Best Programming Languages to Learn: Top 15 (2019)
While hundreds of programming languages exist, there are some that developers all over the world trust and use repeatedly.
In this complete guide, we’ll tell you the best programming languages to learn in 2019. As a result, you will be left with valuable information to make an informed decision about which language to start learning.
We have ranked the programming languages using a combination of multiple factors:
- a report published by Popularity of Programming Language Index (PYPL) that is formed by analyzing how often language lessons are searched on Google. The more people search for the tutorials of the language, the higher is its popularity assumed to be.
- the TIOBE Index that conveys the search popularity of a particular programming language across the majority of the web, not only through Google.com.
- Github Octoverse ratings represent the popularity of a particular language on Github. This is related to the number of pull requests and projects on Github.
- StackOverflow for 2018 and Indeed.com show the salary reports related to each of the programming language.
- Stack Overflow trends that show how the programming language is evolving over time.
Here are the best programming languages to learn in 2019:
#1. Java
Java Rating
Java programming language has proved its mettle for over two decades.
20 years is a good enough time for any programming language to evolve and be useful in a variety of development environments.
Java is no different – it’s easy to learn with tons of resources available online.
Moreover, Java being an object-oriented language, its concepts are relatable and easier to understand.
The love for Java in the programming world is also attributed to the fact that Java is open source and is a platform independent language that works across different operating system environments. The percentage of active Java users across the world has improved by 14.01%.
The language being stable and scalable is found on a wide variety of device types – ranging from mobiles and desktops to large-scale applications.
The same can be talked about the community of Java programmers which is more than 10 million in all parts of the world.
This is the reason Java is also gaining importance in developing applications for the Internet of Things (IoT).
Java didn’t gain this success overnight as it had to evolve over decades to reach the level of popularity and stability that it is known for today.
Moreover, Java’s Rich API is one of the biggest reasons that led to the success of this language.
Along with Rich API, Java’s success can also be attributed to powerful development tools such as Eclipse and Netbeans that made programming in Java language a pleasant experience for the developer.
In 2019, apps are going to be even bigger than what they are today. The demand for Java programmers is going to be sky high.
However, Java job postings decreased by 6000 in 2018 because of the growing popularity of Python.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Easy to learn
Being a programming language that has remained a go-to language for programmers for more than two decades.
There are hundreds of online resources that allow you to learn Java from the comfort of your home.
Moreover, Java is less complicated than other programming languages such as C and C++, making it the language of choice for millions of developers worldwide.
- Platform-independent
The beauty of Java is that it is platform-independent.
It is possible for developers to maneuver their code from one operating system and development environment to another.
- Java
Java has always focused on security, compiler and runtime environments.
This is the reason Java is used to create a range of programs where security is desired.
- Multithreaded
Java reduces the effort required to create complex programs.
The multithreaded potential of this programming language lets you create programs that can multitask at different points within the program.
Cons
- Memory consuming
One of the biggest drawbacks of Java programming language is that its memory consuming.
It is a little slow when compared to other natively compiled languages such as C or C++.
- Not suitable to GUI Apps
Graphical user interface applications that are programmed in Java using the Swing toolkit are completely different from others written in more native languages.
Salary Ranges
Salary reports from the StackOverflow developer survey of 2018 show that Java is associated with a salary of $100,000 in the USA.
Stack Overflow Trends
Java has been losing popularity on StackOverflow consistently for over 4 years.
How to learn Java?
Many online resources allow you to learn Java.
Pluralsight has some of the best programming courses in the world that I have ever taken.
Check out these options below and if you want you can do a Free 10-Day Trial.
#2. JavaScript
JavaScript Rating
You’re browsing this page on a web browser. This means that you’re already in the world of JavaScript.
More than 1 million websites on the internet run on JavaScript. That’s how powerful and popular this language is.
JavaScript, which is often called the de facto language of the web, works on an astonishingly large number of devices including the IoT.
Just because the language is super popular, its jobs are in abundance.
That is another reason that it ranks among the list of the most popular programming languages to learn in 2019.
JavaScript is versatile – your browser already has it.
You can use it to do all sorts of stuff in your browser, without going through the tedious processes of setting up runtime environments and code compilers.
It is also the most popular programming language of the world making it any programmer’s choice.
What made JavaScript so popular was the fact that it made its way into most web browsers even when it wasn’t this popular.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- It’s actually everywhere
There is a reason why JavaScript is christened to be the de facto language of the web.
It works on web browsers, it works on servers with nodejs.
It also works on the Internet of Things Devices and can be used to make native apps.
It is also used to make cross-platform desktop apps, power your Smart TV and to play music.
What else can you expect from a programming language?
- It’s easy to learn
JavaScript is comparatively easy to learn than most other scripting languages, provided you learn it thoroughly.
Being such a popular programming language, there is no dearth of online resources and communities where you can start learning right away.
- Abundance of jobs
No programming language can be successful if there is no demand for it on the job market.
JavaScript is different, it’s extremely popular and high in demand.
