11 Most Popular Programming Languages ​​in 2023

According to various authoritative sources, the world’s total number of programming languages ​​ranges from 700 to 9,000. Unsurprisingly, a person who decides to embark on the professional path of a developer often has a reasonable question “Where to start?”. We decided to simplify the situation with the choice of programming language and compiled our list of the most promising and in demand.

In our selection, we relied on programming language popularity rankings, including the TIOBE Index, based on search queries, or its PYPL (PopularitY of Programming Language) equivalent, the Stack Overflow Technology Platform Ranking, as well as a large-scale study from the leading software developer JetBrains.

When compiling this list, we considered not only top ratings, but also important advantages of programming languages ​​as their market demand, functionality, difficulty to learn, and prospects in the near future. We will sort the list by popularity for convenience – the top programming languages ​​will open the most popular.

This article will analyze the pros and cons of the most popular programming languages and give recommendations on sources where you can start getting to know them. Most of them are presented in English, so knowledge of this language will become a basic and essential skill for a future developer.

Python

Level: beginner.

Required skills: high self-learning ability, developed analytical and abstract thinking.

Applications: web development, desktop GUIs, business applications, machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL), data science (Data Science), artificial intelligence (AI), games, microcontrollers, data analysis, and visualization.

Pros:

• Enhanced performance.
• Intuitively easy reading and writing.
• Developed official documentation and tutorials.
• Dynamic typing – compilation of scripts occurs directly at run time.
• An interpreted language executes code line by line and reports errors sequentially, making debugging easier.
• Easy integration with web services.
• Extensive native library and simplified export with built-in Python package manager (pip).
• Can scale even the most complex applications.
• Ideal for prototyping and quickly testing ideas.

Minuses:

• Low speed. Line-by-line execution of code often leads to its slow execution.
• Big load on memory. Python’s performance comes with a trade-off – increased consumption of system resources.
• Due to the increased memory consumption and low speed, it is unsuitable for developing mobile and front-end applications.
• Poorly developed interaction with databases.
• Possible Runtime Errors associated with dynamically changing the data type of a variable. Because of this, Python code requires more thorough testing.
• Does not support multithreading due to the built-in global interpreter lock mechanism (GIL, Global Interpreter Lock)

Why You Should Learn Python

In recent years, Python has topped most of the largest rankings of the most popular development languages. This free and open-source development language is considered one of the best “entry tickets” to programming for beginners. After all, it is distinguished by an extremely simple command syntax, similar to English, and an extremely high degree of abstraction.

Python not only often tops the list of the easiest programming languages but is also considered one of the most versatile. It is equally good at building web applications and developing artificial intelligence education products and is also great for games and high-tech multimedia products.

Python is used to develop 2D imaging and 3D animation packages such as Blender, Inkscape, and Autodesk. It has also been used to develop several high-budget video games, including Civilization IV, Vegas Trike, and Toontown. Many scientific and computing applications are written in Python, such as FreeCAD and Abacus, as well as popular websites such as YouTube, Quora, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Where to study

• Official documentation “The Python Tutorial. “
• Learn Python guide from Berkeley Boot Camps.
• Learn Python video course from freeCodeCamp.
• “The Real Python” podcast by Real Python.
• Learn Python 2 course from Codecademy.
• Course “Intro to Computer Science” from Udacity.

JavaScript

Level: Beginner to Intermediate.

Required Skills: Basic HTML and CSS to define the content and layout of web pages.

Applications: front-end, backend (Node.js), mobile apps (React Native), games.

Pros:

• The language is easy to learn and implement.
• Wide scope.
• Fast – does not require compilation and can run immediately in the browser on the client side.
• Reduces the load on the website server as it works on the client side.
• Regular updates via the ECMAScript (ES) specification.
• Many useful add-ons for extending functionality and customization (e.g., Greasemonkey).
• Lots of resources and great community support.
• Good compatibility with other programming languages.

Minuses:

• Web browsers may disable JavaScript because it creates pop-up ads that may contain malicious content.
• Different browsers may interpret it differently, making it difficult to write cross-browser code.
• There is no built-in function to perform cloning or an equivalent method.
• Allows only single inheritance.

Why You Should Learn JavaScript

It is no coincidence that Javascript or JS held the title of the most popular programming language in the world for many years. This high-level development language has become one of the main technologies behind the operation of the World Wide Web. Today, JS and other languages ​​based on the ES specification (such as ActionScript and TypeScript) are used as the client-side programming language by more than 90% of all websites on the Internet.

