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This article defines what a language of programming is and lists some of the top-demanding programming languages.
What is a Programming Language?
Software developers communicate their objectives with computers using programming languages. These professionals can use a variety of languages to create applications, scripts, and queries.
The syntax and rules of programming languages are unique. Others are more widely used and work only within certain applications.
Some programming languages have their syntax, rules, and structure. After learning the language's technical specs, a programmer can use a text editor to write code and then compile or interpret it.
Learn the 5 Best Programming Languages
Employers are in demand for a wide range of programming languages. You may qualify for higher salaries by learning one of these languages.
Consider learning these five languages:
1. Java
Java is used to create web applications or APIs for general services. Frameworks like Spring and Dropwizard make it possible.
Java and JavaScript share a name, but the two languages are very different. JavaScript is not strongly typed, which can make learning it more difficult. The complexity of Java is worth it for the performance gains, especially when you can multi-thread or divide work into smaller, parallel tasks.
JavaScript uses only one thread.
Java's performance-complexity balance makes it a good choice for backends of web applications, especially when data manipulation and math are required.
Professionals use Java to develop Android applications, which is ideal for those who want to build mobile apps.
Java is run by the Java Virtual Machine, allowing it to work on multiple platforms. Although Java was the original language that ran on the JVM, many other languages are available such as Scala and Kotlin.
The languages are all compatible and allow Java developers to use libraries written in these other languages.
Learning Java has many benefits
Java's platform independence is one of the biggest benefits for IT professionals. Java programs can be run on all platforms that support Java.
You can also benefit from this language by learning it.
- Java is object-oriented, so beginners will find it simpler to learn than other programming languages.
- Java can create a file format that is architecture neutral, which means different processors can run Java files as long as they are running a Java Runtime System.
- Java has a security feature that users can activate in order to develop certain programs that are free of viruses.
- Java can use Just-in-Time compilers for high-performance applications.
- Java is designed to adapt dynamically to changing digital environments. Users can consult large amounts of information at run time when verifying and resolving access to objects.
2. C/C++
C is considered a low-level language. This means that it's easier to program in C if you know the hardware underneath.
This makes learning other languages easier, but it also reduces performance. It may not make a difference in a social networking app but is vital for other applications like games, special effects software, and portions of Microsoft Windows, Linux, or even operating systems.
This is also important at the opposite end of computing. Computers in cars, for example, have limited computing power. They need to make the best use of that.
C++ was derived from C in order to simplify programming. It is still regarded as a "low-level" language. C++ is a subset of C, so professionals can easily translate C code into C++.
C++, on the other hand, is more suited to applications, whereas C++ can be used in embedded systems and key parts of an application. C++ and C have remained relevant and useful over the years, while high-level programming languages are no longer used on hardware.
C++ is used by computer programmers, coders, and other professionals to create a variety of products.
- Computer games
- Browsers
- Databases
- Flight software for aircraft
- Film and TV special effects programs
- Medical Technology
- Equipment and Software for Research
- Virtual reality and augmented reality devices
3. JavaScript
In recent years, website interactivity and complexity have increased dramatically. JavaScript is the engine behind the user interfaces of existing technologies.
HTML and CSS form the basis for these systems. JavaScript programming has been made easier by industry-standard tools like the beginner-friendly VueJS or more advanced ReactJS, formerly AngularJS.
Web developers and front-end engineers who have a keen eye for design or a sense of user experience are likely to thrive.
JavaScript allows developers to build backends for web apps, mobile applications, or as an API that integrates with other companies and services. It also broadens the career opportunities for those looking to be more flexible in their organization. They can use a single programming language and become full-stack developers.
JavaScript: Key Features
JavaScript is a powerful tool for creating client-side interfaces. The language is object-oriented and independent of the platform.
Also, it's useful in detecting the user's operating system and browser. JavaScript has also become popular due to its ability to handle dates and times. The language is easy to learn and gives developers lots of flexibility.