Conditions will remain the same throughout 2019, making it ideal for any programming who’s considering new languages to venture with JavaScript.
- Essential for game development
Right from simple shooting games to advanced games like 2048, you can use your JavaScript and HTML5 to create games that the world loves.
This further opens up more employment opportunities for you.
Cons
- Security on the client side
One of the major problems that JavaScript faces is that its code runs on the client end.
Simply because of this its code can be manipulated and exploited for malicious reasons on the client-end.
This is why many people choose to disable JavaScript in their web browsers to enable a more secure browsing experience.
- Browser support
Another problem with JavaScript programming language is that it is usually interpreted by different web browsers in a different way.
When you create a JavaScript program and test it only on one browser, chances are that the code will run in a completely different manner on a different browser.
Because of this, programmers have to test their code on a variety of browsers which adds time to the development process.
TIOBE Index Rating
JavaScript was ranked #6 in the last year. It should be in the same place in 2019.
Salary Ranges
Salary reports from the StackOverflow developer survey of 2018 show that JavaScript is associated with a salary of $98,000 in the USA.
When we speak of these values worldwide, it is about $55,000.
Stack Overflow Trends
From 2009 to 2016, JavaScript had its popularity growing constantly. However, for the last 3 years, it has been going down.
GitHub Octoverse rating
Althought JavaScript is not ranked so well in some of our analysis. It still is ranked #1 in the Github octoverse.
How to learn JavaScript?
Pluralsight has some of the best programming courses in the world that I have ever taken.
Check out these options below and if you want you can do a Free 10-Day Trial.
Also learn Node.js, an open source server environment, which uses JavaScript on the server.
#3. Python
Python Rating
If you’re eyeing a high paying technology job in 2019, chances are you’ll have to learn Python.
According to the Popularity of Programming Language Index (PYPL), Python is the most popular programming language as on date. It has witnessed a 15.4% growth in the last 5 years.
Python’s popularity, its simplicity and effectiveness make it an ideal choice for programmers who’re trying to make a career in data science and machine learning.
Python job posting increased by 5000 in 2018.
The reason why Python is considered the ideal language for machine learning and data science is because of the libraries and framework that it offers, right from PyBrian to PyMySQL.
Another reason that makes Python so popular among the developer community is its versatility.
Python, unlike other languages that help you in data science and machine learning, is far more versatile.
It lets you create scripts, automate things and even go into web development with libraries like Django and Flask.
Packing all this, Python is still simple and doesn’t’ have a tough syntax and weird rules that make programming cumbersome.
It’s readable, easy and setup and doesn’t have any compiler issues.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- It’s more than three decades old
Python has been around for a while and by that, we mean more than 30 years.
Because it has been around for that long, there is a vast community of Python developers and tons of valuable resources for newbies and experts alike.
It’s used for both small projects and by large organizations like Google, Facebook, etc.
According to research, Python is the fastest growing programming language and is expected to grow even further in 2019.
- Easy to use
Unlike code written in C++ or even Java, the code that is written in Python is readable. Its language structure is versatile, yet neat and easy to understand.
It excludes any touch syntax structure and is easy for a newbie to learn and even master Python in a short amount of time.
- No dearth of libraries
When it comes to Python, only the sky is the limit for the number of libraries that it offers.
Right from web development to machine learning, from data science to game development, there’s a Python library that lets you do a lot of things with Python.
Cons
- It’s slow
Unlike other languages like C++ and even C programming language, Python is slow because it’s an interpreted language.
However, if you can compromise on speed on your development, then Python should serve you great.
- Not really mobile-friendly
Python is an old language that was not conceptualized to run on mobile environments, to begin with.
This is the reason that Android and iOS don’t support Python as an official language. Although Python can still be used for mobile developments, it would require additional effort.
TIOBE Index Rating
According to TIOBE Index, Python is gaining popularity, has one of the fastest growths, and is ranked #3.
PYPL Index Rating
Python is ranked #1 on the PYPL and is increasing in popularity.
The PYPL Popularity of Programming Language Index is created by analyzing how often language tutorials are searched on Google.
Stack Overflow Trends
Python has been gaining popularity on StackOverflow consistently for over 6 years.
Even better is that more than 10% of the questions on StackOverflow are related to Python.
GitHub Octoverse rating
Python is the 3rd most popular language on Github.
How to learn Python?
Pluralsight has some of the best programming courses in the world that I have ever taken.
Check out these options below and if you want you can do a Free 10-Day Trial.
#4. C#
C# Rating
Now coming to a language that hasn’t been around for ages but has proved its mettle among developers for whatever duration it has been here.
Created by Microsoft in 2000 as a means for building apps on the .NET platform, C# is growing in both stature and popularity.
So much so that the language won the Programming Language of the year award in the year 2012.
Today, C# is the language of choice for a wide range of organizations – both big and small.
The trend is expected to continue in the year 2019, making it important for programmers to master their skill on C# too.
So, if you’re fluent on client-side languages like HTML, CSS and Java and want to graduate to something that lets you program on the server-side too, C# should definitely be your priority in the year 2019.
