7 Top Programming Languages To Learn in 2021

The software development industry is flourishing, and the best part is it pays off well! There has been always a demand for good and qualified software developers and that is the reason why more and more people are learning codes as it is the most appealing career option. However, with the new skills, technologies, and programming languages coming up in the industry, developers are finding it difficult to understand the ways to start.

When you are a beginner, you need to know in detail about the top programming languages. And you definitely need to learn and master top programming languages at least one or more, and this will give you a high-paying job in the leading software industry. 

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Let us have a quick look at the 7 most popular and top programming languages of 2021 that you can go for.

1. Python

Python tops the list of the best programming language to learn first for beginners. Python is an easy to use, fast, and easy-to-deploy programming language. It is widely used to develop scalable web applications and mobile applications, with no sign of slowing down.

Popularity:

For over years, Python is in demand with no sign of slowing down. The programming language ranking top on the site PYPL.

Key Features:

• It is simple, productive, and powerful to use.
• It allows for the integration with C/C++.
• Python has good community support.
• It supports an extensive list of libraries.
• Focuses more on code readability.
• Scale the most complex applications.
• Best to use for building prototypes.
• It is open-source and supports a multitude of platforms.
  

2. JavaScript

JavaScript is also one of the popular most programming languages to learn in 2021. JavaScript is widely used by developers to design interactive applications. It is a high-level, dynamic programming language.

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It supports both HTML and CSS that is an extremely important addition to this programming language of 2021, as most websites run on the functionality features of HTML and CSS that JavaScript brings. 

Popularity:

JavaScript is the widely used programming language that runs on every browser, server, and mobile device.

Key Features:

• JavaScript is the best programming language for Browser programming.
• With its Node.js, JavaScript offers event-driven programming.
• It is regularly updated via the ECMA specification.
• It supports several add-ons, like Greasemonkey, for extending the functionality.
• Easy implementation.
• Huge community support.
• It is best for building a diverse range of applications.
• It works well with other programming languages.

3. Java

Java is also a top programming language to learn for developers and it has remained on the top for decades. Java is widely used by developers for building enterprise-grade web applications. It is an extremely stable programming language to use for developing Android-based applications. All business firms need an Android Application, which opens up a huge opportunity for Java developers. Also, Google has built a Java-based Android development framework that is Android Studio.

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Popularity:

Java is the 3rd most popular programming language worldwide. It remained on the top lists in the next two decades. 

Key Features:

• Java is a powerful and interpreted programming language.
• Java is best for building business applications.
• Java’s runtime JVM works as one of the best virtual machines.
• It follows the OOP paradigm.
• It is highly secure in nature due to its exclusion of explicit pointer and the security manager.
• It is best for building distributed computing programs.
• Offers several APIs for different coding tasks including XML parsing, database connection, networking, utilities, etc.
• It also supports multithreading.

4. C/C++

For over years, C has been the most used programming language. Even in 2020, it is the best option for programming enterprise-grade applications. It has all types of low-level systems such as file systems, operating systems, written in C/C++. So, if you are looking to become a system-level programmer, C is the basic language you should learn in 2021. 

C++ is also widely popular among programmers that it is also extremely fast and stable to use. C++ also comes with STL - Standard Template Library that supports ready-to-use libraries for building data structures, algorithms, and arithmetic operations. The speed of the programming language and support for multiple libraries make it a popular choice programming language among developers that has influenced almost all other languages on this list.

Popularity:

C is one of the oldest programming languages in this list. For over years, this programming language has ruled the ranking history.

Key Features:

• It is the fastest and most powerful programming language.
• Gives you full control over the underlying hardware.
• It compiles other programming languages such as PHP, Ruby, and Python.
• It allows for faster execution of programs.
• It is the best language for multi-device and multi-platform app development.
• It provides a great level of portability.
• It supports a group of function modules and blocks that makes debugging, testing, and maintaining the programs easier.
• C Programs are easy to understand.
• C++ has a rich function library.
• Offers a low level of abstraction.
• It supports function overloading and exception handling.
• C++ is best for building games-based apps, GUI applications, and real-time mathematical simulations.

5. PHP

PHP is also among the most popular programming languages of the year 2021. Today the market needs a large number of PHP developers that aim to develop websites and web applications. It is a general-purpose programming language that is used to build server-side web applications.

Popularity:

According to the ranking site TIOBE, the programming language PHP ranks as the 9th most popular programming language in July 2020.

Key Features:

• PHP is a Server-Side Web development programming language.
• PHP is used for Web development and has stable PHP frameworks in the market.
• Top companies are using PHP for development like Facebook, WordPress.
• Easy to get started for building web pages.
• It offers excellent debugging with Xdebug.
• It has good community support.
• Php offers automation tools for testing and deploying applications.

6. Swift

Swift is also the popular programming language for developing iOS applications. Today iOS-based devices are in demand, for example, Apple iPhone has a significant market share and is a tough competitor to Android. Those who wish to become part of Apple’s community can learn to code in Swift.

Swift is a general-purpose, multi-paradigm, compiled programming language that offers high speed and productivity standards. The language also has excellent interoperability with the codebase of Objective-C that is one of the primary programming languages in iOS App development. 

Popularity:

Swift is also widely popular among developers and it ranked 13th in the list of most preferred languages by the developers. (source: Tiobe) 

Key Features:

• Swift is known for its language design that has a clean and concise syntax that developers can understand easily.
• It offers a more productive coding approach in the Apple Ecosystem.
• Swift is one of the fastest compiling languages, fast as C++.
• It offers better scalability with additional functionalities to the product.
• It’s easy to add new features to Swift.
• Allows developers to write clean and readable code.
• It has an English-like syntax that makes it highly readable.
• It allows to integrate Server-side Swift with any technology
• Swift makes code sharing better and the development process faster.

7. GO

Go or Golang is a top programming language to learn in 2021. It is built by Google and provides excellent support for multithreading. Today it is being used by a lot of companies that wish to build distributed systems based applications.

Go is adopted widely by many startups and companies. Therefore, those who wish to join a startup MNC specializing in application development should learn Golang. 

In the last decade, Google has frustratingly discovered that existing programming languages cannot take the seemingly unlimited hardware, human resources of Google. For example, compiling the C++ codebase of Google took half an hour. Also, they wanted to tackle the development scaling issue in the new language.

Popularity:

Golang is more popular among developers compared to Swift and many existing languages. According to the TIOBE index ranking from July 2020, where Golang ranks 12th.

Key Features:

• Golang offers language-level support for Concurrency. 
• It offers a CSP based message-passing concurrency through Goroutine and Channel.
• Go is known for its simple design. 
• The Go developers can easily write system codes with Java, Python.
• It is a statically-typed language that makes it more secure.
• It comes with a cleaner syntax.
• It offers a standard library with a range of inbuilt functions.
• Go is best to use for building SPAs (single-page applications).
• It has smart documentation.

Bottom Line

So, what is your choice? Which programming language you want to learn first as a beginner? If you’re looking to get into the field of web design then the best programming language for you to learn will be JavaScript and PHP.

On the other hand, if you wish to go for the application development on Android and iOS then learn Swift, GO, and Java language. If you are looking forward to building AI algorithm based websites then you can learn the Python language.