Java vs. JavaScript
What are the main differences between JavaScript and Java?
Translation
JavaScript and Java are different in how they convert code to make it readable by computers and humans. Java is a compilable language.
This means that it translates messages typed by humans directly into machine-readable code. It scans for syntax errors and alerts developers of any mistakes. This program converts data into Java Virtual Machine-readable bytecode and optimizes the code.
JavaScript, also known as interpretive JavaScript, is a language that uses a different program to translate instructions into code.
Detecting errors or scaling large projects is difficult because the program interprets code in real-time.
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Type
JavaScript, on the other hand, is dynamically typed. In a strongly typed language, every variable must be declared with a data type indicating the possible values.
Coders can develop better coding habits by using strongly typed languages. They must find all errors before executing the code.
A dynamically-typed language allows the interpreter to assign variable types based on their values at runtime, making creating objects with more natural structures much easier.
The code can be configured to fit the environment. Developers can work more quickly than with a strongly-typed language. You should review your dynamically-typed code frequently and thoroughly to ensure that values and variables are aligned correctly.
Use
JavaScript and Java are different and can be used in various situations. Companies and developers use Java to build applications and backend systems.
This is a great choice when creating desktop programs. Many organizations also use Java to develop their browser- and virtual-machine-based programs.
JavaScript has become the most popular option for adding interactive elements to a website or creating HTML animations.
JavaScript can create interactive elements such as fillable forms. It is particularly useful for forms because the program validates user input to improve data storage and quality.
Benefits
JavaScript and Java are functional languages for different reasons. It is useful to compare the advantages of Java and JavaScript.
Java has many benefits.
- Java is multi-threaded: It can perform multiple tasks at once.
- Secure: Java can help identify and fix syntax mistakes to prevent operational failures. Java is also virus-resistant and robust. This makes it an ideal language for programming.
- Dynamic: Java's dynamic nature makes it an excellent choice for many projects that require scalability.
Read More: Why Java is the Most Popular Programming Language
4. Python
Python is an easy-to-read and written coding language. The versatility of Python makes it a powerful tool that can be used for projects from video games to web applications.
In recent years, its popularity has grown in fields such as data science and machine-learning. It is thanks to tools like Pandas, NumPy, and Jupyter.
What are the Benefits of Learning Python?
Consider the following benefits of learning Python: Python can be a great tool for your career.
Your skill level will increase
You can advance in your career by learning Python. Python is an all-purpose language that allows you to use it for a variety of projects.
A general-use language can help you to find more jobs and be more versatile without having to master a complex and specialized programming language.
More readability
Python's readability is well-known, both to professionals who are fluent and those without much experience. It can make learning easier and the user's experience simpler.
Professionals often refer to Python as an easy-to-learn programming language, despite its many features. Python is a great language to learn if you want to develop web applications, software or other programs.
Productivity and efficiency can be improved
Python is a language for object-oriented programmers that can be reused by professionals. A professional can write prototype code and then reuse it in other projects.
Python prototypes allow you to be more efficient and productive, since you can avoid having to rewrite code for parts that are often the same in software, websites and applications.
You can collaborate with your peers
Python is one of the most popular programming languages, and you are likely to find help when learning how to use this language.
Knowing Python can be helpful in collaborating with professionals who use it for software development and web design. You can also troubleshoot and review the work of another professional, which is useful in team projects.
5. Swift
Swift is only available on Apple products such as the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Apple's original language was Objective-C, a C-inspired programming language.
Swift was introduced in 2014 to help developers lower the barrier of entry to the platform. It's a new language, which is much easier to understand.
SWIFT codes are useful if you need to make a payment in another country. The SWIFT codes ensure that banks are able to send your money where you want it to.
SWIFT codes can be useful for individuals who are sending money or receiving it across borders.
SWIFT Codes: Who is using them?
SWIFT codes are often requested by banks from businesses and individuals that want to receive or send money abroad.