This easy-to-learn and even master programming language is highly versatile in its use.
Right form games, to mobile apps to even enterprise software, nothing is beyond the boundaries of C#.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- It’s easy to learn
Ask any C# programmer and they’ll tell you that C# is probably the easiest programming language to digest.
It’s a high-level language, like Python, that is designed by Microsoft with ease-of-use in mind.
It does away with complex tasks like memory management and exception handling to help coders learn it with ease.
- It’s evolving
Being relatively new on the arena and with backing from no other than the tech behemoth Microsoft means that the language is constantly evolving and shows no signs of slowing down.
- It’s used in game development
The world today belongs to mobile gaming and C# is the language of choice for some renowned games on the arena.
C# is used to develop games with Unity – the popular game engine.
It is the code behind of thousands of highly popular games.
- Opens a slew of opportunities
Being a well-rounded and efficient language mean that C# is used by thousands of corporations around the world.
In the US alone there were more than 5,000 jobs advertised for C# programmers, a number which tops 10,000 globally.
Cons
- Less efficient than other C Languages
Unlike C++ and C programming languages, C# is not compiled but is rather interpreted.
This is one of the reasons that it’s not as efficient as other C languages.
- Loses cross-platform capabilities
As C# programming language is tightly integrated with .NET and because it was made in the first place to allow developers to create apps using .NET, it loses any cross-platform capability. However, with the release of .NET Core, this is changing rapidly and C# can now be executed across all the common operating systems.
Salary Ranges
Salary reports from the StackOverflow developer survey of 2018 show that C# is associated with the second greatest salary worldwide at $59,000.
Indeed.com shows the average .NET Developer salary in US at $91,644.
Stack Overflow Trends
When we talk about trend, C# is a tremendous downhill.
It has been losing popularity on StackOverflow for the last 10 years.
GitHub Octoverse rating
The octoverse history of C# had ups and downs.
Now it is parked on the 6th place.
How to learn C#?
Pluralsight has some of the best programming courses in the world that I have ever taken.
Check out these options below and if you want you can do a Free 10-Day Trial.
#5. C++
C++ Rating
Once you’ve cleared your concepts of C programming language, the next step for you is to graduate to C++ programming language.
C++ is a highly scalable programming language that makes it the language of choice for programmers who’re building resource-intensive applications.
Be it the most graphic rich app that you’re using or those beautiful 3D games that you love playing – chances are that they’re coded in C++.
Being statically typed, C++ programming language offers better performance than other high-level programming languages.
Although some programmers believe that Java offers better performance than C++, a talented C++ programmer can prove everybody wrong when it comes to coding a program that needs to execute fast.
If your aim for 2019 is to become a mainstream game developer, chances are you’ll have to make use of C++.
Some of the most popular games right now are built using Cocos2d-x – an open source cross-platform game engine.
These games are mostly developed using C++, although Cocos2d-x does support other languages too.
Additionally, in 2019 there would be no dearth of large organizations who would want C++ developers to optimize their apps or develop new apps.
Recently there has been a rise in the number of independent game developers who’re creating games in other gaming environments. However, C++ is expected to grow its popularity in the gaming industry.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- No shortage of support
There is a large community of C++ developers and a lot of resources are available online for beginners who’re considering learning C++ in 2019.
Additionally, there is a large base of free code to download and it also supports integration with C and ASM>
- Powerful for low-level system programs
C++ is a powerful programming language that is ideal to create just about any program, including those low-level system programs where a programmer needs a language that lets them code to the wire.
- Easily move to other programming languages
Many high-level programming languages are based on C and C++.
This makes it easier for programmers accustomed to using C++ to learn other programming languages like Java.
- Fast
C++ retains the beauty of C as it too is compiled enabling it to run faster and more efficiently.
While other programming languages like Java, Python and C# depend on interpreters or a separate run-time environment which must be pre-loaded, programs written in C++ run much faster.
Cons
- Safety
One thing that goes against the use of C++ is the security aspect. C++ lacks invalid pointer checks, automatic boundary checks and allows implicit type casting.
This causes security issues and memory leaks.
- Difficult to learn
C++, just like C programming language, has a complex structure making the learning curve too steep for a beginner.
As an example, templates, which is one of the most powerful features of C++, has a very complex syntax making it difficult to code.
PYPL Index Rating
C++ is ranked #6 in the PYPL index rating.
The programming language C was also considered to the analysis.
Stack Overflow Trends
Looking at the 10 last years, C++ is constantly going down.
It is now close to 2% of StackOverflow questions per month.
How to learn C++?
Pluralsight has some of the best programming courses in the world that I have ever taken.
Check out these options below and if you want you can do a Free 10-Day Trial.
#6. PHP
PHP Rating
PHP is an extremely popular programming language that is used to build dynamic web applications with MySQL database connections.
The programming language, which is undeniably one of the most important programming languages for you to learn in 2019, is widely accepted by a large number of web developers.
Today, more than 80% of the websites use PHP as their server-side programming language.
