With time old programming languages become obsolete while new programming languages are launched, but they never gain traction. A common question amongst beginners (and coders alike) is the programming language they should invest learning in, that is in demand, stable outlook, and plenty of jobs.
The Levels of Programming
Well, programming and developer communities are evolving at a faster rate than ever before. Several new programming languages and frameworks are popping up, suited for different categories of developers (beginners, intermediate, and experts) and for different use cases (web application, mobile applications, game development, distributed system, etc).
If you’re considering upping your skills and shifting into this highly sought-after domain, then you should know the different types and levels of programming, and of course what are the best coding languages to learn. That’s what we cover here.
There exist several programming languages with their own specific purpose, with unique sets of keywords and syntaxes used to create instructions. Programming language vary in the level of abstraction and are classified into two categories:
- Low-level language
- High-level language
Low-Level Language
Low-level languages provide abstraction from the hardware and are represented in the binary form, i.e., 0 or 1 which are the machine instructions. Low-level languages are further classified as machine-level language and assembly level language.
| Parameters | Machine Level Language | Assembly Level Language |
| Hierarchy Level | At the lowest level in the hierarchy and has zero abstraction from the hardware. | Above the machine level language in the hierarchy and has a little abstraction from the hardware. |
| Learning Curve | Not human-readable | Easier to learn and maintain. |
| Written as | Written in binary – 0s and 1s. | Written in simple English and is easy to understand. |
| Generation | A first-generation programming language. | A second-generation programming language. |
| Requirement for Translator/Assembler | The machine code is executed directly so no translator is required. | It requires an assembler to convert assembly language to machine code. |
High-Level Language
High-level language allows us to write programs that are independent of the type of computer. The high-level languages are named as high-level because they are closer to human language and can be understood easily, however it requires attention to the logic of the problem. The language needs a compiler to translate a high-level language into a low-level language. Further, the high-level languages provide the following advantage:
- Easy to learn and maintain
- Portable, i.e., they are machine-independent
| Parameters | Low-Level Language | High-Level Language |
| Level of Understanding | Machine friendly; easily understood by computers. | User friendly; written in simple English. |
| Time of Execution | Takes time to execute. | Executes at a faster pace. |
| Tool Required | Requires the assembler to convert assembly code to machine code. | Requires the compiler to convert the high-level language to machine instructions. |
| Portability | NIt is not portable. | Portable. |
| Memory Efficiency | Memory efficient. | Not quite as memory efficient. |
| Debugging and Maintenance | Difficult | Easier |
Types of Programming
Before we move to popular coding languages, we should have a general understanding of the different types of programming languages. This is different from the levels of programming languages – programming language types refer to how the code is employed and designed, as opposed to where it sits on the machine-assembly-human hierarchy.
1. Procedural Programming Languages
The Procedural Programming Languages paradigm, derived from structured programming, specifies a series of well-structured procedures and steps to compose a program.
It provides a set of commands by segregating the program into variables, functions, statements & conditional operators. Some examples are Adobe Dreamweaver, Eclipse or Microsoft visual studio, BASIC, C, Java, PASCAL, and FORTRAN.
2. Functional Programming Languages
A functional programming language is a declarative programming paradigm where programs are constructed by applying and composing functions. The language emphasizes expressions and declarations primarily. The foundation of functional programming is lambda calculus which uses conditional expressions and recursion to perform the calculations. It does not support iteration like loop statements & conditional statements like if-else. Some of the most prominent functional programming languages are Haskell, SML, Scala, F#, ML, and Scheme.
3. Object-oriented programming Language
Object-oriented programming Languages are based on “objects” i.e. units that contain data in the form of fields and code in the form of procedures. OOP offers many features like abstraction, encapsulation, polymorphism, inheritance, and classes.
Encapsulation is the main principle as it ensures secure code. It also emphasizes code reusability with the concept of inheritance and polymorphism, allowing the enhancement of current implementations without too much alteration in the code. Most multi-paradigm languages are OOPs languages, such as Java, C++, C#, Python, Javascript, among many others.
