Top 10 Programming Languages to Learn In 2021

The world is becoming smarter day by day with the rapid development of Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, etc. And at the heart of it, somewhere, are programming languages. In fact, Labour Statistics have predicted a  21% growth for programming jobs in the coming decade, which is more than 4x the average for all occupations. But trying to start out with programming can be a daunting escapade, especially for professionals with no prior experience. So if you’re one who cannot decide where to begin, don’t worry because we’ve got you covered. The following article aims to give you a quick look at the Top 10 Programming Languages for 2021.

Top 10 Programming Languages for 2021

1. Python
2. JavaScript
3. Java
4. C++
5. GoLang
6. C#
7. SQL
8. Dart
9. R
10. PHP

If you are a visual learner, you could refer to our video presentation of the Top 10 Programming Languages for 2021, too!

1. Python

 Python is the fastest growing general purpose, high-level programming language with an emphasis on code readability. It has notable features like

• Open-source programming language
• Extensive support modules and community development
• Easy integration with web services
• User-friendly data structures
• GUI-based desktop applications

It is also one of the most preferred language in the fields of Data Science, Statistics, Analytics, ML and AI with R as its only real competition.

Reasons for Demand

• • Python-based web development frameworks like Django, Pyramid, and Turbo Gear are easy to learn, feature-packed and popular
  • It has packages such as NumPy and SciPy that are commonly used in the fields of scientific computing, mathematics, and engineering
  • Its application in sophisticated deep learning and machine learning makes it a great choice for the academically inclined
  • Has a wide range of applications like creating famous video games, developing 2D imaging as well as 3D animation packages
  • Highly demanding in the job market with over 894k GitHub repositories and an average salary of python developer is $120,000 in USA & ₹11,50,000 in India
  • Multi-purpose language used by popular companies like Cisco, IBM, Mozilla, Google, Quora, HP, Dropbox, Qualcomm, etc

2. JavaScript

Along HTML and CSS, Javascript is the programming language that built the Internet. So, it’s a pretty big deal. Universally known as the language of web developers,  javascript is a feature-rich object-based scripting language. Featuring asynchronous event handling and crisp syntax, it has found widespread use in the field of web development. What started off as a simple client-side scripting language, is now a highlight within the web development community featuring multiple frameworks for both backend and frontend development.

Reasons for Demand

• • In extension to absolute JavaScript, various popular libraries and frameworks make JavaScript development easier
  • Most accessible supporting technologies related to JavaScript are JSON, jQuery, Angular, React (JS Library), etc
  • Fundamentally a front-end language, it can also be practiced on the server-side throughout Node.js to create scalable network applications
  • Majority of tech giants like Google, Facebook, SAP, Dell, Accenture, etc rely on Javascript to design interactive web pages and dynamically display content to users
  • Recognized as most conventional programming languages the average JavaScript Developer Salary in the US as per Indeed is $117,000 in USA & ₹16,00,000 in India

3. Java

Owned by the Oracle Corporation, Java is one of the oldest, most common, in-demand computer programming languages in use today. Well, think of some of your favorite web apps and games. It’s highly likely that Java plays a huge role in the code that makes them work. Another important factor which has kept Java’s magic intact among web development companies is its independence from platforms. This helps developers to essentially “write once, work anywhere”(WORA). Java is everywhere and the demand for strong developers is literally high.

Reasons for Demand

• • Java is highly recognized for its scalability and portability across multiple platforms from mainframe data centers to smartphone
  • Its powerful features include strong memory management, high performance, backward compatible and top-notch security
  • With its presence in almost 3 billion devices, Java’s new frameworks such as Spring, Struts, and Hibernate have also become very popular
  • Forms the base for and used in a multitude of domains including mobile application, web development, system programming, and big data
  • It is favored by enterprises, with roughly 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies use Java for building applications and back end systems
  • With millions of users across the globe, the popular users of Java include Barclays, HCL, Capital One, etc
  • With fantastic community support with above 900k repositories on GitHub, Java Developers earn around $123,000 in USA & ₹11,00,000 in India

4. C++

Sequel to C, C++ is the pioneer of the modern world’s most used programming languages and root of other programming languages such as C#, Java, and JavaScript. It is a simple, yet powerful programming language that provides a structured approach. Both C and C++ are considered high-performance languages and are widely used in developing applications where performance is a critical issue. Though old, the practical applications of C++, is the reason why C++ is in this top 10 programming languages list.

Reasons for Demand

• • C++ has remained in high demand due to high performance, reliability, and variety of contexts you can use it in
  • Mostly used in game development, scripting, mobile applications, especially performance-intensive tasks
  • Core areas of development where you can see c++ are virtual reality, gaming, and computer graphics
  • C++ provides generic frameworks and libraries like wx-Widgets, GTK++, boost, Qt, etc
  • You can find C++ in a wide range of applications like Adobe Photoshop, Google Chromium, MapReduce, Mozilla Firefox, MySQL database
  • Companies like eBay, Spotify, Huawei, PhonePe, IBM hire skilled C++ developers, architects, designers offering an average salary of $114,000 in USA & ₹10,00,000 in India
  • Microsoft Windows and Google Chrome are the two of the most well-known projects created with C++

5. GoLang

Developed by the tech giant Google itself, Go is one of the latest players in the programming platform. It is an open-source language which makes it easy to create simple, secure, and productive software. It combines the best aspects of functional and object-oriented programming, as well as features a valuable set of inbuilt development tools.

