The Top 10 Programming Languages (For Techies only)

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 jump start 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.

Below are the Top 20 programming languages by popularity.
1. JavaScript
2. Java
3. PHP
4. Python
5. Ruby
6. C#
7. C++
8. C
9. Objective-C
10. Shell
11. Perl
12. Scala
13. Haskell
14. ASP
15. Assembly
16. ActionScript
17. R
18. Visual Basic
19. CoffeeScript
20. Groovy 

But while there may be a few surprises on this list – the continued traction of Java, as an example, is unexpected for some – by and large this list seems like nothing more or less than a reasonable representation of programming languages in use today. It is an inclusive list, from compiled to interpreted and everything in between, and thus more evidence of the runtime fragmentation that has been rampant for several years [coverage]. 

What is interesting, on the other hand, is observing how these rankings have changed over time. From December of 2010 to September of 2011, for example, the popularity of Actionscript, Emacs Lisp, Haskell, JavaScript, Objective-C, Ruby, Scala and Shell script remained unchanged. ASP and Groovy, however, jumped one spot in the rankings, Java 2 and Assembly and C# 5. C, C++, PHP, and Python on the other hand dropped 1 spot, R and Lua 2, while Clojure and Perl dropped 3 spots. 

Comparing this September to last, the big winners were CoffeeScript (9 spots), Visual Basic (5), and ASP, Assembly, C++, Haskell and Scala, which all moved up one place. C#, Java, JavaScript, Objective-C, Perl, PHP, Python, R, Ruby and Shell were unchanged. This year’s losers, meanwhile, include Groovy (dropped 1 spot), C (1), Clojure (3), ActionScript (4), and Emacs Lisp (6). 

But what if we compare this September 2012 to Drew’s original analysis in December of 2010, just shy of three years ago? What has changed with these languages overall in three years? 

1. Clojure -6 (Dropped out of the Top 20)
2. Emacs Lisp -6 (Dropped out of the Top 20)
3. ActionScript -4
4. Lua -3 (Dropped out of the Top 20)
5. Perl -3
6. C -2
7. R -2
8. PHP -1
9. Python -1
10. C++ 0
11. Groovy 0
12. JavaScript 0
13. Objective-C 0
14. Ruby 0
15. Shell 0
16. Haskell 1
17. Scala 1
18. ASP 2
19. Java 2
20. C# 5
21. Visual Basic 5 (Added to the Top 20)
22. Assembly 6 (Added to the Top 20)
23. CoffeeScript 18 (Added to the Top 20) 

The more popular languages on this list – JavaScript, Ruby and the like are notable for their lack of movement. What is very interesting is that the two biggest jumps come from languages that could not be more unlike one another; CoffeeScript is a simplied version of JavaScript that infuriates technologists with its technical compromises, while Assembly is as close to the bare metal as most developers today are likely to get. That this study in contrasts should comprise the biggest gains over a three year period is interesting.