The Top 10 Programming Languages (For Techies only)

Tech Impulsion ^ | Feb 2012 | Ajit Singh

[SeekAndFind]

The knowledge of a handful of programming languages could come to be a lifesaver to many a programmer, especially since most languages that were popular 10 years ago are not as viable as they are now.

But there are many developers who have earned their worth simply by knowing the right programming language at the right time, simply because they had solid skills that were profitable while the language was popular.

Here are some languages though, which stayed popular through the years, and prove to give young developers a jumpstart to their careers, and always are a bonus to add to any developer’s resume, as compiled by TIOBE software, a coding standards company.

1. Java

What is it?
 An object-oriented programming language developed in the late 1990s by James Gosling and colleagues at Sun Microsystems.

Why is it important?
This “beautiful” programming language is central for any non-Microsoft developer, i.e. any developer who focuses on the non-.NET experience. It is mostly derived from C and C++ but has a more basic object model. It ranked first on TIOBE’s list of most popular programming languages.

2. C

What is it?
C, a general purpose programming language built by Dennis Ritchie when he was a part of Bell Telephone labs, is the bass of C++ and other programming languages. It was built to work with the Unix operating system.

Why is it important?
C is one of the most widely used programming languages of all time, and ranked second on the list. “Learning C is crucial. Once you learn C, making the jump to Java or C# is fairly easy, because a lot of the syntax is common. Also, a lot of C syntax is used in scripting languages,” Wayne Duqaine, director of Software Development at Grandview Systems, of Sebastopol, Calif., told eWEEK.
 

3. C#

What is it?
This general-purpose programming language developed by Microsoft evolved from C and C++ as a part of the software company’s .NET initiative.

Why is it important?
This language is an essential part of the .NET framework, so developers who use Microsoft heavily will find it critical, according to Duqaine.

4. C++

What is it?
C++ is a general purpose multi-paradigm spanning compiled language that has both high-level and low-level languages’ features. It was started as an enhancement to the C programming language, Bjarne Stroustrup in 1979.

Why is it important?
It is one of the most popular programming languages, winning fourth place on the list, with application domains including systems software, application software, server and client applications, and entertainment software such as video games.  The language has also greatly influenced many other popular programming languages, such as C# and Java.

5. Objective-C
 

What is it?
This object-oriented programming language created first by Brad Cox and Tom Love at their company Stepstone in the early 1980s, adds Smalltalk-like messaging to the C programming language.

Why is it important?
This language is most used on the Apple iOS and Mac OS X. Objective-C is the principal language used for Apple's Cocoa API as well.

6. PHP

What is it?
This language is especially suited for Web development because of it easy embedding into HTML pages. It is an open-source, server-side, cross-platform, interpretive HTML scripting language

Why is it important?
It is a popular language, ranking sixth on TIOBE’s list. "High-speed scripting with caching, augmented with compiled code plug-ins (such as can be done with Perl and PHP) is where the future is. Building Web apps from scratch using C or COBOL is going the way of the dinosaur," said Duquaine, according to eWEEK’s report.

7. (Visual) Basic

What is it?
This is an event-driven programming language which is implemented on Microsoft’s .Net framework.

Why is it important?
This language ranked as the seventh most popular language on TIOBE’s list, probably because it was designed by Microsoft to be easy to learn and use. According to Tim Huckaby, CEO of San Diego-based software engineering company CEO Interknowlogy.com, “It is currently dominating in adoption and that is where all the work is,” as in eWEEK’s report.

 8. Python

What is it?
This is an event-driven programming language which is extensively used by Google because of its simplicity. It is managed by the Python Software Foundation.

Why is it important?
Python is a general-purpose, high-level programming language whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python claims to combine "remarkable power with very clear syntax", and its standard library is large and comprehensive.

It is releases on 4 September 2011, 6 months ago.It is developed by Python Software Foundation.

9. Perl

What is it?
Being a high-level programming language, its emphasis lies in code readability and clear syntax. It combines Object-oriented and functional programming styles, and is often used as a scripting language. Perl is an open-source language used widely to process text through CGI programs.


Why is it important?
Perl’s efficiency in processing of piles of text has ranked it ninth in terms of programming language popularity. It is used extensively to write Web server programs for a variety of tasks. “Learning some form of scripting language, such as Perl or PHP is critical if you are doing Web apps," told Wayne Duqaine, director of Software Development at Grandview Systems, of Sebastopol, Calif., in a talk with eWEEK.