The main specialization of JavaScript is the front end. This programming language is in demand in developing interactive front-end applications, such as pop-up windows. However, JS is universal and may claim to be a full-stack development language. It is equally effective for creating both server-side and client-side scripts.

Today, many developers work with NodeJS, a JavaScript-based runtime that allows you to use JS to run server-side scripts. For example, to create dynamic web page content before the page is sent to the user’s web browser.

Where to study

• Textbook « JavaScript Guide » by Mozilla Developer Network.
• Course «Coding Resources: Learn JavaScript» from Berkeley Boot Camps
• Video course « Learn JavaScript » from freeCodeCamp.
• Video course « Learn JavaScript By Building Seven Games » from freeCodeCamp.
• Lessons and video courses “JavaScript 30 “.
• Courses and instructions “The Modern JavaScript Tutorial” from the javascript.info community.

Java

Level: medium.

Required skills: a complex approach to problem-solving and knowledge of object-oriented structure.

Applications: mobile development (Android), cross-platform desktop software, game development.

Pros:

• Platform independence (due to the JVM feature) and object-oriented programming.
• Improved performance and reliability.
• An abundance of open-source libraries.
• Automatic memory allocation and garbage collection.
• Stack Allocation System.
• High security by eliminating the explicit pointer and including a security manager responsible for determining class access.
• Ideal for distributed computing.
• Offers many APIs for performing various tasks such as database connection, networking, utilities, and XML parsing.
• Supports multithreading
• Companies such as Amazon, Adobe, Flipkart, and Instagram use Java in the technology stack.
• Google has created an excellent Java-based development environment for Android development – Android Studio.

Minuses:

• The need for templates limits the creation of quality data structures.
• Resource-intensive memory management.
• Slower than natively compiled programming languages ​​such as C and C++.

Why you should learn Java

Java is one of the most popular programming languages ​​in the world today, used in more than 3 billion devices. It can be used for various projects, from coding Android smartphone applications to creating complex desktop applications. Although Java is based on C++, it is easier to learn and use, especially for beginners.

One of the fundamental ideas of the Java developers was to create a programming language that would allow their code to run on two completely different devices. The Java slogan also illustrates this: “Write once, run anywhere” (Write once, run anywhere).

The Java language is popular for development on all platforms, operating systems, and devices, but it is especially widely used today in creating mobile applications for Android. This versatility and flexibility make Java one of the world’s most in-demand and highly paid-programming languages ​​.

Where to study

• Instructions and lessons “Learn Java” from the official resource dev.java.
• Course « Java Programming Masterclass (Java 11 & 17) » from Udemy.
• Learn Java course by Codecademy.
• Lectures and training « Real-World Java Exercises » from CodeGym

C/C++

Level: intermediate and advanced.

Required skills: an integrated approach to the solution and basic PC knowledge. Since C and C++ are focused on low-level computer resource management, it is useful to be familiar with computer functions such as memory management.

Applications: desktop applications and software, mobile applications, game engines and games, VR, robotics, cloud computing, and web applications.

Pros:

• Faster program execution than most other programming languages ​​[C/C++].
• Forms the basis for understanding more complex programming languages ​​[C/C++].
• Preferred language for developing applications for multiple devices and platforms [C++].
• Wide range of applications such as games, GUI applications, and real-time math modeling [C++].
• Facilitates access to locked or hidden objects using other programming languages ​​[C].
• The high degree of portability [C].
• A procedurally oriented language with a group of functional modules and blocks. This makes debugging, testing, and maintaining programs easier [C].
• Rich function library [C++].
• Runs close to the system hardware and offers a low level of [C/C++] abstraction.
• Support for exception handling and function overloading [C++].
• Comes with the Standard Template Library (STL) – a pool of ready-made libraries for various data structures, arithmetic operations, and algorithms [C++].

Minuses:

• Not suitable for newcomers to programming [C/C++].
• Complex syntax [C/C++].
• Does not support program namespace [C].
• Less efficient object-oriented system compared to other OOP-based programming languages ​​[C++].
• It is necessary to create high-level constructs [C] manually.
• No garbage collection or dynamic memory allocation [C/C++].
• No runtime check [C/C++].
• No strict type checking [C].
• Buffer overflow and memory corruption issues [C/C++].
• Lesser standard library [C].

Why you should learn C++

No real comparison of programming languages ​​can do without this pair. C++ is a direct descendant of the C language, considered a real “dinosaur” among programming languages. C was released as early as 1997 and continues to be used today. Almost all low-level systems, such as OS and file systems, are written in C/C++.

