Overview of Programming Languages

Want to pick up programming, but don’t know where to start? This article will provide an overview of popular programming languages, their uses, pros, and cons. 

Each language has a different area where it is used most, and excels in different areas. The language used thus depends highly on the context.

JavaScript

JavaScript is a very widely used programming language for web development. It can easily work with HTML and CSS, which are used to design what a web page looks like. JavaScript’s job is to interact with the HTML and CSS to determine how the webpage responds to user input.

JavaScript is an interpreted language, which means it executes code line by line instead of compiling everything at once. This provides lots of flexibility, in addition to the variety of libraries and frameworks such as Node.js and ReactJS to make web development more powerful (GeeksforGeeks, 2024).

C++

C++ is a popular and powerful general-use programming language. It was developed as an extension of C, which is an older language and is harder to learn. Although C++ is not exactly easy to learn either, it is both fast and versatile, earning it use cases in fields such as game development.

C++ offers more complicated functionality than simpler languages like Python and JavaScript, such as pointers and multi-threading, making it harder to learn and master. However, mastery of C++ guarantees an easy transition to any other language, including those with similar syntax like C, C#, and Java.

Python

Python functions both as a general-use language and as a tool for data science and machine learning. It has lots of libraries like Pandas and Scikitlearn, which are straightforward to install and use. 

Like JavaScript, it is an interpreted language, allowing you to run code as soon as it is written (W3Schools, 2019). It also supports both procedural and object-oriented paradigms, meaning code can be treated as both sets of instructions and as objects depending on the design of the program.

Python is very easy to learn due to lots of factors. Its syntax is straightforward and very readable, and its functionality is both simple and versatile, making it easy to use, especially when working with APIs (application interfaces).

Other Languages

Apart from JavaScript, C++, and Python, other languages such as C and Java may also be worth learning.

C is the precursor to C++. Although relatively outdated, it is powerful in being able to directly interact with computer memory. It is also purely procedural, meaning that programs cannot be made in an object-oriented way, where code is organized as objects instead of simply a sequence of instructions. However, objective C also exists today, allowing that limitation to be overcome.

Java is an object-oriented programming language that is based on the rules and syntax of C and C++. It is widely used in application software development, and is most popular in the creation of Minecraft mods. 

Despite the similar names, Java is very different from JavaScript in terms of functionality. While JavaScript can only be run on web browsers, Java can be run anywhere (IBM, 2023), making it more versatile than JavaScript.

Conclusion

The programming language to choose depends highly on the context. If you are making a specific product such as a website or application, it would be best to learn their respective languages like JavaScript or Java. On the other hand, if you are looking to learn programming in general, Python and C++ would be great places to start depending on how much you are looking to learn.

Reference list

GeeksforGeeks. (2024). JavaScript. [online] Available at: https://www.geeksforgeeks.org/javascript/.

IBM (2023). What is Java ? | IBM. [online] www.ibm.com. Available at: https://www.ibm.com/topics/java [Accessed 1 Dec. 2024].

w3Schools (2019). Introduction to Python. [online] W3schools.com. Available at: https://www.w3schools.com/python/python_intro.asp [Accessed 1 Dec. 2024].