There are many open source integrated development environments that support PHP.
PHP is open-source, is feature-rich and has all the necessary functionality of most paid scripting languages.
Used primarily for web-based applications, PHP attracts a countless number of developers simply because of its use in the software development industry.
PHP is easy to learn, even for those programmers who don’t have enough programming knowledge about other languages.
Being open-source, PHP is free of cost and has a very familiar and understandable syntax structure.
If you have some knowledge about the syntax of C or Perl, then learning PHP in 2019 would be considerably easy for you.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- User-friendly
PHP is one of the most user-friendly programming languages in the software development industry. It is far more flexible than C, C++ and even ASP and helps you create a complete webpage with just one file of PHP.
This is the reason why PHP is a web developer’s first choice when they have to create complex, dynamic and user-friendly web-based applications.
- Supports all major databases
Another reason that makes PHP programming language a choice of millions of web developers is that it supports all leading databases that include MySQL, ODBC and even SQLite.
- Efficient
Most PHP developers state that it is an effective and efficient programming language to use.
It is known to be versatile and can easily be used to develop complex web applications.
Additionally, PHP is very reliable to develop and create web pages.
- Platform independent
The beauty of PHP lies in the fact that it is completely platform-independent and can work across different platforms and operating systems.
Right from Linux, UNIX, Mac OS to Windows, PHP code works flawlessly across various operating systems.
Cons
- Security
As PHP is an open-source language its web code is available for all to see, which sometimes raises security concerns.
- Not suitable for large applications
As PHP is not a very modular language, writing complex code or building large applications in PHP is difficult.
- Not opinionated
PHP is not a very heavily opinionated language. There are very few ways to accomplish a task, which makes it tedious to use.
Stack Overflow Trends
PHP started the decade in an uphill trend.
However, in the last 5 years, it is going down.
GitHub Octoverse rating
PHP users doesn’t contribute as much as they used to.
PHP is now ranked #4 in the Github Octoverse Rating.
How to learn PHP?
Pluralsight has some of the best programming courses in the world that I have ever taken.
Check out these options below and if you want you can do a Free 10-Day Trial.
#7. C
C Rating
C programming language has often been referred to as a low-level programming language that doesn’t fit well in an age where high-level programming languages like Python are gaining traction.
However, the C programming language keeps ruling the charts when it comes to the best programming languages to learn.
It is a simple language that should ideally be learnt by all programmers, no matter which language interests them the most.
There are two kinds of programmers out there – one who need to learn any programming language and the others who need to learn what actually goes under the hood.
C programming language is ideal for the latter.
With C you get few library calls that lets you stay focused on the semantics of the language for a longer period of time.
It also forces you to think harder and deeper about what is happening deep within the program.
It’s more for programmers who like to code close to the wire.
That’s one reason why C is the language of choice for creating editors, interpreters, compilers and even operating systems.
Still, it’s simple, elegant and blazingly fast.
It has raw pointers that allow you to learn writing efficient code, which is something that not many high-level languages let you do.
It’s also not an object-oriented language that keeps distractions like inheritance and polymorphism at bay.
In fact, once you learn C, you can seamlessly graduate to an object-oriented language like C++ and still know what exactly is going behind the screen with your code when it’s compiling.
So, if you’re planning to learn to write in a programming language that lets you produce clean and efficient code – C should be your language of choice.
In 2019, when a lot of focus has to be on embedded systems, C programmers would definitely be in high demand.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- It’s portable
Any C language program written on one computer can run just as efficiently on any other computer with minimum to no change in code.
This beauty of C programming language has made it the language of choice for a variety of programmers and applications.
- The building block of other high-level programming languages
The C programming language is nothing short of a building block of other high-level programming languages.
Programs written in this language are easy to understand and efficient.
Moreover, the underlying coding principles of C language are applied to other object-oriented languages like Java.
- It’s fast
Being simple and efficient make programs written in C fast too.
This is the reason why C is the language for choice for programs and applications that focus on speed of execution.
- Runs close to the hardware
C programming language lets you understand the underlying principles of coding and let you code near the wire.
As this language runs close to system hardware, it lets you understand how high-level languages work and interact with the hardware.
Cons
- Difficult to debug
One of the biggest drawbacks of C programming language is that there is no run-time checking in it.
This makes it really difficult to debug complex programs as with C programming language you can only do compile type checking.
- No OOP concept
Yes, we did mention that not being an object-oriented programming language means that it doesn’t have many distractions to take the focus away.
However, this also means that C language doesn’t let you reuse source code and every algorithm in C language has to be a set of function calls.
Moreover, as C doesn’t support a large set of library functions, it cannot be used in today’s complex programming environment.
TIOBE Index Rating
C is still one of the most popular programming languages.
It is ranked #2 in the TIOBE index.
PYPL Index Rating
Although it is ranked #2 in the TIOBE index, the C language programming is not doing so good in the PYPL index rating.
It is ranked #6. C++ was also considered to the analysis.
Stack Overflow Trends
When compared to the other programming languages, C remains almost constant during the 10 years of Trends analysis.