The numbers are used by banks to ensure that international transactions will be secure, efficient and accurate. SWIFT codes are often used by businesses that send goods or services abroad. They also receive payments from overseas.
SWIFT codes are also used by individuals who want to send money overseas. You can use SWIFT codes to make sure your money is sent to the correct place when you purchase imported goods or services.
SWIFT code format
SWIFT codes are eight to eleven characters long and identify the bank, branch, and country of an institution. A swift code example is AAAA BB CC 123.
SWIFT codes are composed of the following components:
- Bank code is a four-letter title that represents the name of the institution. It's usually a shorter version of its full name.
- Country code is two letters that represent the country where the bank is located.
- The location code is two characters (letters or numbers) that represents the headquarters of the bank.
- The branch code is three letters that represent the location of the office. If it's a main bank office, the branch code will be XXX.
JavaScript has some benefits unique to Java. JavaScript has several advantages.
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Frameworks that are strong: The user can use many frameworks and codes to help them with the development process. It can save time and simplify the debugging process.
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Fast functioning: JavaScript has a single thread and is able to execute only one line at a given time. The program is faster than multi-threaded Java because it doesn't perform multiple functions simultaneously.
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Additional features: Users can add creative features by using the procedural features of their program. The use of procedural programming makes it easy to create functions such as loops and branches.
What Is the Best Way to Learn Programming?
Many people begin learning how to code by choosing a popular language and diving in without any direction. It could be an online course in coding, a project, or a book on a particular topic.
Few prospective developers begin with a road map - an overview of programming languages and concepts that almost all developers use daily.
Six Steps for Beginning Developers
Read More: Top Reasons Behind The Popularity of Java
1. Familiarize Yourself with Computer Architecture and Data Basics
Modern programming languages allow us to build fancy apps without worrying about hardware details.
It is called abstraction. This means that we can work with tools of a higher level (in this instance, programming languages), which simplify our knowledge and reduce the scope required.
It's useful, however, to understand the basic metal on which your code runs. Knowing a few basics will at least help you navigate conversations about CPU and memory usage in the workplace.
Here is the bare minimum you need to know about computer architecture:
Microchips, also known as integrated Circuits, are the most vital parts of your computer.
The microchip relies on a component of electrical engineering called a transistor in order to operate. The transistor is a tiny switch that can be on or off at any time.
One microchip may contain hundreds of millions to billions of tiny transistors.
The Central Processing Unit is a chip found in most modern computers. It's the brain of your computer. The processor is responsible for most number crunching, logical calculations, and other tasks performed by the computer.
The CPUs have a set of instructions or binary commands (zeroes and ones). As software developers, we do not need to be concerned about them.
This is the power abstraction.
It is important to also have a memory to temporarily store or to keep information for a long time.
The computer's RAM (random access memory) is used as "working memory," or short-term memory, to store the information actively used by programs.
RAM consists of a set of memory addresses that can be used for storing data. Pointers are a common feature in older programming languages such as C, allowing programmers to work directly with addresses.
We'll finish with an element you are familiar with: the hard drive. This is the long-term storage in our brain analogy.
Hard drives are internal or external devices that store data. These files should remain even after the computer has been turned off.
Let's talk about data briefly before we move on to the details of programming languages. What exactly is data?
On a higher level, text documents, pictures, videos, emails, files, and folders come to mind. These are high-level data structures that we save and create on our computers daily.
A computer chip, such as a RAM or CPU chip, has no clue what "images" and "videos" are.
These structures can be stored on a microchip as long strings of zeros and ones. The ones and zeros that make up these structures are known as bits.
A byte is a group of 8 bits. A byte is a simple sequence of 8 bits, such as 00000000 or 01100110. Binary representation is the term used to describe this method of presenting data.
2. You can Learn How Programming Languages Work
We mentioned in the previous section that most computers are based on CPUs, which can interpret a set of specific instructions as ones and zeros.