10. JavaScript

What is it?
JavaScript is an object-oriented scripting language that is smaller than Java. Being a client-side language, it runs in the web browser on the client-side with a simplified set of commands, easier code and no need for compilation.

Why is it important?
JavaScript is simple to learn and is the tenth most widely used programming language. It is used in millions of web pages to authenticate forms, detect browsers and improve design, and it is easier to run these functions as it is embedded into HTML.

[SeekAndFind]

This article is a few months old but I don't think things have changed much since then.

[SeekAndFind]

[ClearCase_guy]

What? No ADA??

[Terpfen]

Java #1—instead of C++ or Obejctive-C? No HTML/CSS? No Ruby?

Yeah, this is a pretty silly list.

[carriage_hill]

What happened to Fortran and COBOL? They were a b*tch, back when I was drinking too much. LOL.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: What? No ADA??

Ada is definitely still being used in a number of niche markets, but it isn’t popular for mainstream commercial development. But then again, Ada wasn’t designed to be C# or Java, it was designed to meet a number of requirements for DoD systems, and these requirements also align with those for heavy industry, safety-critical systems, verifiable systems, and so on, and that’s where you find Ada today.

Some factoid for those interested...

Oracle’s PL/SQL language is based on Ada, the syntax, structure the concepts of records, packages and exceptions are all taken from Ada.

There are a lot of people using PL/SQL, I think they just stay quiet because it’s so dull.

[carriage_hill]

“Building Web apps from scratch using C or COBOL...”

There it is. Using COBOL never would have occurred to me for web pages. HTML and xHTML-CSS were enough.

[Ragnar54]

bfl

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks SeekAndFind. Have a great day, all.

[SeekAndFind]

The most popular (i.e., the most visited) websites have in common that they are dynamic websites. Their development typically involves server side coding, client side coding and database technology. The programming languages applied to deliver similar dynamic web content however vary vastly between sites.

Programming languages used in most popular websites*

Website	Popularity (unique visitors)[1]	Frontend (Client-side)	Backend (Server-side)	Database	Notes
Google.com[2]	1,000,000,000	HTML	C, C++, Java, Python, PHP	MySQL	"MapReduce" is programmed in PHP
Facebook.com	880,000,000	Ajax	PHP, C++, Java, Python, Erlang	MySQL	The Most visited social networking site
YouTube.com	800,000,000	Flash, Java, JavaScript	C, Python	MySQL	video sharing site
Yahoo	590,000,000	PHP	Ajax	MySQL
Live.com	490,000,000	ASP.NET
MSN.com	440,000,000	ASP.NET
Wikipedia.org	410,000,000	PHP		MySQL	"MediaWiki" is programmed in PHP; free online encyclopedia
Blogspot.com	340,000,000	Python
Bing	230,000,000	ASP.NET	JavaScript
Twitter.com	160,000,000	RoR, Scala, Java	C++		160 character social network
Wordpress.com	130,000,000	PHP, JavaScript			uses JQuery library
Amazon.com	110,000,000	Java, J2EE	C++, Perl
eBay.com	88,000,000	Java, WebSphere, Servlets		Oracle Database	online auction house
Linkedin.com	80,000,000	Java, Scala

*data on programming languages are based on:

• HTTP Header information

[BaylorDad]

What about the languages I know? And I’m still working.

Fortran
RPG
Cobol
Basic

Believe it or not, I still support programs in RPG running on IBM’s AS400 SSP operating system.

[BuckeyeTexan]

I have mad skills in five of these languages. How ‘bout you, Laz? I know you have mad skills.

[aquila48]

ADA? What about FORTRAN?

[bigbob]

I’ve always echoed the words of the great Steve Ciarcia:

“My favorite programming language is SOLDER”

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Ruby

The TIOBE index, which measures the growth of programming languages, now ranks Ruby as #9 among programming languages worldwide. Much of the growth is attributed to the popularity of software written in Ruby, particularly the Ruby on Rails web framework.

See here:

http://www.ruby-lang.org/en/about/

Ruby is also totally free. Not only free of charge, but also free to use, copy, modify, and distribute.

[tacticalogic]

Strangely absent (to me, at least) from any consideration is Windows Powershell.

[Tanniker Smith]

I used to know quite a bit of that stuff. And back when my ISP had Unix shell accounts, I used to play around with that stuff (and the vi editor, too).

But now I'm an Algebra teacher and I don't have anything to program that would allow me to practice any of that stuff. Oh, well.