About 2% of StackOverflow questions per month are related to C.
GitHub Octoverse rating
C lost two positions in the Github Octoverse Rating in 2018.
It is now ranked #9.
How to learn C?
Udemy has a few great courses to learn C.
#8. R
R Rating
If a career in machine learning and data analytics is on your mind for the year 2019, there is no denying that learning R programming language is what you should be doing.
Equipped with a wide range of functionalities, R programming language is ideal for a technology dependent world of today that is battling an eruption of data.
According to recent reports, R Programming has been ranked as the most preferred language for the past five years.
Couple this with a research from McKinsey & Company that projects a global shortage of over 150,000 data scientists.
It comes as no surprise that programmers with a skill in R programming language will be in high demand in the near future too.
R is an open-source version of S programming language that too proved its mettle in the field of machine learning, analysis and data visualization.
R has also been used by some of the top ranking organizations worldwide.
Right from Google that uses R to calculate ROI to Twitter that uses R programming language to measure user-experience, the future of R programmers definitely seems promising.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Make it easy to reproduce an analysis
Like most other programs, programs written in R programming language document the steps you took to arrive at an analysis.
This makes it easy for programmers to reproduce data and update their analysis if need be.
- Open source
R is free to use and open-source in nature.
This means that anyone can check your program’s source code to analysis your thought and how you arrived at an analysis.
- Seamless integration
R allows you to integrate with other programming languages such as C/C++, Python and even Java.
This allows you to interact with different sources of data.
- Platform-independent
If you’re programming in R programming language, you don’t have to worry about the operating system and platforms on which your code will work.
R is inherently platform-independent so you can use it on any operating system.
Cons
- A little slower
Natively, R programming language is slightly slower than its main competitors such as Python, Matlab and Julia.
- Extremely flexible
Well, we could have counted this as one of the advantages of R programming language.
However, the only reason we’re mentioning it here is that with flexibility comes the lack of rules.
This means you need to be a disciplined programmer to maintain a strict coding standard.
If you don’t maintain a coding standard, you’ll have to deal with a hard-to-maintain code when it grows bigger.
TIOBE Index Rating
R is now ranked #12 in the TIOBE index.
It went down 4 positions from 2018 to 2019.
Salary Ranges
Salary reports from the StackOverflow developer survey of 2018 show that R is associated with a salary of $58,000 worldwide.
Indeed.com shows the average Data Analyst salary in US at $69,572.
Stack Overflow Trends
R has an almost linear growth in the StackOverflow Trends since 2009.
It is now close to 3% of StackOverflow questions per month.
How to learn R?
Pluralsight has some of the best programming courses in the world that I have ever taken.
Check out these options below and if you want you can do a Free 10-Day Trial.
#9. Swift
Swift Rating
Swift is a general-purpose compiled programming language that like Objective-C is developed by Apple for iOS, MacOS, WatchOS, tvOS, Linux and z/OS.
The language has been designed by Apple to work seamlessly with Apple’s Cocoa and Cocoa Touch Frameworks, along with the vast amount of code written on Objective-C for Apple products.
If you’re planning to venture into developing native apps for iOS and MacOS in the year 2019, then you should definitely consider learning Swift.
Swift enables you to develop native apps for the operating systems, which outperform any cross-platform or hybrid apps.
To make things even easy for you, you can use Swift’s built-in SpriteKit to easily develop and build 2D games.
One of the biggest reasons to learn Swift is that on Apple platforms, Swift makes use of Objective-C runtime library that allows you to use C, Objective-C, C++ and Swift code within the same program.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Fun to use
Swift programming language is heavily influenced by both Python and Ruby and so you can say that being fun and easy to use is well ingrained into Swift.
Swift is beginner-friendly and relatively easy to learn and master.
Moreover, as Swift code reads close to English, it’s easy to pick up.
It is believed that as Apple took cues from the mistakes programmers were making with Objective-C, it took steps to make sure that Swift is as user-friendly as possible.
- Easy to track bugs and debug
Swift, unlike some other programming languages, is a statistically-typed language.
With Swift, xCode checks your code before it builds your app, which makes finding errors and fixing them relatively easy.
Moreover, as Swift is stricter with the definitions of things, there are fewer chances of strange errors occurring.
It also means that codebase is quite easy to maintain even if it grows in size.
- Fast
Unlike interpreted languages, Swift is more clearly defined.
This makes sure that when your app is running the machine doesn’t have to figure out the meaning of something to run it.
All these features translate into a faster-running app.
- Community and Future
Swift has a fast-growing meetup community that is ideal for those starting to use Swift.
Moreover, as iOS development, on the whole, has lots of meetups, getting resources and help for Swift programmers is easy.
The future for Swift developers seems bright too.
As iOS apps are known to be more profitable for developers than Android, getting your hands into Swift can prove to be a great career move.
Cons
- It’s too young
Swift might be the most powerful and the fastest growing programming language in the world. However, this doesn’t mean that it’s old.
It is too young at the moment and hasn’t evolved with age.