C++ is a powerful, high-performance language, albeit low-level, because it uses a low degree of abstraction. And this means that the code on it is more difficult to “read.” Learning a low-level language takes more time to understand how it works. Therefore, a beginner learning C++ will have less time to learn the basics of computer programming in general. In addition, when writing a C++ application from scratch, the developer must write a lot of code.

On the other hand, this language is extremely fast, stable, scalable, and efficient. That is why many resource-intensive programs use C++. For example, some of the most beautiful and popular 3D games are Metro 2033, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Fallout 4, Assassin’s Creed series, Battlefield/Battlefront, Medal of Honor, and Need For Speed. Learning C++ is a good choice for developers who are already familiar with C, want to work on large projects, and have much control over program execution.

Where to study

• The official “C++ Language Documentation” from Microsoft.
• Coding for Everyone: C and C++ specialization courses from Coursera.
• C++ For C Programmers courses from Coursera.
• « C Programming For Beginners the C Language » from Udemy.

PHP

Level: beginner and intermediate.

Required skills: knowledge of the basics of working with programming languages.

Applications: backend and WordPress development.

Pros:

• Ease of development and ability to integrate with many different tools.
• Flexibility in connecting to databases.
• An abundance of powerful frameworks.
• First-class debugging with Xdebug.
• Giant community support and a huge ecosystem.
• Lots of automation tools for testing and deploying applications.
• Supports object-oriented and functional programming paradigms.

Minuses:

• Developing websites entirely in PHP is slower compared to using other options.
• Not suitable for large applications.
• Security disadvantages.
• Bad error handling.
• It can only support a small number of applications.

Why you should learn PHP

PHP is one of the most popular backend programming languages ​​today. It is a server-side scripting language for creating web pages written in HTML. Today, 80% of the top 10 million websites use PHP.

Although PHP faces stiff competition from Python and JavaScript, the market still needs many PHP developers due to the constant development of web-centric technologies. It will be useful for those who want to join the organization as a backend developer.

Where to study

• The official “PHP Guide” from php.net.
• Lessons « PHP Tutorial » by W3Schools.
• Online learning project” PHP: The Right Way. “
• Video course « PHP Programming Language Tutorial » from freeCodeCamp.
• Course” Learn PHP” from Codeacademy.

Swift

Level: beginner.

Required Skills: Willingness to read widely available tutorials; no prior experience with programming languages ​​required.

Applications: mobile development (iOS), Linux development.

Pros:

• Requires fewer programming skills compared to other languages.
• Full support for Objective-C code.
• Speeds up the development process.
• Enhanced performance.
• Supports dynamic libraries.

Minuses:

• The relative “youth” of the language.
• Poor interaction with third-party tools.
• Lack of support for earlier versions of iOS.

Why you should learn Swift

The open-source programming language Swift was created by Apple in 2014 to work with the Apple Cocoa and Cocoa Touch platforms. Since then, it has replaced Objective-C as the main language used by Apple to develop programs for Mac OS X, iOS, and Linux. It continues to develop and gain momentum, along with the growing popularity of iOS.

The syntax of Swift is similar to English; in this, it resembles Java and C#. It features well-optimized code and high performance, allowing it to scale efficiently. In addition, it supports older languages ​​such as Objective-C.

It’s a must-learn language for anyone who wants to build apps for the App Store. It lets you write watches, tablets, computers, smartphones, TVs, and server applications.

Swift is used in popular iOS apps such as WordPress, Mozilla Firefox, SoundCloud, and even the game Flappy Bird. In addition to Apple, this language is included in the technology stacks of companies such as Instagram, Uber, and Slack.

Where to study

• Official documentation from Apple.
• Course «A better way to learn Swift» from Tthinkster.
• Swift tutorials from raywenderlich.com .
• Course «Build your very first iOS app» from edX.
• Course « Swift from scratch » from Udemy.

Grow Up (Go)

Level: beginner, intermediate.

Necessary skills: the learning process will greatly facilitate the knowledge of at least one programming language; otherwise, it will take patience and a willingness to learn.

Applications: Google apps, system/network programming, audio/video editing, big data.

Pros:

• Minimalism.
• Relatively easy to learn, thanks to clear syntax.
• A language with static typing, which has a good effect on security.
• Wide compatibility.
• The language is compiled into machine code, which makes it fast to execute.
• Supports automation processes, which facilitates work in artificial intelligence and data science.
• An extensive standard library offers several built-in functions for working with primitive types.
• Ideal for creating SPAs (Single Page Applications).

Minuses:

• A lack of generics forces you to write more code than in other languages.
• A virtual machine is necessary to maintain the effectiveness of complex programs.
• Implicit interfaces.
• Lacks versatility.
• There is no graphics library (GUI).
• Support for unprivileged libraries.
• The Go developer community is relatively small.

