How to choose the most suitable programming language for your custom software development?
There are a mystifying number of custom software development languages available, all with their own strengths and weaknesses. Whether you are needing a web application or the newest mobile application that sweeps the world by storm, possibilities are endless.
The IEEE Spectrum association has painstakingly made a list of the most used languages, using its own surveys, data from Google, and GitHub. In that list of the different languages analyzed, Python appears as the most popular, followed by JavaScript, PHP, and Ruby.
In practice, the use of one language or another varies greatly depending on the needs and also on the preferences of the developer themselves. Despite this, the IEEE survey points out a trend in which open source languages are preferred by developers as they allow them to study, modify and improve their design.
When selecting which language to work is best suited for the development of the application, it is important to know the differences, similarities, their advantages and disadvantages, and which is particularly suited to achieve your goals. Ideally, you would also familiarize yourself with the increasingly widespread framework concept, which refers to the set of good practices, modules, and libraries of each language to address specific projects and needs.
Ruby. It is one of the programming languages that has experienced the greatest growth in recent years. Created by Yukihiro “Matz” Matsumoto, Ruby is an open source, object-oriented programming language that enables both web and desktop programming. For the programming of websites or web apps, its well-known framework “Rails” is used.
ASP.NET. It is a language created by Microsoft and requires a Windows server for its use. It is mainly used to develop dynamic websites, web applications or XML web services.
PHP. It is a widely used, flexible and powerful open source server language, well suited for web development. It has been used to create millions of websites in the world, including some as well known as Wikipedia or Facebook. This popularity means that there are several frameworks that can be used when tackling a web project or a WebApp, such as Codeigniter, Symfony, CakePHP, Laravel or Zend.
Python. Also open source, object-oriented that allows the creation of dynamic and complex websites that are easy to update and have a short loading time. Currently, it is used on popular websites such as Pinterest, Instagram or Dropbox. Although there are multiple frameworks, the most widely used and well-known is Django, its web framework.
JavaScript. It is one of the languages, if not “the language”, most used and popular to execute on the client side. Thanks to its multitude of frameworks, really impressive developments can be made. The best known are jQuery, Backbone.js, Ember.js, Knockout.js or Angular.js. To run server-side, its Node.js framework is used.
Objective-C. This programming language is object-oriented and is especially used to create applications for Mac OS X and iOS. It is a layer above C, so it is possible to compile any program written in C with an Objective-C compiler.
Swift. Created by Apple, so its application is exclusive to the development of applications on Mac OS X and iOS. One of its biggest advantages is that you can use any library programmed in Objective-C and call C functions, which allows developers to exchange part of the code according to their preference.
Dart. If Swift is the language for OS and iOS, Dart is the open source language created by Google for Android, its objective is not to replace Javascript, but to propose a more modern alternative. Moreover, it could be said that Google has elaborated the structure of Dart thinking that developers who know JavaScript feel comfortable with this new environment.
As evident by the brief summary of this list, there are far more options available than we could cover. Determining the right fit for your next project is no easy task. That’s why so many have chosen to work with Software Development experts, like CodingIT, to help them make the right decision for their needs. A full accounting of the pros and cons of each language are required to ensure you are starting from the right place, every time.
It is always advisable to compare different knowledge sources and do your own research to help ensure your next project is set up for success. There are many developer communities that often include forum threads ranking each language’s ability to accomplish certain tasks, numerous polls on the most popular options, and lengthy debate regarding the pros and cons.
Best of luck on your software journey and know that we are here to answer any questions you may have!
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