There are still many issues with Swift that need to be resolved before it can take over other programming languages.
- Smaller community
With adoption, the community of Swift developers is growing fast.
However, at present, it is not even close to the size of the community that other languages like Objective-C, C and C++ have.
Of all the Swift developers out there, there are only a few who have hands-on experience of using Swift to create apps.
Salary Ranges
Salary reports show that Swift is associated with a salary of $102,000 in the USA.
It is about $58,000 globally.
Stack Overflow Trends
After the language creation, in 2014, its popularity went up.
However, Swift seems to be parked in 2% of questions per month.
How to learn Swift?
Pluralsight has some of the best programming courses in the world that I have ever taken.
Check out these options below and if you want you can do a Free 10-Day Trial.
#10. MATLAB
MATLAB Rating
MATLAB, which is an acronym for Matrix Laboratory, offers a complete programming environment with its own programming language, an integrated development environment and even libraries.
MATLAB is a high-level programming language that doesn’t want you to get involved with low-level functionality, memory management and processor functions.
Moreover, another reason behind the popularity of MATLAB is that it’s a weakly typed language and doesn’t need you to define the variable.
This makes it even easier to code and understand that C++.
This flexibility in language use allows for a quicker development time.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Extensive help available
The time required to program an application in MATLAB is considerably less as compared to C, C++ and Java.
There is ample help available for MATLAB programmers on the MATLAB central website and even forums like File Exchange.
- Easy to learn
MATLAB has a very simple syntax that even does away with the need to define a variable.
The easy syntax, tons of available resources online and powerful built-in functions make MATLAB an easy language to learn and master.
- Offers career growth
If you’re planning to follow and make a career in technology divisions like circuits, signals, digital signal processing and technical computing, learning MATLAB is all but essential for you.
The demand for MATLAB programmers is growing and it’s expected to follow an upward curve in 2019 as well.
Cons
- It’s an interpreted language
Unlike compiled language, MATLAB Is interpreted.
While a code written in a compiled language is analysed and processed efficiently, a computer running an interpreted language has to first interpret the code before it executes.
This step leads in sluggish performance.
- Complex object-oriented programming scheme
This is one area where MATLAB loses the battle to its more object-oriented programming senior Python.
MATLAB’s object oriented programming scheme is overly complex and tedious to work on.
Stack Overflow Trends
MATLAB is not really popular at StackOverflow.
It never got even 1% of questions per month in the StackOverflow.
How to learn MATLAB?
Udemy has a few great courses to learn C.
- Master MATLAB through Guided Problem Solving.
- Become a Good Matlab Programmer in 30 days.
- MATLAB Master Class: Go from Beginner to Expert in MATLAB.
#11. Kotlin
Kotlin Rating
Another relatively new entrant to the programming world that is quickly making its presence felt is Kotlin.
Kotlin is a statically typed new-age programming language that runs on the JVM and can translate to a JavaScript source code, which is another reason for its popularity.
One critical reason behind the runaway success for Kotlin in the past few years has been its compatibility with Android Studio 3.
Google is now officially recommending developers to use Kotlin if they don’t want their Android app to have roots in Java. As a result, we ranked this language as 12. It’s new with not a lot of support, but it’s growing.
Simply because of this, we do believe that learning Kotlin in 2019 will help skyrocket your career as it is anticipated to become the most popular programming language in the years to come.
On top of all this, Kotlin is already used by some large organizations of the likes of Amazon Web Services, Netflix, Uber and even Pinterest.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- It’s in demand
Researchers believed that 2018 could well be the year of Kotlin and it ended up that way too.
Kotlin is showing no signs of stopping and the year 2019 could belong to it too.
Just looking at job listings for Android developers on any job portal will make you realize the importance of Kotlin and where it’s heading in the future.
If you’re planning a sound career move for the year 2019, Kotlin should be on the top of your list of things to learn in 2019.
- It’s fast
Unlike Java and other programming languages, Kotlin doesn’t need thousands of lines of code to do a simple thing.
With Kotlin, all you’ll need is to write just a few lines of code to even perform complex functions. Kotlin has powerful and concise abstractions that make code smooth and simple.
- Interoperable with Java
If you’ve already built your app in Java and want to migrate it to Kotlin, you can do it incrementally.
Moreover, you don’t need to unlearn anything if you’re a Java Android developer.
You just have to learn Kotlin and can use both for your next app.
Cons
- Learning curve can be steep
Although Kotlin is very close to Java, it still differs from it in more ways than one.
Therefore, if you plan to learn Kotlin be prepared for a steep learning curve.
- Slower compilation speed
Some Android developers who’ve started using Kotlin have reported that unlike Java, Kotlin code has a slower compilation speed.
TIOBE Index Rating
Kotlin is not ranked in the TIOBE index.
Salary Ranges
Salary reports from the StackOverflow developer survey of 2018 show that Kotlin is associated with a salary of $105,000 in the USA.
Stack Overflow Trends
Close to 1% of the questions on StackOverflow are related to Kotlin.
How to learn Kotlin?