Why you should learn Golang

Go, also known as Golang, was developed by Google in 2007 for APIs and web applications. Recently, it has become one of the fastest-growing backend programming languages ​​due to its simplicity and ability to work with multi-core and network systems and huge code bases.

Go was created to meet the needs of programmers working on large projects. It has gained popularity among many big IT companies, including Google, Uber, Twitch, and Dropbox, due to its simple and modern structure and familiar syntax. Google itself uses Go to support its extensive network of servers and its Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

Golang provides excellent multithreading support, which is why it is often used by companies that rely heavily on distributed systems and startups in Silicon Valley. The flexibility and performance of Go have made it a popular development tool for data scientists.

Where to study

• The official “Get Started with Go” guide from Google.
• Guide « Go The Complete Developer’s Guide » from Udemy.
• Course « Programming: The Complete Developer’s Guide » from ZTM.
• Programming with Google Go Specialization courses from Coursera.
• Learn to Go course from Codecademy.

C#

Level: Beginner to Intermediate.

Required skills: basic computer literacy, understanding of the main concepts of object-oriented programming (encapsulation, polymorphism, abstraction, inheritance, interfaces), basic knowledge of C, C ++, or Java to have an initial understanding of C # syntax.

Applications: game development (Unity), desktop applications (Microsoft, Windows), web services, and applications.

Pros:

• Easy to learn and understand, especially for those who are familiar with the basics of object-oriented programming.
• It is a multi-paradigm object-oriented language that supports universal, imperative, functional, and declarative programming styles.
• Fully integrated with .NET libraries.
• Ideal for all types of Windows development.
• Able to work with common codebases.
• Rich set of library functions and data types.
• Supports type safety.
• Fast compilation and execution time.
• Used by leading IT companies such as Microsoft, Stack Overflow, Accenture, and Alibaba Travels.

Minuses:

• Allows pointers in “unsafe” blocks.
• Almost all variables are references, and memory is deallocated using the garbage collector.
• Offers less flexibility than C++.
• Troubleshooting requires serious experience and knowledge.

Why you should learn C#

Originally developed by Microsoft to run on the .NET platform, C# (pronounced C Sharp) is based on C and C++. This high-level language is like English, which makes C# easier to understand for beginners. Unlike its closest cousin, C++, it abstracts away many of the complex tasks required for a computer to work with code.

C# is the primary language for developing software and programs for the Microsoft platform. Another popular application for C# is the gaming industry. For example, it is the recommended language for building applications on the Unity game engine. Open statistics show more than 30% of the most popular mobile games were created in C#.

Where to study

• Official courses, instructions, and video lectures “Learn C#” from Microsoft.
• Video course « C# Tutorial » from freeCodeCamp.
• Course « Learn C# Programming » by Tutorials teacher.
• Online lessons “Learning C# Made Easy” from C# station.
• Interactive online lessons at LearnCS.org.

Ruby

Level: beginner.

Required skills: an integrated approach to problem-solving, developed abstract thinking (the ability to visualize what users of the application want to see).

Applications: backend web development.

Pros:

• Allows you to create working applications and websites quickly.
• Easy to read and write syntax.
• Provides good programming style.
• Low learning curve.
• Well-developed community.
• Lots of useful extra tools.
• High demand and salaries of specialists.

Minuses:

• It is not used as often as other similar programming languages ​​(such as Python or Java).
• Slow application execution speed.
• Lack of flexibility when building web applications with non-standard features.

Why you should learn Ruby

Ruby is an interpreted, fully object-oriented programming language developed in the 1990s. As a technology with a simple syntax, it is often used for scripting, word processing, and prototyping new applications.

Ruby is a great programming language for those who want to quickly and successfully create an application from scratch, especially independently.

In addition to being easy to learn, a significant advantage of Ruby is the abundance of powerful web frameworks and applications written in this language. These include for example, the extremely popular in ANY CASE, the Ruby on Rails (RoR) framework.

Major international companies such as Twitch, Shopify, Starbucks, Twitter, Hulu, Groupon, Airbnb, and GitHub use this stable and flexible language. What’s more, Ruby regularly ranks at the top of popular rankings of the world’s highest-paying programming languages.

Where to study

• The official Ruby in Twenty Minutes guide.
• Course « Learn Ruby » from Codecademy.
• Course «The Complete Ruby on Rails Developer Course» from Udemy.
• Course «Learning Ruby: From Zero to Hero» from freeCodeCamp:

Kotlin

Level: Intermediate, Advanced.

