Programming Languages Ranking for 2021

What do one who wants to become a programmer, one – who wants to improve their existing IT career, and one – who wants to develop custom software for their business have in common? All of them must be careful in selecting an appropriate programming language. For business owners, language choice will affect the development cost, speed, ease of support, product functionality, and many other aspects. For young programming professionals, the chosen language will influence the salary, demand, ability to find a job, and software type they remain to develop. As for experienced developers, it’s always necessary to research most in-demand languages to improve their skills and extend their technology stack.

In answer to your silent question, how to make a good choice – we advise you to find out the most in-demand programming languages provided by different ratings and surveys collected together in our article. Awareness of the most-used programming languages gives you an understanding of software development market trends and helps you to make the most meaningful choice.

Programming Language Ratings

First, it’s necessary to establish the criteria that determine the popularity of programming languages. One of the main factors is the number of mentions: the more web pages contain the name of the language, the more often it is used. However, different sources take different approaches:

• TIOBE Index chooses programming languages sorting them by popularity according to search hits. It tracks the sheer quantity of 25 search engine hits, including Google, Wikipedia, YouTube, and other sources. The TIOBE coding community index is made and maintained by the TIOBE Software BV based in the Netherlands. 
• PYPL, PopularitY of Programming Language, takes a narrower approach, measuring the frequency of searches for tutorials in a given coding language using Google Trends.
• Redmonk is a developer-focused analyst firm. Redmonk experts collect information on forums for programmers and rank languages ​​by how frequently they are mentioned.
• Github is one of the most trusted coding forums. They conduct a regular survey on the popularity of programming languages’ among programmers and development companies.

Let’s take a closer look at the ratings.

TIOBE Index

PopularitY of Programming Languages Index (PYPL Index)

Redmonk Programming Languages Ranking

1st quarter of 2021

Github Language Stats

1st quarter of 2021

Programming Languages Rank According to PYPL

1. Python

Nowadays, the power of personal computers and servers has become quite high, so there is a high demand for interpreted programming languages. In addition to starting the program itself, it’s necessary to launch the interpreter, which requires additional resources. This is where Python comes in: the reference implementation of Python is the CPython interpreter, which supports most of the actively used platforms and is the de facto language standard. Over the past 5 years, the popularity of Python has grown by 17.3%, which makes it an undeniable leader in this rating. Some of the biggest companies in the world, such as Instagram, Yahoo, and Facebook, use it.

Benefits:

• libraries and frameworks for any type of task, which makes work on a project flexible and simplifies some tasks;
• there are almost no unnecessary elements in the Python syntax; the code is clean and understandable without unnecessary parentheses and expressions;
• the Python interpreter exists for all popular platforms and is included by default on most Linux distributions.

2. Java

The growing popularity of Java in enterprise app development is largely due to its ability to support the system building blocks and various libraries. It allows coders to create the necessary functions and adapt products to clients’ needs. This is what makes it one of the most popular coding languages, for example, for Android development. Java is used by 3.5% of all websites whose server-side programming language is known. 

Benefits:

• a position independent of platforms: all kinds of systems (from smart cards to supercomputers) can interact with each other regardless of the hardware platform and system software;
• increased productivity thanks to a built-in mechanism to share program data across multiple computers;
• possibility of automatic memory management with the simultaneous and independent start of threads.

3. JavaScript

JavaScript is becoming more widely used lately and is the basis of frontend development. According to the 2019 Stack Overflow Report, JavaScript is used by 67.8% of developers. They use this language to make web pages rich and interactive, adding effects, notifications, and even small games. 

Benefits: 

• includes 20+ web frameworks to simplify programming (Angular JS, Node JS, React JS, and others);
• compatible with a few other languages;
• has data validation functionality.

4. C#

It’s safe to say that C# is one of the most in-demand and universal programming languages. It helps programmers in various areas: from server apps to mobile game development.

Benefits:

• deep integration with Windows;
• enumeration support;
• dynamic variables;
• supports native resource-management idioms.

5. C/C++

C and C ++ have nearly the same level of popularity. These languages are basic and universal; Microsoft Windows, Linux, Android, and other widespread computer systems are programmed in them. Programs are written in these languages also include MySQL and PostgreSQL database systems.

Benefits:

• an equal basic syntax;
• the separate compilation, but an equal mechanism for exporting interfaces in C and C++;
• the basic model of memory close to the hardware’s memory model.

6. PHP

PHP is mostly used by web developers. Almost 8 out of every 10 websites that you visit on the Internet are using PHP in some way. It’s a server-side scripting language meant for creating modern websites and web applications. In particular, PHP is usually used today for creating dynamic web pages. 

Benefits:

• short learning curve;
• open-source programming for server-side web development;
• cross-platform language;
• in-built support for using MySQL.

7. R

As well as Python, R is a well-known tool for data analysts and data scientists. R helps in exploring various data types and implementing statistics-heavy projects. It’s often used in scientific research, banking, and healthcare. Even Google runs multiple studies each month, using R for the statistical analysis and data visualization.

Benefits:

• works as an interactive statistical environment;
• helpful in data analysis, machine learning, and statistical inference;
• runs on Linux, Windows, and Mac OS X.

8. Objective-C

From 1983 to 2014, Objective-C was the only iOS development language. Now, Swift is replacing it, but Objective-C remains relevant even in 2021. In particular, many iOS applications were written in this language, so software developers need to keep maintaining them.

Benefits:

• use of static libraries;
• built on top of C;
• uses the runtime code compilation;
• supported by Apple for iOS, macOS, and iPadOS.

9. TypeScript

This language helps you rigidly describe all the elements of an app, that is, to think it over long before implementation. This rigid architecture allows programmers to run fewer tests. In addition, the strict format of the language constructs eliminates many errors, which simplifies development.

Benefits:

• the use of ECMAScript, which allows the code to work without converting classes;
• auto-completion, refactoring, and debugging functions simplify work during large JavaScript application development;
• TypeScript can be used client-side or server-side in Node.js.

10. Swift

Swift is the currently trending language for building iOS apps. Although it is not the most popular programming language, It’s 8 times faster than Python. It’s also an open-source language with simple syntax. Thus, it’s easy to write, read and maintain the code. 

Benefits:

• open-source coding language;
• interoperable with Objective-C;
• uncomplicated syntax.

Examples of our projects

One of our most important work goals is to make the software reliable and user-friendly. To achieve this, we use the most popular programming languages mentioned above. For example, we developed an app for express courier delivery using Java. The app allows Android users to calculate shipping costs, track parcels, find the nearest courier company office, and more.

Mobile development also often involves JavaScript. We used this language to develop an on-demand delivery app for a UK-based company. The app makes company services accessible to users at any time and from any place. The app’s primary functions are order delivery within the UK and abroad, booking courier services, tracking packages, and find the nearest points of parcel drop-off and shipment.

Another language that we often use for the backend is PHP. Our example of a product written in this language is an e-learning platform. This platform has a broad range of functions that allow teachers to manage schedules, track payments, arrange educational information and conduct video classes. Students can see information about classes and teachers, perform payments, and study online.

iOS development is also a crucial part of our work. For example, we used Swift to create an employee training educational app. In this app, users perform tasks in an engaging, gamified environment and gain points for each action. Users can also ask for advice, get support and encouragement, share goals and experiences, and more.

We at Azoft have a broad stack of technologies. We select them depending on the project scope and your business needs. If you are ready to start working on software development, don’t hesitate to drop us a line at info@azoft.com! We will be happy to create a high-quality and reliable product for you.