From approximately 650+ programming languages, some programming languages are better suited to a project than others, while some are commercially in-demand. Notably, it is long-term project sustainability that often becomes the basis for choosing the project foundations. More importantly, choosing a language is not a personal prerogative. Instead, a decision is based upon:

- The industry standard.
- The language environment.
- The language ecosystems.
- The language vision.

Here, we will be discussing the top 6 programming languages to ace in 2021. This will help you to choose the best web app development service, iOS development, or Android development.

1) Python

With an approximate growthof 11% between 2009 and 2021, Python’s success is reflected in the success of the industry giants like YouTube, Dropbox, Uber, Spotify, etc., that use Python to achieve functionality. It is a clear and powerful object-oriented programming language with classes and multiple inheritances.

Python makes the programs easier to read through its elegant syntax. It enables quicker deployment of ad-hoc programming projects through its efficient error handling. Also, it possesses diverse basic data types, advanced programming features, and automatic memory management coupled with its cross-platform functionality that makes Python the in-demand language for web apps development, gaming, enterprise, image and text processing, machine-learning applications, etc.

Advantages

● Extensive support libraries: Standardized libraries, where some like TensorFlow are optimized for speed, whileothers for workability with complex data (sci-kit learn).
● Straightforward programming cycle:Python’s interpreter enables the standard programming cycle. The editing, testing, and debugging process and its other iteration benefits make it easier to use.
● Fast iteration: The numerous libraries, integration as a glue language, simple syntax, and reusability increases application deployability.

Disadvantages

● Slow execution speed: As Python functions through an interpreter rather than a compiler, it is slower than C and C++.
● Runtime Errors: Due to its dynamically typed categorization, the simplification of the coding process leads to runtime errors. This increases the program’s complexities.
● Significant memory consumption: An app development focused on memory optimization would require careful profiling of memory consumption that can be circumvented by using an alternative.

2) JavaScript

Like Python, JavaScript (JS) is an interpreted language with a fluctuating growth of approximately 6%, peaking at 13% during 2016 - 2017. Lightweight with first-class functions, JavaScript is the main language for web pages and non-browsing environments, such as Node.js (cross-platform JS runtime environment), Apache CouchDB (document-oriented non-SQL database), Adobe Acrobat, Groupon, etc. Websites can develop interactive content such as menus, animations, interactive maps, and other features that possess dynamicity.

JavaScript’s main features include:

● Prototype-based programming allows the performance of behaviour reuse by using existing objects, known as prototypes.
● Multi-paradigm programming includes various subcomponents implemented with appropriate paradigms and the ability to communicate with each other.
● Supports object-oriented, imperative, and declarative programming styles.

Advantages

● Works alongside HTML and CSS to optimize coding efficiency and user experience to end-users.
● Interoperability facilitates plugging into any web page.
● Reduced server load is possible due to JavaScript being client-side. Therefore, simple applications may require no server at all.
● Feature-rich interfaces allow for versatility at frontends such as drag and components.

Disadvantages

● Exploitability of bugs occurs when bugs are exploited for malicious intent. Thus, some users disable JavaScript.
● Interpretation variation by different browsers. It can be, however, eradicated with exhaustive testing.

3) Kotlin

Kotlin is the widely used programming language for Android development (60 percent of professional Android developers use it), because it is less likely to crash. Notably, Kotlin’sNullable and nonNulltypes facilitates avoiding NullPointerExceptions during runtime. It is a statistically typed language that improves developer productivity and satisfaction. Kotlin had begun gaining momentum since 2017 when Google announced it as Android’s official programming language.

Advantages

● Less coding: Kotlin was designed to reduce encryption than Java, consequentially reducing the coding time and improving performance.
● Easier to Learn:Compared to other languages (within a few hours) of studying the language reference. The low learning curve is due to its simplified and intuitive syntax.
● Java to Kotlin Conversion tools enables converting the existing Java files to convert complex code into a more accessible form without compromising the quality.

Disadvantages

● As Kotlin is a modern language, it has a limited developer community.
● Weak pattern matching decreases readability.
● The steep learning curve is due to Kotlin’s strict syntax.

4) Swift

A general-purpose programming language, Swift witnessed a spiked interest since its announcement in 2014. As a primary iOS development programming language, it has seen a growth of 1.6 percent since 2014, with the highest growth of 2.80 percent between 2016 and 2017. Swift’s primary goal is to create the best contemporary language with varied uses from systems programming, mobile and desktop applications, and scalability up to cloud services.

Swift has achieved that through its key safety feature where undefined behavior is detected before production. Additionally, Swift is fast and consistent as compared to C, C++, and Objective-C.

Advantages

● Readability - one of the primary reasons Apple adopted Swift for iOS development. It is a more straightforward syntax to read as compared to Objective C. Moreover, the more detailed approach to implementation is due to more minor legacy conventions such as semicolons, end-lines, and parentheses.
● Swift’s app logic is faster than an implementation in Python for the same algorithm. Moreover, it decreases iteration time.
● Flagging problematic code has been made possible through compiler errors that make it possible to compile the program and fix errors simultaneously.

Disadvantages

● Compatibility issues have been documented in the updated Swift versions leading to compatibility issues with updated Apple versions.
● Limited developer community limits the support for attributes and metadata required by the development environment.

5) Scala

Scale is a contemporary, multi-paradigm, object-oriented, and functional language. It was designed to create well-known programming patterns concisely and securely. Scala had grown by 0.3 percent since 2009, peaking at approximately 0.8 percent when it was first released in 2017. Its key features are its collections framework that provides an encompassing framework for all collection types, and it enables the user to work with data at higher levels.

Advantages

● Ease of use is indicated by a small vocabulary of 20 to 25 methods that solve most collection problems in fewer operations.
● A single command achieves more as compared to several loops. Functional operations can be expressed through lightweight syntax that makes the entire procedure straightforward.
● The statistically typed and Scala’s functional nature facilitates error being caught during compile-time. This is because the collection operations are heavily used and well-tested.
● Libraries consist of tuned and optimized collection operations that increase the language’s efficiency.

Disadvantages

● Complex type information: In some instances, type information is harder to understand as Scala is a hybrid between functional and object-oriented.
● Lack of tail-recursive optimization is due to Scala running on Java Virtual Machine (JVM). There are workarounds available, such as @tailrec annotation for partial benefits.

6) Java

Oracle Java is one of the oldest and top programming language and development platforms. Although interesthas reduced in recent years, the overarching benefits such as cost reduction, shortened development timeframe, and improved application services have pushed Java to be the development platform of choice for all developers. Due to its popularity, Java is commonly used for enterprise-scale web and android applications.

Advantages

● For its robust nature, platform independence, Java can move from one computer system to another as it is independent at both the source and binary levels.
● Due to its ease of learning, Java is easier to write, compile, and debug.
● Object-oriented enables the programmers to create modular programs and reusable codes.

Disadvantages

● As we discussed earlier, Java has high memory consumption compared to C+ and C++, even more than Python. Moreover, it is slow as each code needs to be translated to machine level, and at times, the garbage collector adds to the performance issues.
● Complex coding is a disadvantage due to difficulty in readability. Java’s overly complicated codes and extended explanations make it a difficult but necessary choice for programmers.

Wrapping Up

Whether you are looking for a web app development service, android development service, or iOS development service, learning one of our shortlisted languages will be an excellent choice to begin your transition.