For novice programmers, it is difficult to decide on which programming language to learn first, or which one to try out next? The choice is vast and the complexities many. The author analyses various programming languages, and suggests making a choice based on the programmers’ interests and current software trends.

1. For novice programmers,it is difficult to decide on which programming language to learn
first,or which one to try out next? The choice is vast and the complexities many.The author
analyses various programming languages,and suggests making a choice based on the
programmers’interests and current software trends.
A
s developers and engineers, our day-to-day work
involves writing code and we use a particular
language to express our solutions (whether it is
adding features or fixing defects). When new languages come
up, or there is a new release of a major language, we are eager
to know more about them.
A lot is happening in the world of programming languages
and I avidly watch the changes in it. As a language aficionado,
I have tried spotting major trends that are emerging in the
programming languages space. Naturally, my views are biased
in favour of languages like C, which is one of my favourites.
Without much ado, here are the major trends I have found
in the languages landscape:
ƒƒ JavaScript is becoming the de facto platform for the Web.
ƒƒ Java and .NET are becoming two major target platforms
for a large number of languages.
ƒƒ Dynamic languages are on the rise.
ƒƒ Functional languages are becoming popular.
ƒƒ Open source languages are on the rise.
ƒƒ Old languages are reborn in new forms.
ƒƒ C continues to be a dominant language.
Let us discuss these trends in greater detail. And the
question, “Which language should I learn next?” will be
answered towards the end of the article.
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2. the Windows platform. With Microsoft making the platform
available for Linux and Mac OS, it can now be deployed in
powerful Linux servers. And with Microsoft collaborating
with Xamarin, .NET will be available for building mobile
applications as well. With this development, the Java platform
now has a serious competitor.
Dynamic languages are on the rise
Statically typed languages have ruled the language world for
many decades (e.g., Fortran, C, C++, etc) but dynamically
typed languages are slowly and steadily becoming more
popular (Python, Ruby, Objective-C, etc). Dynamically
typed languages have their own appeal and advantages.
The quicker edit-run-debug cycle helps to develop code
faster. Historically, dynamically typed languages are mostly
scripting languages. However, there is no doubt that these
languages are suitable for developing general-purpose
applications. Dynamically typed languages also support meta-
programming features (e.g., introspection) more easily than
statically typed languages. Such benefits of dynamic typing
have resulted in even statically typed languages acquiring
some form of dynamism. For example, C# 4.0 introduced the
‘dynamic’ keyword. Languages like Groovy were inspired by
the productivity offered by dynamic languages like Python
and Ruby. Note that static typing has its own benefits - for
instance, finding type conversions-related defects early in the
development cycle. For this reason, even Groovy supports
optional static type checking and static compilation. Given all
this, the underlying general trend is clear - dynamically typed
languages are on the rise.
Functional languages are becoming popular
From early languages like LISP to languages like Scheme
and Haskell that appeared later, functional languages aren’t
new to the programming language community. However,
what is surprising is the growing popularity of functional
languages in the last 10 years. The main reason for this is
concurrency. Writing correct concurrent code in the presence
of mutable state is incredibly hard using libraries or language
features in object-oriented as well as procedural languages.
Functional programs don’t change state. This characteristic
makes the functional paradigm a suitable approach for writing
concurrent programs. These days, even smartphones have
multi-cores; so concurrency is here to say.
New functional languages like Clojure have attracted
wide attention in the programming community. Clojure
is used extensively in Big Data circles, and its code can
be compiled to run in JVM, .NET, or JavaScript. Other
mainstream languages like C++, Java and C# have adopted
functional programming features (mainly ‘closures’/
‘lambda functions’). Many new languages (e.g., Elm) are
functional programming languages. These developments
indicate a clear trend - functional programming languages
are becoming popular.
JavaScript is becoming the de facto
platform for the Web
I remember a time in the late 90s when JavaScript
developers wouldn’t be taken seriously. If you developed
in C or C++ (or better, if you programmed in Assembler),
you were considered a serious developer. But if you were
developing in PHP or JavaScript, you were ignored! Times
have changed with the widespread adoption of the Web and
the rising popularity of JavaScript’s powerful frameworks
and libraries. JavaScript is now used even in non-Web
contexts—for example, in PDF documents. Its rising
popularity, combined with its weaknesses, has prompted
companies such as Google (with Dart) and Microsoft (with
TypeScript) to attempt replacing JavaScript, but JavaScript
continues to rule the roost.
Recently, I visited a company that develops software
for set-top boxes and TVs, and was surprised at the extent
that JavaScript code runs in these devices. There is a large
list of languages that compile to JavaScript. There are also
translators or adapted languages for major languages such
as Java, C#, Ruby and Python that compile to JavaScript. I
attended a talk on the Elm language and came to know that
it compiles to JavaScript. I was amazed by what you can
do with Elm, and I’ll leave it to you to go and discover the
magic of these new languages. I’ve also come across the Hack
language, created by Facebook in an attempt to replace PHP.
But it is too early to gauge whether this attempt has been
successful or not. However, generally speaking, it is clear that
JavaScript is here to stay.
Java and .NET: Emerging as target platforms for
innumerable languages
Most language experts believe that compiled and statically
typed languages have an edge over interpreted and
dynamically typed languages when it comes to building
large-scale enterprise applications. Statically typed languages
such as Java, C# and C++ have long been used for creating
commercial as well as open source applications. Though the
Java platform was originally designed to run code written
in the Java language, because of its all-pervasiveness, it has
become a target platform for numerous other languages too.