Udemy has a few great courses to learn Kotlin.
#12. Ruby
Ruby Rating
Ruby is a very high-level language that does away with most of the complex details of the machine.
Being such, programming with Ruby is quick and requires far fewer lines of code to do something.
This is the reason most Ruby programmers are simply in love with the language.
It was made popular by the Ruby on Rails framework, a full-stack web framework that made prototyping and developing an application a breeze.
Being comparatively easy to use and code, Ruby has remained a favourite of programmers over the years and its popularity is only expected to grow in the next few years.
Designed in Japan, Ruby was used to make games.
It reads like English which makes even a novice understand the code.
Not to mention that this property of Ruby also makes it easy to learn.
Considering all this, we do believe that Ruby should be on your list as the best programming language to learn in 2019.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Easy to start
The idea behind the conceptualization of Ruby was to make programming a lot more fun and a lot less pain.
It is succinct, reads like normal English languages and is a lot of fun to use.
Moreover, offering an easy coding experience, you’ll be able to create complex prototypes quickly and easily with Ruby.
- Flexible
Ruby does away with most hard rules on how you can build features.
Again, it’s very base that is close to spoken languages, gives you more flexibility to solve complex problems with worrying about syntax structure.
Ruby programming language is also forgiving of errors, giving you the advantage of running the correct part of your program until you encounter a major error.
- Large community
There are more than 600 programming languages currently in use.
However, once you choose one you soon realize the importance of having a large community.
As far as Ruby is concerned, it has one of the largest communities on StackOverflow, which makes it easy for a Ruby beginner to access resources and get help.
Moreover, on StackOverflow, Ruby questions are the second most likely to be answered.
Cons
- Slow
The benefits of Ruby come at the cost of its speed.
As a dynamically typed language, Ruby is slow as the machine has a lot of referencing to do before it understands the definition of something.
However, there are alternatives like JRuby, which are considerably faster.
- Difficult to maintain
As Ruby programming language is dynamically typed, complex programs become difficult to maintain and debug.
As Ruby apps grow larger, maintaining errors becomes difficult as they are difficult for a programmer to track and debug.
However, with experience and the right support, you do learn how to better manage your Ruby code.
Salary Ranges
Salary reports from the StackOverflow developer survey of 2018 show that Ruby is associated with a salary of $100,000 in the USA.
Worldwide, it is about $64,000.
The greatest of the Best Programming Languages to Learn: Top 15 (2019).
Stack Overflow Trends
Ruby used to have about 2% of questions per month in the StackOverflow in 2008.
Now, it gets less than 1%.
How to learn Ruby?
Pluralsight has some of the best programming courses in the world that I have ever taken.
Check out these options below and if you want you can do a Free 10-Day Trial.
#13. Visual Basic .NET
Viasul Basic .NET Rating
Visual Basic .NET or simply VB.NET is, by all means, a simple and remarkable programming language that you should learn in 2019.
Although the community for VB.NET developers isn’t as huge as that of Java or even Python, you should definitely learn it considering the long-term use of Microsoft’s .NET structures in mind.
The structure of VB.NET is simple making the language easy to learn even for beginners.
The thing that keeps VB.NET an integral part of the programming community is that using this programming language you can fabricate various windows applications without sweating too much in the world of complex code.
VB.NET bolsters the development of object-oriented projects like polymorphism, legacy and even embodiment coding.
The graphical interface of this programming language, which is unlike most other programming languages, makes it beginner-friendly and keeps the coding part simple and fun.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Unique and easy-to-learn
Based on Microsoft’s .NET framework, VB.NET is easy to learn and master.
Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it has a graphical interface which makes coding a breeze even for beginners.
- Encapsulation and Abstraction
VB.NET using classes that include the concepts of encapsulation and abstraction.
With these features, a programmer remains in full control of all programming elements, without having to understand what exactly is going under the hood.
- Inheritance
VB.NET is equipped with the concept of inheritance enabling a child class to inherit the attributes of its parent class.
This eases the coding for programmers as they don’t have to define attributes for child classes provided they’ve done so for the parent class.
Cons
- Cannot handle pointers directly
As VB.NET cannot handle pointers directly, more coding is required to handle a pointer.
This additional coding translates into more CPU cycles which results in slower applications.
- A large pool of talent
As VB.NET is comparatively easier to learn there is a large pool of VB.NET programmers who’re fighting for the same job.
Moreover, as the use of VB.NET is fairly limited, you end up facing a stiff competition when considering employment.
PYPL Index Rating
Visual Basic .NET is not ranked in the PYPL Index rating.
Stack Overflow Trends
Visual Basic .NET is not really popular in StackOverflow.
It gets close to 0% of questions per month in the website.
How to learn Visual Basic .NET?
Pluralsight has some of the best programming courses in the world that I have ever taken.
Check out these options below and if you want you can do a Free 10-Day Trial.
#14. Visual Basic
Visual Basic Rating
Visual Basic has been for long one of the easiest programming languages to learn and master.