4. Scripting Programming Languages
All scripting languages are programming languages that do not require a compilation step. Rather, they are interpreted (there is no compile stage). The instructions are written for a run time environment. The languages are majorly used in web applications, System administration, games applications, and multimedia. It is used to create plugins and extensions for existing applications.
Some popular scripting languages are Javascript, PHP, and PERL for server side scripting; Javascript, AJAX, Jquery; Shell for client side scripting, PERL, Python for system administration; and Ruby for web development.
5. Logic Programming
The programming paradigm is largely based on formal logic. The language does not tell the machine how to do something but employs restrictions on what it must consider doing. PROLOG, ASAP(Answer Set programming), and Datalog are well known logic programming languages, with the rules written in the form of classes.
Now that you know that, we can finally move onto the top programming languages in 2022. These will serve you well if you intend to find a career in software development as they make up the majority of job opportunities.
❓ What Programming Language should I Learn?
Each programming language is designed for a specific purpose and has its relative merits and demerits. Also, the answer to the most useful programming language to learn is subjective and depends on your familiarity with coding. Irrespective, the following 3 parameters are essential to narrow a language a choice.
- Job Opportunities in the chosen Language.
- The popularity of the chosen programming language should be on an uptick.
- Your Career / Life Goals.
Below, we have listed the 10 Most Useful Programming Languages you can learn right now. Sample Usage and Applications of each language are also listed to help you decide.
Below, we have listed the 10 Most Useful Programming Languages you can learn right now. Sample Usage and Applications of each language are also listed to help you decide.
1) Python
Created: Python language developed by Guido van Rossum. It was first released in 1991.
Python can be regarded as the future of programming languages. As per the latest statistics, Python is the main coding language for around 80% of developers. The presence of extensive libraries in Python facilitates artificial intelligence, data science, and machine learning processes. Currently, Python is trending and can be regarded as the king of programming languages. So learning this programming language in 2022 promises you success and growth.
It is one of the most lucrative languages that offers amazing features like:
Pros:
- It is one of the best programming language to learn which supports multiple systems and platforms
- Object-Oriented Programming (OOPs) driven.
- Helps to improve Programmer’s Productivity
- It is one of the best coding language to learn that allows you to scale even the most complex applications with ease
- Extensive libraries and frameworks that support a plethora of applications.
- GUI support.
- Incorporated the variants of Java and C like CPython, Jython, etc.
- Companies working on Python: Intel, Facebook, Spotify, Netflix, etc.
Cons:
- Not ideal for Mobile Computing
- Python’s database access layer is bit underdeveloped and primitive.
- Slower by virtue of being an interpreted programming language
- Threading isn’t good because of GIL (Global Interpreter Lock)
Usage/Application: Web and Internet Development, Scientific and Numeric applications, Desktop GUIs, Business applications. It is widely used in AI and Machine Learning space.
Salary: An average salary for any Python developer in United State is $114,383 per year.
Learning Difficulty: Easy to learn. One of the best programming languages for beginners.
Reason Selected: Machine Learning, AI, and Data Science are emerging fields and Python is a staple programming language in such software programs.
2) Java
Created: James Gosling primarily designed Java at Sun Microsystems in the year 1996
Java is one of the most powerful programming languages that is currently used in more than 3 billion devices. Java is currently one of the most trending technology. It is used in desktop applications, mobile applications, web development, Artificial intelligence, cloud applications, and many more. So learning and acing in this technology offers insanely high salaries, amazing growth opportunities, and global recognition. Some of the prominent features of Java are:
Pro.
- Platform independence and Object-oriented programming
- Enhanced productivity, performance, and security
- Automatic memory allocation and garbage collection
- It is the most secure language. Highly secure due to the exclusion of explicit pointer and inclusion of a security manager responsible for defining the access of classes
- A high degree of platform independence thanks to the JVM feature
- Java offers APIs for different activities like Database connection, networking, XML parsing, utilities, etc.