[Dr. Sivana]

The list was already made in the ground breaking Bally/Midway arcade game TRON:

Eachlevel was a different programming language. Here is the RPG level:

[Grams A]

And then there are those of us who still remember and treasure the old DOS commands. I still have one very, very old computer which contains one very, very old program that I still use on occasion when I get tired of fighting with everything else.

[desertfreedom765]

This article is slanted towards Application development and Web programming. Lots of Systems administrators are using Perl and other scripting languages to solve problems every day.

In fact on Dice the number of Jobs for Per greatly exceeds PHP or Python.

[SeekAndFind]

TIOBE Programming Community Index for April 2012

April 2012 Headline: Java and C swap places at the top of the TIOBE index

[ConservativeMind]

That is a fascinating graphic, but it greatly misses the boat on job postings. Craigslist is a darn poor job site. The stats should be from Dice and Monster/CareerBuilder.

Craigslist is for jobs for which the employer HR department has no budget. Heck, even the local newspaper is more worthwhile, in my experience.

[the_Watchman]

My company is building a business out of converting COBOL programs to C++. There is still a lot of need for COBOL programmers.

Also, just looking at job postings is not quite enough. In order to manage the programming environments, one needs a working knowledge of scripting languages and shells. We just held an in-house training session on “expect” to support the development of test programs.

[Political Junkie Too]

COBOL, FORTRAN, PL/1, ASM, APL, SQL, JCL, Nomad2, Focus. The dead languages? APL even had its own character set and required a special keyboard.

-PJ

[ConservativeMind]

As a follow up to my prior post, that is also why open source so dominates Craigslist job postings. Microsoft barely registers on that Craigslist stat. It makes the result completely bogus.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: COBOL, FORTRAN, PL/1, ASM, APL, SQL, JCL, Nomad2, Focus. The dead languages?

If there are still advertisements for these skill sets, then they’re not dead at all.

[corbe]

Where’s the JCL (Job Control Language). Used that for many years on Large IBM Main frames.

Started on PAL and SAL in the USAF on Univac 1050-II, early ‘70s. I’ve outlived all my Girlfriends and Languages, how unfortunate........

[SeekAndFind]

Long term trends

The long term trends for the top 10 programming languages can be found in the line diagram below.

[meatloaf]

I thought SQL was defined around 1970 with the first implimentations predating ADA which started around 1977.

[Interesting Times]

I feel the need to put in a word for IBM assembler, in which were written the core platforms that still run the world’s economic systems (Z/OS, CICS, IMS, DB2, etc.).

[ConservativeMind]

I don’t know how valid that list is. Where on Amazon’s site is anyone’s Java being pulled up to do something? I’ve never seen Java run for an Amazon function on my client, and I’ve been on there for years (and I’m in the top 2000 reviewers)

[thulldud]

ADA? What about FORTRAN?

They say, a Fortran programmer can write Fortran in any language.

[COBOL2Java]

Oldie but still a goodie...

---

Jack was a COBOL programmer in the mid to late 1990s. After years of being taken for granted and treated as a technological dinosaur by all the Client/Server programmers, PC repair technicians and website developers, he was finally getting some respect. He’d become a private consultant specializing in Year 2000 conversions.

Several years of this relentless, mind-numbing work had taken its toll on Jack. He began having anxiety dreams about the Year 2000. All he could think about was how he could avoid the year 2000 and all that came with it.

Jack decided to contact a company that specialized in cryogenics. He made a deal to have himself frozen until March 15th, 2000. The next thing he would know is he’d wake up in the year 2000; after the New Year celebrations and computer debacles; after the leap day. Nothing else to worry about except getting on with his life.

He was put into his cryogenic receptacle, the technicians set the revive date, he was given injections to slow his heartbeat to a bare minimum, and that was that.

The next thing that Jack saw was an enormous and very modern room filled with excited people. They were all shouting “I can’t believe it!” and “It’s a miracle” and “He’s alive!”. There were cameras (unlike any he’d ever seen) and equipment that looked like it came out of a science fiction movie.

Someone who was obviously a spokesperson for the group stepped forward. Jack couldn’t contain his enthusiasm. “Is it over?” he asked. “Is the year 2000 already here? Are all the millennial parties and promotions and crises all over and done with?”

The spokesman explained that there had been a problem with the programming of the timer on Jack’s cryogenic receptacle, it hadn’t been year 2000 compliant. It was actually eight thousand years later, not the year 2000. Technology had advanced to such a degree that everyone had virtual reality interfaces which allowed them to contact anyone else on the planet.

“That sounds terrific,” said Jack. “But I’m curious. Why is everybody so interested in me?”