Required skills: Experience with programming languages, in particular Java.

Applications: Android, web, mobile, server, and desktop development.

Pros:

• Reliability – Kotlin has gone through a long period of alpha and beta testing and has official Google support.
• Short development time.
• 100% Java compatible.
• Concise code and structured parallelism.
• Debugging support – detecting errors at compile time.
• Support many popular IDEs, including Android Studio, Atom, SublimeText, and Vim.
• Approximately 20% less code compared to Java.

Minuses:

• Relatively unstable compilation speed.
• The difficulty of implementation in production is due to the need for more Kotlin developers.
• There is no static keyword.

Why you should learn Kotlin

Kotlin is a general-purpose programming language from the JVM family with automatic type inference. Originally developed and introduced by JetBrains in 2011 as Project Kotlin. The first version was officially released in 2016. It is compatible with Java and supports functional programming languages.

As of 2019, Kotlin is Google’s preferred language for Android apps. It is used by major companies such as Coursera, Pinterest, Uber, Trello, and Amazon. Therefore, those just starting their careers and thinking about which programming language to teach a beginner for mobile development under Google should definitely opt for Kotlin.

Where to study

• Official documentation “Kotlin docs.”
• Course « Learn Kotlin » by Codecademy.
• Course « Kotlin Bootcamp for Programmers » from Udemy.
• Video course « Kotlin Tutorial for Beginners: Basics for Android » by Smartherd.

Perl

Level: beginner, intermediate.

Required skills: knowledge of the basics of working with programming languages.

Applications: network programming, GUI development, web development, system administration, mobile development.

Pros:

• An extremely powerful programming language.
• Platform independent.
• Follows the traditional approach of using curly braces for functions and loops.
• Universal.
• It can be imperative, procedural, functional, or object-oriented.

Minuses:

• The code could be easier to read, especially for beginners.
• Like all scripting languages, it is slow when multitasking.
• Object orientation needs to be implemented properly.
• Poor argument handling.
• Not portable.
• There is no interpreter shell.

Why you should learn Perl

This high-level scripting language first appeared in 1987 and has since grown into a small family of two separate languages, Perl 5 and Perl 6. Perl (The Practical Extraction and Report Language) was originally intended for text processing and manipulation. Still, since then, it has also found other uses, from web development to system administration.

Today, Perl has evolved into a powerful tool that can be used equally effectively on almost any operating system. Therefore, it is sometimes called the “Swiss Army knife” of computer languages.

Perl takes its best features from other programming languages ​​such as C, PHP, or Python. However, unlike a snake language, Perl usually offers multiple solutions to one specific problem, which makes it similar to Ruby.

Perl is a strong and versatile programming language that is easy to learn. Moreover, many surveys show that programmers working with this language earn 10-15% more than their colleagues. However, before taking on Perl, you must ensure that the company you aim to work for uses it in its technology stack.

Where to study

• The official “Learn Perl” tutorial.
• Course «Learn Perl 5 By Doing It» from Udemy.
• “Perl Programming for Beginners” course from Udemy.
• Course « Learn Perl from Scratch » by Educational.

Conclusion

Of course, it is simply impossible to make a full-fledged comparison of the advantages and disadvantages of all the most popular programming languages ​​within the framework of a review. In particular, this review did not mention such relevant programming languages ​​as SQL, HTML, Visual Basic, R, Assembly, Delphi, Rust, Matlab, Lua, and many others.

But we did not set ourselves the task of creating a comprehensive ranking of programming languages. There are authoritative sources for this as the TIOBE Index mentioned above. This article aims to give a simple answer to the difficult question, “What is the best programming language for a beginner?”. To do this, we have selected only those languages ​​that will help novice programmer or developer who wants to change their specialization relatively quickly get the first practical results and promising work.

We want to complete the review of the most popular programming languages ​​in 2022 with a short list where the most popular programming languages ​​are sorted by their application:

• Ease to learn: Python, Ruby, or Javascript.
• Demand from employers: Python or Javascript.
• Development of mobile applications: Java, C++, Kotlin (preferred language for Android), Javascript (+ React Native).
• Building an iOS app: Swift (language chosen by Apple), Javascript (+ React Native).
• Front-end development and user interface creation: JavaScript (you can switch to React later).
• Server-side web development: JavaScript (+ Node.js), Java, Python, PHP, or Ruby.
• Game Development : C++, C#, JavaScript
• Machine learning, artificial intelligence: Python or Java
• Desktop Applications : C#, C++, Python
• System programming: Go or C.

We hope you found this review helpful. What programming language are you currently learning?