- Powerful open source Rapid Development tools
- Ideal for distributed computing
- Supports multithreading
- It is one of the best programming language to learn that has large number of open source libraries
- Companies working on Java are Amazon, Adobe, Flipkart, Instagram, etc.
Cons.
- Memory management in Java is quite expensive
- The absence of templates can limit you to create high-quality data structures.
- Slower than natively compiled programming languages, like C and C++
Usage/Application: Java mostly used for developing Android apps, web apps, and Big data.
Salary: An average salary for any Java developer in United State is $101,013 per year.
Learning difficulty: Learning Java is simple and easy. Easy to moderate.
Reason Selected: Java has wide and growing adoption. There is and will never be a shortage of jobs requiring Java Skills.
3) R
Created: R was designed by Robert Gentleman and Ross Ihaka at the University of Auckland. This project was conceived in 1992, but it’s initial version released in 1995 and a stable beta version in 2000.
R is a programming language for statistical and graphical programming. It is widely used among statisticians and data miners for data analysis. It holds profound importance in data analysis, financial domains, and telecom sectors.
There is a huge shortage of people with expertise in R so learning this language can be a bright career choice.
Pros:
- R is one of the best programming languages to learn which is a comprehensive statistical analysis language that encourages you to develop new ideas
- As a statistical language which is considered to be very easy to code
- R is open-source software. Therefore, anyone can use and change it
- R is good for GNU/Linux and Microsoft Windows.
- R is one of the most useful programming languages which is cross-platform that means it can seamlessly run on different operating systems.
- It has extended libraries for interactive graphics.
- Objected oriented programming language.
- Highly extensible
- The top companies using R are Flipkart, Amazon, Google, LinkedIn.
Cons:
- In R, quality of some packages is not up to the mark
- R does not have the best memory management. Therefore, it may consume all available memory. Poor memory management
- Lacks security features
- No strict programming guidelines
Usage/Application: Data Science projects, Statistical computing, Machine learning
Salary: An average wage for any R developer ranges from approximately $90,042 to $136,616 per year
Learning Difficulty: Hard
Reason Selected: Data Sciences is a booming field and R is primarily used for Data Analysis.
4) Javascript
Created: JavaScript was earlier called LiveScript when it first shipped in with Netscape Navigator 2.0 in September 1995. Later, it was renamed as a JavaScript.
JavaScript is one of the world’s most popular programming languages on the web. As per the survey, more than 97 percent of the websites use JavaScript on the client-side of the webpage.
As per the latest statistics, 72% of companies are looking for JavaScript developers. Hence learning JavaScript can be the most amazing decision that you can make in 2022 to fuel your career.
Pros:
- Client-side JavaScript is very fast as it can be run quickly in the client-side browser
- JavaScript is one of the best coding language to learn which is relatively simple to learn.
- It is one of the best programming language to learn which can work smoothly with other languages and can be used in a huge variety of applications.
- Grease monkey support to write snippets of JavaScript which can execute on specific web pages
- It has a well-organized codebase that provides enhanced productivity and readability.
- Platform independence and greater control of the browser.
- Provide user input validation features.
- Makes a website’s interface richer
- Acts as the “programming language of the web”
- Reduced website server demand by virtue of being client-side
- Regular updates via the ECMA specification
- Plenty of resources and excellent community support
- The top companies using JavaScript are Microsoft, Uber, PayPal, Google, Walmart, etc.
Cons:
- JavaScript only allows single inheritance, so multiple inheritances are not possible
- No copy or equal method is available in JavaScript.
- JavaScript interpreted differently by different browsers.
- As the code executes on the user machine, many people choose to disable JavaScript due to the fear of being exploited for a malicious intent
Usage/ Applications: JavaScript usage include web/mobile app development, game development, and desktop app development.