It is used to develop Windows-based applications and games, although its use in creating applications is what keeps it popular among developers.
Unlike other programming languages, VB is not only a language but also an integrated and integrated development environment.
Its graphical user interface provides appealing views for the management of the program structure.
Not to mention that there is a vast community of VB developers and resources to help you.
VB also provides a comprehensive interactive online help system, which along with its basic structure make learning easy and fun.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Easy to learn
For an average programmer, learning Visual Basic isn’t difficult.
The syntax here is relatively straightforward.
On top of this, the developing environment of Visual Basic is top-notch.
Also, there is no shortage of online forums that provide tutorials and answers to common problems that most Visual Basic programmers face.
- Widespread adoption
Visual Basic is quite popular and used widely in the programming community.
Though the reasons for this level of popularity are many, the ease with which Visual Basic applications can be developed is the primary.
- Graphical user interface
Unlike other programming languages, VB offers a graphical user interface that provides intuitive and appealing views of the program structure and entities like classes, forms, procedures and modules.
Cons
- Proprietary language
Visual Basic is a propriety language that is created by Microsoft.
This is the reason that programs written in Visual Basic don’t necessarily transfer to other operating systems.
- Not sophisticated for games
Although Visual Basic can be used to create games, it’s more suitable for the development of applications only.
If you have to become a game developer, you’ll have to venture beyond Visual Basic and learn other programming languages to create complex games.
Stack Overflow Trends
Visual Basic is extinct in StackOverflow.
It gets 0% of questions per month in the website.
How to learn Visual Basic?
Udemy has a few great courses to learn Visual Basic.
#15. Objective-C
Objective-C Rating
Another popular programming language on our list of best programming languages to learn in 2019 is Objective-C.
Designed as a general-purpose, object-oriented language, Objective-C adds Smalltalk-style messaging to C programming language.
Objective-C has been the main programming language used by Apple for the MacOS and the iOS operating systems, giving it much of its popularity.
If you’re looking to become a MacOS or an iOS developer, learning Objective-C should definitely be a part of your learning curve.
Objective C is a very mature language (it has been there since the 1980s).
There are well-established conventions and workflows that make learning Objective-C easy.
Moreover, there is no dearth of Objective-C projects on the Apple App Store.
The reason why we ranked this programming language last is because Apple, the prominent user of Objective-C has moved to Swift. As a result, it’s highly probable that this language will die over time as all Apple devs move to Swift.
You will see that in the Stack Overflow trends below.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Adapt existing C programming language programs
Objective-C programming language is simply an extension of the standard ANSI C programming language.
This means that you can adapt your existing C language programs to use the software framework without losing any existing work that went into the development.
- Well-organized
The syntax of Objective-C programming language is small and easy to learn.
Moreover, it’s a well-organized language that can help programmers become proficient in the use of object-oriented languages.
- Dynamism
When you’re programming in Objective-C, most of the information about the objects themselves are preserved until they have to be used at runtime.
This delays the decisions that otherwise have to be made at the time of compilation.
Dynamism adds a level of flexibility and power to an Objective-C program.
Cons
- Does not include namespace mechanism
One of the biggest drawbacks of Objective-C programming language is that it doesn’t include a namespace mechanism.
Instead, Objective-C programmers are forced to add prefixes to their class names, which isn’t the best solution.
- Doesn’t support operator overloading
Although Objective-C supports ad-hoc polymorphism, it doesn’t support operator overloading.
Other object-oriented languages like C++ do support.
Moreover, Objective-C still remains highly dependent on a header file, which adds complexity.
This is no longer necessary in most modern languages like C#.
Salary Ranges
Salary reports from the StackOverflow developer survey of 2018 show that Objective-C is associated with a salary of $110,000 in the USA.
The greatest of the Best Programming Languages to Learn: Top 15 (2019).
Worldwide, it is about $58,000.
Stack Overflow Trends
From 2009 to 2012, Objective-C had its popularity going up.
However, after that, it only went down.
Now, close to 0% of questions asked in StackOverflow are about Objective-C.
GitHub Octoverse rating
The last time Objective-C was present in the Github octoverse Top 10 was 2016.
It was ranked #10 by then.
Now, it is not present anymore.
How to learn Objective-C?
Pluralsight has some of the best programming courses in the world that I have ever taken.
Check out these options below and if you want you can do a Free 10-Day Trial.
The Bottom Line…
With this, we finish the rundown of the Best programming languages that you should learn in the year 2019.
What was your favorite programing language of this blog post? Did we miss one that you think should be on the list?
Leave your comment below…
Amazing blog! Do you have any hints for aspiring writers?
I’m hoping to start my own site soon but I’m a little lost
on everything. Would you advise starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are so many choices
out there that I’m completely overwhelmed .. Any ideas? Thank you!
Hi Victoria,
Go with WordPress in my opinion if you want to build a robust profile that can do many things. Basically, if you want to build a brand, WP is for you. User friendly, pretty cheap, and constantly improving.
If you simply want to blog, maybe Medium is the right choice as it’s pretty much free and has massive viewership.