In my previous post, I discussed the importance of apps in our lives, how they are made, and why should you learn to make them. I mentioned that the apps are made up using various kinds of Programming Languages, and in this post, I will show you the key differences between some of the most popular Programming Languages, which will help you compare between different languages you would want to start learning for initiating your career in the cyber world.
Let's get started!
Python
Python is an interpreted, high-level language, and was first released in 1991 as Python 0.9.0, and Python 3.9 is currently the latest stable version of the language available. Python is the most developer-friendly programming language because of its easy-to-read syntax and a comprehensive set of built-in utilities. This much-loved design of the language is based on the Zen of Python which is a collection of 19 principles for writing computer programs. According to the StackOverflow Developer survey 2020, Python is the second most popular programming language after JavaScript*. Python promotes open-source philosophy and there are many large python projects on GitHub which increase the functionality of this language and made this language usable in many different environments and for different kinds of applications. Such projects are called Libraries. You can use these libraries for building Websites, Android apps, iOS apps, Games, Desktop apps, and even Artificial Intelligence systems, using Python! Python, due to its ease in coding, is preferred to use in complicated situations like Artificial Intelligence to make things a bit easier.
JavaScript
Okay so now as we have started talking about it, let's complete the discussion about JavaScript. According to the annually conducted StackOverflow Developer surveys, JavaScript has secured the top position in the list of "Most Popular Programming Languages" since 2013, and before that, the surveys (related to this category) were not even conducted. So, since the surveys have been conducted, JavaScript has been at the top and never given up that place. This language was initially built to run only on Web Browsers which were fitted with JavaScript engines, but due to recent advancements in technology and the creation of Node.js, it is now capable of running almost everywhere and can be used for almost everything, and that gives us a reason to why is it so popular. Plus, JavaScript has a huge amount of libraries like Python which provide a variety of tools for a programmer and ease development in many scenarios.
Java
Yes, you read it right. It's Java. Often confused with JavaScript, these two languages are entirely different in almost all aspects. Java was first released by Sun Microsystems (later acquired by Oracle) in the year 1995. Sun released Java's source code publicly under the GNU GPL License but after being bought by Oracle, was split into two versions, the Java SE and OpenJDK, where Java SE requires you to purchase a license for commercial use but OpenJDK doesn't. Java is also very versatile and can be used in multiple applications. Most Android apps were made in Java and a large number of desktop apps too. Java can also be used to develop websites by the use of libraries like Spring boot and JSP. It could also be used to develop iOS apps, but this feature is not actively supported and you should use any other language for this purpose. As per the StackOverflow surveys, Java is currently the third most popular language after JavaScript and Python.
Kotlin
Kotlin is developed by JetBrains and is based on the Java Virtual Machine. This language provides an easier syntax than Java but can be anywhere where Java can. Kotlin is open source and boasts its concise syntax and Java compatibility. Google too is promoting the usage of Kotlin for developing Android apps and it has been gaining a large and active community worldwide. Unlike Java, Kotlin is well supported for developing iOS apps and is used many many developers. As it can use Java libraries without any issues, it can do whatever Java can but even more!
C
C is often referred to as the mother of all programming languages because it is one of the most popular programming languages and various other languages are written in C or its successors and many other languages follow a syntax resembling C's. Most of the compilers and kernels are written in C today.
" Every language uses C language in variable capacity. For example, Python uses C for creating standard libraries, whereas the syntaxes and control structures of languages like C++, PHP, and Perl are based on C. "
- IIT Kanpur (https://ict.iitk.ac.in/c-the-mother-of-all-languages/)
The same article also mentions that C is portable, and you can use the same source code with slight modifications to run on many other platforms. C also provides much better performance, for example, if you run a Python and a C program that do the same thing, C would finish the task in a lesser time than Python and is much preferred in applications with time sensitivity, like autopilot for cars. This is a reason why companies like Tesla are hiring C/C++ programmers for building AI instead of Python devs.
C++
It seems that the position of the C language has been affected because of the growing popularity of programming languages like Java and C++. The major reason behind this is that all the syntaxes and features of the C language have been inherited by C++. The only difference between the two is that C++ has implemented an advanced programming paradigm that is popularly known as Object-Oriented Programming (OOP). Due to this new programming paradigm, it is sometimes called "C with classes" because classes are the main components of Object-Oriented programming. OOP is considered to be an important property of any programming language and it is a reason why C++ is more widely used in newer applications instead of C. C++ is also widely preferred for creating games and some of the most popular games like GTA, Cyberpunk, Fortnite, etc are made using C++.
Swift
Swift is another general-purpose programming language that is developed and maintained by Apple Inc. and the open-source community and was first released in 2014. Swift was developed as a replacement for Apple's earlier programming language Objective-C, as Objective-C had been largely unchanged since the early 1980s and lacked modern language features. Since then, Swift has been considered the primary software development language for developing apps for iOS and other Apple operating systems. Swift is a mixture of popular components from Objective-C and has a syntax that is quite similar to Python. This has led to a sharp increase in the popularity of the language as it surpassed Objective-C in early 2018, within just 4 years. Its easy syntax is another feature why it is also a preferred language to be taught to beginners.
Dart
Dart is a cross-platform language developed by Google in 2011 but it came into the limelight during the introduction of Flutter which is also made by Google. It has been widely preferred for developing Android and iOS apps and also has the ability to be converted to JavaScript and use for websites. It also has a feature named Hot reload using which, a developer can easily update a running application and save time. Developing in Dart reduces compile-time, and as the same code can be used for multiple devices, you don't need to type much code which further reduces development time. It is mostly preferred for building user interfaces only because it has the ability to render animations constantly at 120 frames per second.
PHP
Our list is always incomplete without the king of the web - PHP! PHP originally stood for Personal Home Page, but it now stands for Hypertext Preprocessor. Although this language is slowly losing popularity, a large percentage of the web relies on it including the largest social media platform Facebook. According to researches, PHP is used by 79.2% of all the websites whose server-side programming language was known. PHP code is usually processed on a web server by a PHP interpreter, but can also be used to develop graphical applications and more. PHP has been widely ported and can be deployed on most web servers on almost every operating system and platform.
Summary
Here's a small table that compares the languages listed above based on various aspects like ease of learning and compatible platforms:
Conclusion
From the above table, we can infer that JavaScript has a lot of advantages as it can be used for developing apps targeting almost all platforms and has good performance and community support. Other languages too are good at their own purposes and can beat JavaScript in their professional fields, but if you have a good knowledge of JavaScript, then you can develop almost everything you want and it is an all-rounder technology.
So, I would be starting a JavaScript course on this blog which would teach you how you can create Websites, Android apps, iOS apps, and Desktop apps too. We would also be learning about how we can deploy our apps and many super cool features of this language, and later, even about other languages which can help you develop a good future for yourself, as well for the world.
If you want to learn about JavaScript and programming, stay tuned with this blog as I would be posting content that can help you master it, and soon you will be able to create some cool masterpieces. Keep learning and keep exploring. Feel free to post your questions in the comments section.
If you want to know more about me or my work, you can check out my website www.nalinangrish.me. See ya next time!
Information Sources
- Wikipedia articles [https://en.wikipedia.org].
- Stackoverflow developer surveys [https://insights.stackoverflow.com/survey/].
- Languages' official websites.
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