Salary: An average wage for Javascript developer in the United States is around $110,981 per year
Learning Difficulty: Easy
Reason Selected: With NodeJS JavaScript now supports Server-Side Scripting as well. JavaScript is an indispensable language there will always be a need for JS skills.
5) Swift
Created: Swift was developed by Apple in July 2010 so that iOS developers do not need to work with Objective-C.
It is a robust programming language developed by Apple Inc. It is used to create apps for iOS, watchOS, macOS, and many more. It can be seen as the future of high-performance and secured applications. So sooner it will reach the top level of programming languages.
It offers some amazing features like:
Pros:
- The Swift program codes are near to natural English, so it is easy to read
- It is one of the most useful programming languages which has easy to add new features which makes swift high- level language
- It is one of the best coding language to learn that does not have long code line.
- Automatic Memory Management feature prevents the memory leaks.
- Speeds development process.
- Enhanced performance.
- Supports dynamic libraries.
- Very fast as compared to other popular programming languages, such as Objective-C and Python
- Companies working on Swift are Apple, Instagram, Uber, Slack.
Cons:
- With the continues updating of swift versions of Apple, Swift is somewhat unstable
- As it is a new programming language the pool of Swift developers is very limited
- Limited community support and resources
- No support for legacy projects; can be used only for iOS7 or later apps
Usage applications:
Swift is specially designed language which works with Apple’s Cocoa and Cocoa Touch frameworks to create all types of iOS apps.
Salary: An average salary for iOS developer in the United States is around $130,801 per year
Learning difficulty: Easy
Reason Selected: Apple! Should we say more?
6) C++
Created:
C++ is a programming language that was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup in 1983.
C is a general-purpose programming language that is designed to work efficiently on games, graphics, and enterprise applications. It is highly in demand despite the emergence of new programming languages. C provides the opportunities of building a successful career.
It offers amazing features like:
Pros:
- It is a popular language, and thus, there are many compilers and libraries
- Other programming languages like C, C#, and Java have very similar syntax to C++, make it easy to learn for everyone who knows C++.
- It is one of the popular coding languages which has no garbage collector running in the background.
- Presence of inbuilt functions and operators.
- It is extendable.
- Enhanced speed and efficiency.
- The top companies using C are GitHub, Telegram messenger, MasterCard, etc.
Cons
- The syntax is complex, and the standard library is small, making this language very difficult to learn for the beginner programmer.
- C++ program can’t support garbage collection or Dynamic Memory Allocation
- The object orientation system in C++ is unnecessarily basic compared to other languages.
Usage applications: C++ is widely used in Game Development, Advance Computations, and Graphics Compilers
Salary:
The average salary of C++ developers in the United States is $113,865 per year.
Learning Difficulty: Hard
Reason Selected: C++ is robust language and is widely used in diverse fields. Will never go out of fashion
7) C#
Year Created:
C# is a computer programming language. It’s the first version released in 2001.
C# is a programming language that runs on the .NET framework and is developed by Microsoft in 2000. It is effective in making desktop applications and games. As per the survey, 34% of the top mobile games are made using C#. It is a well-designed language and is highly in demand globally. So mastering C# is an amazing career option that you can make in 2022.
Pros:
- C# uses almost similar syntax which follows by C so it easy to understand for those who know C language
- It is one of the best coding language to learn that has Easy Integration with Windows
- Fully integrated with the .NET library which provides access to a repository of functionality and support.
- Safer than its namesakes (C/++) as pointer types are not permitted
- Ability to work with shared codebases
- Automatic scalable and updateable
- Component-oriented, object-oriented programming language
- Ideal for all types of Windows development
- Rich sets of library functions and data types
- Supports type safety
- Quick compilation and execution times
- Top companies working on C# are Microsoft, Stack Overflow, Accenture, Alibaba Travels.
