How many of you have wanted your own website at a certain point in life? Setting up your own blog, tweaking in some changes with your favorite app – or maybe just developing a new one? Ever wondered which programming language is the most suitable for you? Or maybe you are embarking on a career choice to be a programmer- and don’t know where to begin. Don’t fret. Here are the top 10 Software Languages, you HAVE to know in order to be able to do the above:
C
‘C’ is pretty much the primer for programmers. Developed by Dennis Ritchie in 1969 at the AT&T Bell Labs, C is a low level programming language which implements Procedural Programming. It uses a basic level compiler for providing low level access to the memory. If you aim to be a programmer, ‘C’ is the language to start with. It’s simple, uses a pretty straightforward compiler and almost all the other software languages are based on it. So, once you are a pro at ‘C’, learning another language will be a lot easier.
C++
Another essential language to be learnt for programmers. Sometimes, you can skip over ‘C’ and move over to ‘C++’ as your programming primer. Both the languages are quite similar in the algorithms they use. However, C++ , unlike C is a High Level Language and implements Object Oriented Programming. So, it’s a tad bit more advanced than C and uses a couple of different keywords. Other than that, they are pretty much the same. For more differences between C and C++, check out: http://www.durofy.com/10-major-differences-between-c-and-c/
Java
Java is hands down one of the most popular programming languages in demand right now. A majority of the websites and games are based on it. Infact, Android, the Operating System that changed the world of Smartphones, is completely based on Java. Again, Java is derived from C and C++. However, it ranks higher in the simplicity index, fo a programmer to use.
Python
Python is another High Level Language. Of course, it’s got to have the edge over the others since it’s relatively new. It supports multiple programming paradigms like Object Oriented, Structured, Functional etc. It is a very powerful tool on which websites such as YouTube, Dropbox etc. are based. Python holds the advantage over C and C++ as it provides more simplicity to the code, while the latter two can cause a major storm in your head what with all the tedious lines of code for basic stuff.
JavaScript
Behold JavaScript, another multi-paradigm language, used for designing websites. JS , as the techies call it, is used not only for web based applications, it’s also used in non-web based environments, such as desktop widgets, PDF documents etc. Although JS may seem to be a derivative of Java, due to well, the similarity in their names (Duh!), that’s actually not true. Even though, JS contains a much similar set of commands as Java, it is however restricted to only a particular set of commands whereas Java covers a much wider range of commands. Long story short, if you know Java, JS is a pretty smooth ride.
SQL
The Structured Query Language is quite different from the above programming languages. SQL is used for managing information stored in Relational Database Management Systems. It can be used to retrieve large amounts of records from a database quickly and efficiently. Using SQL, you can insert data into a Database, update it, delete it or can provide a query through which data pertaining to the query will be displayed. SQL provides security to a database and ensures data consistency and removes redundant data.
HTML5
Remember in high school, when we used to design webpages using HTML? Yeah, well HTML’s all grown up now. Well, HTML5 is, to be specific. HTML5 is the fifth revision of HTML and is extensively used for designing complex web applications and cross platform mobile applications. Just like its predecessors, HTML5 also uses tags. It provides a very neat platform for coding. HTML5 provides features such as Offline Storage i.e. the ability to access data even if the application is no longer connected to the internet, Geo-Location or the ability to detect and work with the location of the user and it also provides easy-to-implement audio and video elements.
PHP
One really can’t accuse the world of not having enough tools for Web Development. The whole place is crawling with them. Yet another one of them is PHP. The reason for its popularity is because it’s an open source software. It’s compatible with all the major web servers and Databases such as Netscape, Microsoft IIS and MySQL, SQLite etc. and is platform independent i.e. it can run on all the major operating systems such as Windows, Mac OS, Linux etc. All of this and more reasons have made PHP quite popular among programmers.
.NET
And yet another alternative for App Development, .NET is the latest framework provided by Microsoft. It implements Object Oriented programming which reduces the quantity of unnecessary codes and involves less coding for the developers. It’s popular among developers as it increases their productivity. .NET provides a base class library that supports innovative web development. It has all the resources to provide websites with different functionality and manage it smoothly at the same time. Using .NET, one can design websites that are highly interactive with high performance and awesome user experience. Plus, if you receive a Microsoft certification for .NET, you are set. A developer with a Microsoft certification is considered an accomplishment.
Ruby
The Japanese have come up with Ruby – a simple yet powerful programming language used for developing – surprise surprise!- Web Applications. It’s an open source language, and the syntax is easy to write and read. According to one of the inventors, “Ruby is designed for programmer productivity and fun, following the principles of good user interface design.” And the fun part is, you can apparently get cozy with the language in just 15 minutes. Here’s how you go about that: http://tryruby.org/levels/1/challenges/0
Go ahead, try these out. See for yourselves which one works out for you. Enjoy!