Therefore, we could create code to tell the CPU what it should do by stringing long sequences of ones and 0s. Machine code is the name given to instructions written in binary.
Doesn't that sound horrible? It's probably not, but I don't know since I use more advanced programming languages such as JavaScript, Python, and Java.
Higher-level programming languages provide a set of human-readable keyword, statement, and syntax rule sets that make it easier for users to debug and learn.
The use of programming languages can help bridge the gap between how our brains perceive the world and what computer brains do.
The code we create must be converted into binary instructions that the CPU understands.
According to the programming language, your code will either be compiled into machine code that can run on your CPU, or it will be interpreted.
This translation is performed by a software program called a "compiler" or an "interpreter."
JavaScript, Python, and other interpreted languages are examples. Java is a compiled language. The difference between a compiled and interpreted language (or a combination) can affect developer comfort, error handling, speed, etc., but we will discuss something else here.
3. Understanding How the Internet Works
You'll come across situations in which it is helpful to understand how computers work together. This usually happens over the Internet.
The Internet is just a collection of computers that are connected globally. It is, in other words, a worldwide network.
Every computer agrees to a set of rules which allows them to communicate with each other. For a computer, "talking" is transferring data.
All data types - including web pages, pictures, videos, email, etc. - are represented by ones and zeros.
You can therefore think of the Internet in terms of a large number of computers, which can exchange data between themselves while preserving the original meaning.
The Internet is not more than an electronic conversation medium.
Let's start by defining the participants of the Internet conversation.
Let's start with an example: at least two people are involved in most conversations. Most of the time, the first person starts the conversation, and then the second person replies, as long as both are present.
The computer that initiates the conversation, or the client in Internet-speak, is known as the server. The server is the name of the computer that responds or answers.
Let's take the example of opening a browser and going to www.google.com. Your web browser would be the client in this case.
You can think of your computer as a client by extension.
You are your client more abstractly because YOU initiate the conversation. You can search for "www.google.com." Just type it in the bar at the top and click.
Your browser has requested to initiate a chat with one of Google's computers.
The server is the computer that Google uses. The server responds to the request by sending the necessary data for your web browser to display Google's page.
The page appears in your browser. Google's website appears before your very eyes. This client/server model is used for all Internet data transfer.
4. Use the Command Line Basics
At first, the Command Line may seem intimidating. In movies, a black screen usually scrolls by with unintelligible text, symbols, and numbers.
It's usually associated with a criminal hacker or a genius techie as his sidekick.
It's unnecessary to be a genius to understand or use the command line. It allows us to do many of the tasks we're used to doing with a mouse and pointer.
It is primarily a keyboard-based system, so once you learn how to use it, you can significantly speed up your inputs.
The Command Line allows you to perform many tasks, including browsing through folders and listing the contents of a particular folder, creating new folders, and deleting files.
You can also copy files and move them, as well as delete and remove files. The terminal is the window where you type Command Line commands.
We'll walk you through some basic commands to understand how the command-line works.
The first thing you ask yourself when opening your terminal is, "Where am I?" We can use the PWD command ("Print Working Directory") to find out.
This command outputs the current file system location, which indicates which folder you are in.
5. Build Up Your Text Editor Skills with Vim
We've now covered some of the basic commands and examples of how to work without the mouse.
We have seen the Command Line and how to copy, move, delete, and rename files. However, we still need to learn how you can edit text files.
Working with text files on the terminal is essential because code is simply text stored in a set of organized files.
It is possible to use fancy code editors such as Sublime, Atom, or Microsoft Word for writing and editing code. However, this is optional.
Since we already use the terminal to execute commands, it is a convenient way to edit and write code.
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Conclusion
These five programming languages are the best for the job seeker in today's job market. Python, JavaScript, Java, Swift, and C/C++ are versatile, in demand, and have many applications.
You can expand your career options in software development and web development. The key to your success is learning the languages and applying them in real-life projects. You should also constantly update your knowledge to remain relevant in an ever-changing tech industry.