Cons:
- It allows pointers in ‘unsafe’ blocks
- Almost all variables are references and memory deallocation is implicit using a garbage collector
- Offers less flexibility than C++
- Requires decent effort and time to learn
- Resolving errors requires serious expertise and knowledge
Usage applications: Widely used in Enterprise Cross-Applications Development, Web Applications
Salary:
The average salary for “C# developer” ranges from $66,493 per year to $101,775 per year
Learning Difficulty: Hard
Reason Selected: Widely used in Enterprise software and the skill is in demand.
8) PHP
Year Created:
Rasmus Lerdorf created PHP in 1994
PHP is one of the general-purpose scripting languages that will continue to hold its importance in the upcoming years. It is among the first server-side language that can be embedded with HTML to add functionality to web pages. Due to the increasing online trend, PHP developers are in high demand. Some of the astonishing features are:
Pros:
- Running with PHP is simple
- Functional and Object-Oriented Programming
- It is one of the top programming languages that has Large Open Source Software Community
- It is one of the best coding languages which has reasonably good system of automation tools available for testing and deploying
- It is an open source programming language
- Faster than other scripting languages
- Highly secure to prevent threats and attacks.
- Amazing websites like Facebook, Yahoo, and Wikipedia run on PHP.
Cons:
- Error handling facility is poor as PHP lacks debugging tool
- Developing a website with PHP Web Development is slower than other programming languages.
- Requires extensions to a greater extent
Usage applications: Web Applications, Content Management Systems, eCommerce Applications
Salary:
The average salary for a PHP Developer in the US is $84,727 per year
Learning Difficulty: Easy
Reason Selected: Most popular scripting language. WordPress, Facebook all created using PHP. Never a shortage of PHP jobs.
9) SQL
Created: SQL was developed at IBM by Donald D. Chamberlin and Raymond F. Boyce. This language was made available publicly in 1979.
Pros:
- Powerful query language
- Optimised for large numbers of table rows
- Fast for searching and querying of data
- High availability and consistency of data
- Fast for retrieving data from multiple tables
Cons:
- Difficult to convert data from Objects into database tables
- It can only run on the single server, so increasing speed means upgrading hardware.
- As SQL databases run on a single server so in case if the server stop working, then the database shouldn’t be accessed
Usage applications: Used in Any Database
Salary: The average salary earned by SQL Developer is $84,792 per year in the United States
Learning Difficulty: Easy
Reason Selected: You need to know database and SQL irrespective of what profile/language chose as a software developer.
10) Go
Created: Go language which is also known as golang is developed at Google in 2009 by Robert Griesemer, Ken Thompson, and Rob Pike.
Go is one of the most reliable and efficient programming languages that stands out from the rest. It was originally designed at Google in 2007 to manage its rapidly growing infrastructure. It quickly gained amazing popularity and has become one of the top programming languages. Go is the future of programming language so you can surely think about learning this in 2022.
Some of the amazing features of Go are:
Pros:
- Go is a really fast language as it is compiled to machine code
- Its syntax is small compared to other languages, and it’s easy to learn. Cleaner syntax makes it easier to learn.
- It is one of the best programming languages to learn which offers standard library to provide handy built-in functions for working with primitive types
- Go makes concurrent programming easy.
- Supports automation processes.
- It facilitates AI and data science processes.
- Being a statically-typed language makes it more secure
- Comprehensive standard library offering a range of inbuilt functions for working with primitive types
- Ideal for building SPAs (single-page applications)
- Companies working on Go are Google, BBC, Medium, Uber.
Cons:
- Poor Library Support. Underprivileged library support
- Interfaces Are Implicit
- Fractured Dependency Management
- Absence of a virtual machine makes complex programs less efficient
- No GUI library
Usage applications: Console utilities, GUI applications, and web applications
Salary:
The average salary earned by GO Developer is $94,082 per year in the United States
Learning Difficulty: Difficult
Reason Selected: Upcoming language from Google.