Reasons for Demand

• • The language is straightforward to grasp even for the new programmers while being extremely powerful at the same time
  • Go has been optimized by Google to be incredibly efficient with memory and has blazing fast speed
  • It provides high performance like C/C++ and has efficient concurrency handling like Java
  • Supports multithreading at large and is hence used by a lot of companies that rely heavily on distributed systems
  • Popular projects like Kubernetes, Docker, Hugo, Hyperledger Blockchain and Ethereum are developed using Go
  • It is widely used in startups and some of the companies that use the language are Walmart, Springboard, Siemens, Dell
  • Golang developers are high in demand, and low in supply, so companies are willing to offer handsome salaries that go as high as to $170,000 in USA & ₹15,30,000 in India

6. C#

Created by Microsoft, C# is considered to be one of the most powerful programming languages in the Dot NET framework. It is a powerful, flexible language that gives you a comprehensive programming foundation which is applicable to Java, Objective-C, PHP, and more. You can think of C# as a blend of the C++ and the Java language but Anders Hejlsberg, the creator of C#, says the language is more like C++ than Java.

Reasons for Demand

• • Rich set of libraries make compilation and execution with C# lightning fast
  • It is used in backend operations of several popular websites like Bing, Dell, Visual Studio and Market Watch
  • C# uses frameworks like Xamarin and .NET for building mobile applications and game development.
  • C# is mostly used with Microsoft’s .NET framework to design web forms, windows applications, etc
  • The language is best suited for the applications that are based on Windows, Android as well as iOS since it takes the aid of Microsoft Visual C++
  • Highly recommended language for building 3D and 2D video games using the popular Unity game engine, which produces one-third of the top games on the market

7. SQL

Structured Query Language, or SQL, is a special-purpose programming language used to interact with databases. It works by analyzing and understanding databases consisting of fields of data within tables. Many fortune 500 companies have built their own high-performance database systems, using SQL to query data and perform analysis. With over 260,000 repositories on Github, it eclipses the popularity of a lot of the newer languages when it comes to the Data Analytics field.

Reasons for Demand

• • It works by analyzing and understanding databases consisting of fields of data within tables.
  • Most fortune 500 companies have built their own high-performance database systems based off SQL
  • With over 260K repositories on Github & huge community to back it up, it eclipses the popularity of a lot of the newer languages in the Data Analytics field
  • Database developers coding in SQL take home an average annual pay of $97,000 in USA & ₹10,00,000 in India
  • Companies such as Uber, Netflix, AirB&B, Google, Amazon use SQL as their foundational querying medium

8.Dart

Developed by Google, Dart is an easy to learn, iterative, open-source programming language meant for server-side as well as browser-side programming. While most frameworks share a portion of codebase on different platforms, Dart allows you to write a single application for both Android and iOS and allows code sharing between mobile applications on different platforms.

Reasons for Demand

• • Dart is an easy to learn, iterative programming language
  • It allows you to write a single app that can be used on both Android and iOS
  • Dart allows code to be shared between mobile applications on different platforms
  • Mobile App developers using Dart take home an average annual pay of $154,000 in USA & ₹13,00,000 in India
  • With its sister framework, Flutter, Dart has taken the market by storm and companies such as HP, Motorola, AirB&B, Google, Apple use it for building mobile applications

9. R

R was designed by statisticians and was specialized for statistical computing, and thus is known as the “lingua franca of statistics”. As technology improves, the data companies or research institutions collect has become more and more complex, and R has been adopted by many as the language of choice to analyze data. This language is not only open source but also comes with cross-platform compatibility and a community with over 6 Million Repositories on GitHub.

Reasons for Demand

• • It is open source, and comes with cross platform compatibility and can also be used to create interactive web-apps
  • The R community is over 6 Million Repositories on GitHub
  • Many companies use R, including Mu Sigma, Google, Twitter, etc
  • R has 10,000+ packages to cater diverse needs
  • There is a vast community of R developers and the average salary is nearly $121,000 in USA & ₹6,70,000 in India

10. PHP

PHP is used by 79% of all the websites whose server-side programming language we know. It is mainly used for developing dynamic and data-heavy websites and applications. It has been the cornerstone of the web for a long time. PHP is a simple, fast and platform-independent general-purpose programming language with over 631,000 repositories on GitHub.

Reasons for Demand

• PHP is used by 79.0% of all the websites whose server-side programming languages are known 
• PHP is simple, fast and platform-independent 
• It is 631k repositories on GitHub and has a community of 5.9M to back it up
• Companies that have publicly declared usage of PHP include Facebook, Yahoo, Wikipedia
• Average global salary for development on PHP is $102,000 in USA & ₹8,50,000 in India

And that concludes my list of the Top 10 Programming Languages for 2021. Hope this article proved useful to you. Do stay tuned for the upcoming articles in the series! You can also learn more about the Top 10 Trending Technologies and the  Top 10 Highest Paying Jobs in the IT landscape. Also, you can refer to the Top 10 IT Certifications to get clarity on the career you want to pursue.

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