“Well,” said the spokesman. “The year 10000 is just around the corner, and it says in your files that you know COBOL”.

[FreedomPoster]

LOL! On that note, I dredged up some knowledge from 30 years ago (last time I touched the stuff) on 74xx chips and gate logic to solve an oddball custom videogame controller problem my son threw at me. He screws around with old-school stand up console fighting games like Tekken and Marvel vs. Capcom.

[stylin19a]

COBOL - dinosaurs rock !

Might be before 10000...for those who chose to “Window” during Y2k.

[FreedomPoster]

To name one you missed, LISP. Early versions of AutoCAD used LISP as the built-in scripting language, which was pretty cool.

[SeekAndFind]

Other programming languages in terms of popularity according to the TIOBE Programming Community Index for April 2012 :

[Born to Conserve]

If a programmer doesn’t know c, they’re not a programmer.

And what the hell does this mean? “...since most languages that were popular 10 years ago are not as viable as they are now.”

[SeekAndFind]

TIOBE Programming Community Index is an indicator of the programming language trends.

It is updated monthly, this list is based on the number of experienced programmers,courses and third-party vendors on the Internet.

It uses the well-known search engines (such as Google, MSN, Yahoo) as well as Wikipedia and YouTube to calculate the ranking. Please note that this list is merely a reflection of the popularity of a programming language, does not indicate whether a programming language is good or not.

Reference :

http://sd.csdn.net/a/20120409/2804302.html

http://www.tiobe.com/index.php/content/paperinfo/tpci/index.html

[Political Junkie Too]

I remember in college taking a course that touched on several languages at once. Snobol?

-PJ

[ImJustAnotherOkie]

Objective C has no place on this list. It’s not a language at all. It is simply a precompiler for C. It’s kludgy and stupid. I don’t like the stupid [] crap.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: If a programmer doesn’t know c, they’re not a programmer.

No, not at all. It simply tells us that in a job market like the one we have now, employers want someone who can do the job NOW. They’re not going to invest the time for someone to learn a programming language on the job.

You might be an excellent Assembly language programmer, but if the market for Assembly programmers are few ( i.e., not in demand, which is the case today, and I suspect, in future ), you are unlikely to find a job and would be better off targetting those companies that still have need for this specific skill.

I rememeber in the 1990’s there was humongous need for developers with POWERBUILDER skills. Now, I see little or no advertisement for this skill at all.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Objective C has no place on this list. It’s not a language at all. It is simply a precompiler for C. It’s kludgy and stupid. I don’t like the stupid [] crap.

Love it or hate it, as long as APPLE’s iPhone is tremendously popular and Apps for the iPhone will be needed, Objective-C will be on the top 5 of the list.

Sometimes, the best products do not dominate and crappy ones do ( Remember the Blue Screen of Death for Windows 3.1 ?)

[Revolting cat!]

11. Databus.

[Cementjungle]

There it is. Using COBOL never would have occurred to me for web pages. HTML and xHTML-CSS were enough.

I was forced to do an interactive system in COBOL once (on an IBM mainframe). It had to have some subroutines done in BAL (assembly), but was mostly done in COBOL (with some REXX scripts supporting things). Those were the days.

[carriage_hill]

THAT’s very, very impressive, Cj!

[cynwoody]

Google uses PHP ??

According to Steve Yegge, who works there, Google has four corporate-wide standard languages, and PHP is not among them:

One of the (hundreds of) cool things about working for Google is that they let teams experiment, as long as it's done within certain broad and well-defined boundaries. One of the fences in this big playground is your choice of programming language. You have to play inside the fence defined by C++, Java, Python, and JavaScript.

MapReduce (a Google invention) programmed in PHP? Not so. You may be able to use MapReduce or work-alikes from PHP, but MapReduce is not written in PHP.

[Bobalu]

I use C almost exclusively.
It’s king in the embedded systems world.
ASM is also very useful for writing fast interrupt code.

When I need to quickly create a windows app that will work I pull out good old Delphi :-)

[cynwoody]

Objective C has no place on this list.

Looking at the chart in #28, it appears Objective C's curve has been trending upward the last few years. That's no doubt due to the popularity of those iThingies.

[central_va]

I use/maintain Java, C and Perl code on a daily basis. I guess my skills are still up to date. If you can take the punishment learning PERL you will be handsomely rewarded as it is to me the most useful thing in the world. I can do things with PERL (regex hashes) on one line that would take 10 to 100’s of lines of c or java code.