.

• Error Handling: Swift language handles the errors at runtime. The handling comprises throwing, catching, and propagating the errors.
• Package Manager: Swift package manager is used to build, run, test, and run swift libraries.
• Debugger: Swift programming language makes use of LLB debugger to debug and recover the failure.
• Memory Management: Swift handles the memory usage of applications through the Automatic Reference Counting which nullifies the purpose of manual memory management.
• Cross-Platform: Swift language was developed to develop Apple-based applications. However, it can be used on various operating systems i.e., Linux and Windows.

Cons of SwiftLike other languages, Swift does have some cons that are listed below:

• New Language: Swift is relatively new to the world of programming thus making it premature as compared to the robustness and the functionality of other programming languages.
• Updates: The frequent updates of the Swift programming language make it harder for a novel user to adopt the changes.
• Support for older versions: Swift programming language was introduced in 2014. The Apple products that were introduced before 2014 are not compatible with the apps developed in Swift language.

Kotlin

Kotlin is a general-purpose (used widely for software development) with type inference (automatic detection of the expression’s type) programming language. In 2019, Google has declared Kotlin as their recommended language for android developers. The recent releases of the well-known IDE android studio have replaced Kotlin as the Java compiler.

Pros of KotlinKotlin is well-known for its extended list of features that are provided here:

• Reliable: Kotlin has undergone the largest period of Alpha and Beta testing which assures its reliability. Moreover, Google’s support for Kotlin further stamped its reliability.
• Development Time: Kotlin program is short and has faster execution than Java. Therefore, it takes less time to develop an application in java as compared to Java.
• Integration with Java: Kotlin is somehow known as the extension to the Java language. The code written in Kotlin can easily be integrated with Java and vice versa. Moreover, a developer can write code in both languages simultaneously.
• Debugging support: The stability and consistency of Kotlin make it easier to catch the errors at compile time.
• IDE Support: Kotlin is compatible with well-known IDEs such as android studio, Atom, SublimeText, Vim, and much more. The developers can code in any of the IDEs they are comfortable with.

Cons of KotlinKotlin is relatively new as compared to other giants in the list of programming languages. There are a few drawbacks of using Kotlin that are listed below:

• Slower compilation speed: Kotlin and Java have conflicting compilation speeds. In a few situations such as clean builds, Java outperforms Kotlin whereas Kotlin has better compilation speed in incremental builds.
• Difficult to adopt: Java and Kotlin share some similarities as they are the best option to develop an android application. A developer needs to acquire knowledge from experts in the domain. Kotlin experts are hard to find and make it challenging for a Java developer to switch to Kotlin.

Go

In 2007, Google developed a programming language and named it Go (Golang). However, Go was introduced in the programming world after 2 years (2009). The functionality of Golang is inspired by the Python and C language. The purpose of the Golang is to provide fast compilation as compared to C and C++. The design of Golang is effective enough to minimize the runtime errors and increase memory safety.

As the Golang was introduced, its importance was recognized with the time, and the organizations such as Cloudflare, Google, Netflix, MongoDB, and Twitter started using the Go programming language.

Pros of GoGolang offers the following advantages.

• Easy to learn: The building block of Golang depends on C and Python which are user-friendly and easy to learn. One can have good hands on the Go if someone has a grip on C and Python.
• Speed: Golang provides better execution speed as compared to Java, C, and C++. Therefore, developers may prefer Go over Java if the execution speed is the focus.
• Scalable: Go supports functions such as Goroutines that are used to run programs simultaneously. Goroutines take low memory which enables multiple programs to run concurrently.

Cons of Go The Golang was introduced in 2009, but it still has some limitations that are listed below:

• Time Consuming: A programmer may need to write several lines for a simple program which can be done by writing fewer lines in Python.
• Immature: The Golang is relatively new in the programming world which leads to the lack of libraries and community support. Moreover, it also lacks framework support as compared to other languages.
• Memory: Although Golang does not need virtual machines, it requires binaries to overcome the deficiency. Due to these standalone libraries, a simple Go program takes more space compared to other languages.

Conclusion

Programming languages are marked as the key stakeholder in the continuous evolution of computing technology. Programming languages like Java, Kotlin, and Swift are well-known for their mobile app development whereas languages like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and PHP are the choices of a web developer. This detailed post has provided a list of the best programming languages to learn in 2022. Each programming language has some advantages and disadvantages. Therefore, it is hard to decide which language to start with. For a better understanding, we have also listed the pros and cons of each programming language to decide which language better suits you.

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