11) Ruby
If you want to start with a language that is known for being relatively simple to learn, consider Ruby. Developed in the 1990s, it was designed to have a more human-friendly syntax while still being flexible from the standpoint of its object-oriented architecture that supports procedural and functional programming notation. A web-application framework that is implemented in Ruby is Ruby on Rails (“RoR”). Ruby developers tout it for being an easy language to write in and also for the relatively short learning time required. These attributes have led to a large community of Ruby developers and a growing interest in the language among beginning developers. The average salary for a Ruby developer is nearly $90,000 per year.
| Level: | Beginner – Ruby and Ruby on Rails have evolved to become extremely popular for web developers. |
| Skills Needed: | Problem-solving, abstract thinking (ability to visualize what application users want to see) |
| Platform: | Web |
| Popularity Among Programmers: | On the rise |
| Benefits: | Flexible The syntax is considered easy to read and to write (no specialized “vocabulary” to get started) Enforces good programming style |
| Degree of Use: | Least broadly used |
| Annual Salary Projection: | $90,000 |
12) Matlab
Matlab is a proprietary programming language owned by MathWorks and originally released in the mid-1980s. It is built specifically for use by scientists and engineers.
Programmers use Matlab to build machine learning and deep learning applications. Matlab-based programs enable users to analyze data, create algorithms, process images, and verify research.
Generally, Matlab is easier to learn than other programming languages on our list. MathWorks’ website has an extensive section dedicated to answering questions about Matlab.
The average Matlab developer takes home an average salary of $101,000 each year.
| Level: | Beginner |
| Skills Needed: | Basic knowledge of programming is recommended, but not required |
| Platform: | Mostly desktop |
| Popularity Among Programmers: | Not as popular as Python (its closest rival), but its popularity is increasing for hardware engineering and running visualizations |
| Benefits: | Can be used to easily run and test algorithms. Easily debugged Enables extensive data analysis and visualizations Relatively simple to learn |
| Downsides: | As an interpreted (vs. compiled) language, it’s relatively slow; installation files take a significant amount of space on the computer |
| Degree of Use: | Not used extensively, outside of the science and research domains |
| Annual Salary Projection: | $101,000 |
FAQ
❓ What is a Programming Language?
DA programming language is a language that is used to develop computer programs. The programs developed can range from operating systems; data based applications through to networking solutions.
🚀 Which are the Best Programming Language to Learn?
Below are some of the Best Programming Language to Learn:
- Python
- Java
- R
- Javascript
- Swift
- C++
- C#
- PHP
- GO
Based on job demand, Python is the top language, followed by Java, JavaScript, C++, C# and C, says CodingNomads. A report released on Tuesday by programming course site CodingNomads looks at the “best” programming languages for 2022.
If you’re excited by the data and logic side of coding, you may wish to learn Python, Java, C, C++ or C#. If you’re jazzed about visual design and user interfaces, TypeScript might be up your alley. And if you’re looking to develop mobile apps, you’d want to check out Java for Android, and Swift or Objective-C for Apple’s iOS.
Aside from satisfying your own professional interests, you naturally want to select a language that’s in demand among employers and promises a good salary. In this regard, CodingNomads examined the most popular languages based on job postings and on salary.
Looking at the greatest number of job postings on LinkedIn across the U.S. and Europe, CodingNomads awarded the top spot to Python. In second place was Java, with JavaScript, C++, C#, C, TypeScript, PHP, Perl and Ruby rounding out the top 10.
Analyzing the average salaries of the most in-demand languages according to data from Indeed and Glassdoor, CodingNomads put Ruby in first place with an average salary in the U.S. of $111,994. C++ came in second with a salary of $103,818. The other languages and their salaries were Python at $103,540, JavaScript/TypeScript at $100,492, Java at $96,786, C# at $89,203, PHP at $85,435, Perl at $83,159 and C at $82,924.
TypeScript was not listed separately because it had limited salary data. But CodingNomads deemed its salary similar to that for JavaScript jobs. Also, these figures are considered average salaries and not what beginning programmers would earn. But successful coders can expect to meet or beat these salaries within a couple of years, according to the report.