For instance, Scala compiles to the Java platform. Groovy
extends Java and compiles to the Java platform. Languages
such as Jython and JRuby are ports of Python and Ruby
languages that target the Java platform. With its support for
invokedynamic byte code and other features, it is easier for
dynamic languages to compile to the Java platform.
Unlike the Java platform, the .NET platform was designed
from the ground up to serve as a platform for a large number
of languages. Other than C#, some important languages that
translate to .NET are VisualBasic.NET, C++/CLI and F#.
Older languages and other languages have ports to .NET as
well — for example, Eiffel, IronPython and IronRuby. One
of the disadvantages of .NET is that it primarily supports
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3. Open source languages are on the rise
Microsoft’s announcement last year that .NET was going
open source attracted considerable attention. This was not
a one-off event, but what I see as a general trend in the
programming languages community. Java was initially a
proprietary language; later, Sun released most of it to the open
source community. Languages designed from the ground up,
such as Go and Dart (both from Google), TypeScript and F#
(both from Microsoft) are also open source. A large number of
languages developed in the last two decades are open source.
In other words, languages going open source is a clear trend
that is here to stay.
Old languages are reborn in new forms
Just like living beings, languages are born, grow up, age and
die. What is surprising is the rebirth or rejuvenation of old
languages in a new form. The relationship between these new
and old language pairs is unmistakable—Elixir and Erlang,
Clojure and LISP, Swift and Objective-C, etc. In other words,
newer languages such as Elixir, Clojure and Swift render
corresponding older languages such as Erlang, LISP and
Objective-C in a form that is compatible to the new realities.
I won’t be surprised if older languages such as APL, Simula,
SNOBOL, or even Fortran, are reborn as newer languages.
C continues to be a dominant language
So far we have discussed factors that are changing or
emerging. This is a new world with emerging fields like Big
Data, cloud computing and the Internet of Things (IoT). The
computing world is moving towards increased concurrency
and ever shrinking devices. With all these changes, one
constant surprises me - C continues to stay relevant in this
ever-changing world! With the exploding number of mobile
devices that are getting connected to the Internet, the devices
are still programmed in embedded C. Low-level utilities such
as protocols and device drivers are still written in C. There
aren’t many rivals for C though Go appears to be an attractive
alternative - so if you develop low-level code (e.g., device
drivers, virtual machines, protocols, etc), it is better to learn
Go. However, the underlying trend is clear—C continues to
be relevant and popular.
Other languages to watch out for
The programming languages world is one where so many
things are happening that I have FOMO (Fear Of Missing
Out). You may be interested in many other languages that
I haven’t covered here. Some important ones are D from
Digital Mars, Ceylon from Red Hat, Chapel from Cray, and
Opa from MLState.
So, what language should you learn next?
With this, we have completed our quick safari in the language
jungle. It is time to answer the question: “What language
should I learn next?”
This question is as difficult to answer as these two
questions: “Which book should I read next?” or “Which
movie should I watch next?” Why is it difficult to give
specific answers to these questions? Because the answer
depends on your interests as well as personal preferences!
So, here is my answer based on your likely preferences
and the overall trends we have discussed so far.
ƒƒ If you have programmed only in statically typed
languages (such as C++ or Java), learn Ruby or Python.
ƒƒ If you do not know Web programming yet want to learn
how to program for the Web, learn JavaScript.
ƒƒ If you develop systems software and have programmed
mostly in C or Assembler, learn Go.
ƒƒ If you don’t know C, learn it!
No matter what kind of programming you do, learn a
functional programming language (or at least learn to use
closures if the programming language you regularly use
allows that).
Also, try using a new language (it’s important that
it is not a mainstream language) to solve problems you
encounter on a day-to-day basis. For example, if you
are a game developer and use languages like C++, try
using Elm. If your work involves lots of mathematics
and you use Fortran, try using languages like Julia or
J. If your work involves querying information to find
answers using regular expressions, try using Prolog or
R. By trying out unusually effective solutions to the
problems that you try to solve on a day-to-day basis,
you’ll be surprised by an ‘Aha!’ moment that could
permanently change the way you think about problem
solving!
By: Anil Kumar PugaliaThe author is a corporate trainer and independent consultant
based in Bengaluru. He is a co-author of the book
‘Refactoring for Software Design Smells: Managing Technical
Debt’ published by Morgan Kaufmann/Elsevier, 2014. You can
reach him through his website www.designsmells.com.
By: Ganesh Samarthyam
By: Anil Kumar Pugalia[1] List of languages that compile to JavaScript:
https://github.com/jashkenas/coffeescript/
wiki/List-of-languages-that-compile-to-JS
[2] The Elm language home page: http://elm-lang.org
[3] The Hack language home page: http://hacklang.org
[4] Java Virtual Machine Support for Non-Java Languages:
http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/technotes/guides/
vm/multiple-language-support.html
[5] Microsoft Open Sources .NET, saying it will run on Linux
and Mac: http://www.wired.com/2014/11/microsoft-open-
sources-net-says-will-run-linux-mac/
[6] Go language home page: https://golang.org/
References
By: Anil Kumar PugaliaI thank Raghu Kalyan Anna for his thoughtful and detailed
feedback on an earlier draft of this article.
Acknowledgement:
For U & MeInsight
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