Each year, more programming languages are created to fulfill the demands of developers and companies. For beginners, it can be a headache to determine which programming language to learn. Today, we’ll break down the different languages so that you can better decide which one you want to learn in 2020.
Today, we will cover the following:
- What is a programming language?
- Introducting Python
- Introducing JavaScript
- Introducing Java
- Introducing C++
- Introducing Swift
- Wrapping up and Resources
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What is a programming language?
A programming language is a language that instructs computers to perform its tasks. It is ultimately used to build software applications, scripts, and any other set of instructions needed to make a computer run. Although many programming languages share many similarities, each has its own syntax: the set of rules for grammar and spelling for a programming language. If you do not follow the proper rules and grammar for a programming language’s syntax, you will receive a syntax error, causing your program to fail.
Today, we will talk about five popular programming languages: Python, JavaScript, Java, C++, and Swift. We will also mention a few other popular programming languages that you should consider. Before we dive in, it’s important to take the time to cover some important concepts.
Interpreted vs Compiled
An interpreted programming language is a programming language where there is an interpreter that runs through the program source code line by line, executing each command. A compiled programming language requires an extra build step, in which the compiler converts the entire source code into machine-readable code before executing the program.
Object-oriented programming
Object-oriented programming is a model of programming that focuses on designing software around objects. An object can be defined as a data field that has unique behavior and attributes.
High-level vs Low-level
The distinction between high-level and low-level is the level of abstraction of the two languages. A low-level language has a lower level of abstraction, whereas a high-level language has a high level of abstraction.
High-level programming languages are languages that are “human-readable” in that they are similar to human language in terms of syntax. Generally, high-level programming languages are easier to learn for a beginner.
Low-level programming languages are “machine-readable” in that they give you more control over the implementation details and can be more difficult to learn because the syntax is less abstracted.
Python
Python is an interpreted, object-oriented, high-level, scripting language created by Guido van Rossum. In the past few years, Python has skyrocketed in popularity because of its applicability in machine learning, data science, and web development, which we’ll dive more into.
Advantages
Extensive libraries: Python provides a large collection of standard libraries to use, which include string operations, Internet, web service tools, operating system interfaces, and more. This offers a lot of functionality to the Python programming language, which explains why it’s so diverse in how it’s used in development.
Python can be extended to other programming languages, meaning that you can write some of your code in other languages like C++ or C.
Increased productivity: Python offers a lot of simplicity in its syntax, meaning that you have to write less code, allowing you to be more productive in the development process compared to languages like Java and C++.
Easy to learn: Python is an easy language to learn because the syntax is very similar to pseudo-code. It’s a high-level programming language, meaning that you don’t have to worry about low-level implementation details like memory control that may be difficult for beginners to learn.
Limitations
Speed: Because Python is interpreted, it often results in slower compilation and execution time. However, this isn’t a problem unless high speed is the focal point of a project.
Mobile computing: Even though Python is used heavily in desktop and server applications, it is a weak language to se for mobile computing.
Design restrictions: Python is a dynamically typed language meaning that you don’t have to declare the type of a variable when writing the code. Because of the lack of type checking, this can result in run-time errors.
Who uses it?
Python is used by major companies likes Google, Pinterest, Instagram, Youtube, DropBox, NASA, and Amazon.
Web development: For one, Python is used in web development, particularly for back-end development, using frameworks like Django, Flask, Pyramid, and more.
Internet of Things: Python also is used in hardware for programming logic. It’s used in technologies such as Raspberry Pi, MicroPython, and more.
Machine Learning: One of the most popular uses for Python is machine learning because of how efficient Python syntax is and its low entry point. Some popular Python ML technologies that you can look into are TensorFlow, nilearn, NumPy, Pandas, and Scikit-learn.
Data science: Python is also incredibly popular for data science because it offers a large collection of libraries dealing with data. A large reason why Python is used so extensively in machine learning and data science is because of its ease of use and simple syntax.
JavaScript
JavaScript is an interpreted, object-oriented, high-level programming language created by Brendan Eich. Unlike languages like Java, JavaScript is not class-based. JavaScript is one of the most popular programming languages in the world because of how predominantly it is used in web development to build dynamic web pages.
Advantages
Simplicity: JavaScript’s syntax is relatively easy to understand and learn compared to other popular languages like C++, which require more low-level implementation and control.
Speed: JavaScript is an incredibly fast programming language because it can be run in the client-side browser. This is true as long as it doesn’t necessitate outside resources.
Rich libraries: JavaScript offers many technologies like frameworks, libraries, and more to greatly expand its tool-set to build powerful web applications. Some notable JavaScript technologies are React, Angular, Node.JS, and more.
Constant updates: ECMA International has been dedicated to updating JavaScript annually. This means constant improvements and added functionality to the language that makes it constantly evolve and become more powerful.
Limitations
OOP Limitation: While some programmers may be used to class-based Object-oriented programming. JavaScript does not offer this, which can be a significant downside to some developers.
Client-side security: Because JavaScript is executed on the client-side, bugs and other potential vulnerabilities can be taken advantage of for malicious purposes. Because of this, some disable JavaScript from their browser entirely.
Browser support: Sometimes, different browsers can interpret the front-end JavaScript code differently. However, this isn’t a large problem nowadays because many developers test their JavaScript in all the major browsers.
Who uses it?
JavaScript is used by essentially every major company to build out the web application, in all kinds of sectors: information technology, engineering, design, marketing, finance, and healthcare.
Typically, JavaScript is used to build web applications along with HTML and CSS. Specifically, there are JavaScript technologies for front-end website development and also back-end development. If you want to become a web developer, this is the language to learn.
Hello World application
JavaScript’s syntax is not as simple as Python, and some developers say that it can be rather verbose. Regardless, JavaScript is still somewhat easy to learn, and it’s sure to open up doors for you in tech.
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