Guide to Computer Programming & Coding Languages

What are Computer Programming Languages? · JavaScript · C Language · C++ · C#. ComputerProgrammingLanguages November2,2021|ComputerScience.orgStaff ModifiedonJune23,2022 Areyoureadytofindaschoolthat'salignedwithyourinterests? WhatareComputerProgrammingLanguages? Computerprogramminglanguagesallowustogiveinstructionstoacomputerinalanguagethecomputerunderstands.Justasmanyhuman-basedlanguagesexist,thereareanarrayofcomputerprogramminglanguagesthatprogrammerscanusetocommunicatewithacomputer.Theportionofthelanguagethatacomputercanunderstandiscalleda“binary.”Translatingprogramminglanguageintobinaryisknownas“compiling.”Eachlanguage,fromCLanguagetoPython,hasitsowndistinctfeatures,thoughmanytimestherearecommonalitiesbetweenprogramminglanguages. Theselanguagesallowcomputerstoquicklyandefficientlyprocesslargeandcomplexswathsofinformation.Forexample,ifapersonisgivenalistofrandomizednumbersrangingfromonetotenthousandandisaskedtoplacetheminascendingorder,chancesarethatitwilltakeasizableamountoftimeandincludesomeerrors. Therearedozensofprogramminglanguagesusedintheindustrytoday.We'vecompiledoverviewsofthe12mostimportant,relevantandin-demandoftheselanguagesbelow. WhatIsCoding? Python Java Ruby/RubyonRails HTML JavaScript CLanguage C++ C# Objective-C PHP SQL Swift TopOnlinePrograms Exploreprogramsofyourinterestswiththehigh-qualitystandardsandflexibilityyouneedtotakeyourcareertothenextlevel. Python Pythonisanadvancedprogramminglanguagethatisinterpreted,object-orientedandbuiltonflexibleandrobustsemantics. Whousesit? ProfessionsandIndustries: Pythondevelopers,softwareengineers,backenddevelopers,Pythonprogrammers Usedbyemployersininformationtechnology,engineering,professionalservicesanddesign MajorOrganizations: Google,Pinterest,Instagram,YouTube,DropBox,NASA,ESRI SpecializationsandIndustries: WebandInternetdevelopment(frameworks,micro-frameworksandadvancedcontentmanagementsystems);scientificandnumericcomputing;desktopgraphicaluserinterfaces(GUIs) Whatmakeslearningitimportant? Pythonletsyouworkquicklytointegratesystemsasascriptingorgluelanguage.It’salsosuitedforRapidApplicationDevelop(RAD). ThegameCivilization4hasallitsinnerlogic,includingAI,implementedinPython. NASAusesPythoninitsIntegratedPlanningSystemasastandardscriptinglanguage. Features: Simpletolearnandeasilyread Associatedwebframeworksfordevelopingweb-basedapplications Freeinterpreterandstandardlibraryavailableinsourceorbinaryonmajorplatforms Wherediditstart? Pythonwasdevelopedinthelate1980satCWIintheNetherlandsandfirstreleasedtothepublicin1991. Forums StackOverflow Pythoncommunity DevshedNetwork(PythonProgrammingForum) Tryitout! Createadice-rollingsimulatoratKnightlab. Java Javaisageneral-purpose,object-oriented,high-levelprogramminglanguagewithseveralfeaturesthatmakeitidealforweb-baseddevelopment. Whousesit? ProfessionsandIndustries:Softwareengineers,JavadevelopersUsedbyemployersincommunications,education,finance,healthsciences,hospitality,retailandutilitiesMajorOrganizations:V2COM,EclipseInformationTechnologies,eBay,EurotechSpecializationsandIndustries:InternetofThings(IoT),EnterpriseArchitecture,CloudComputing Whatmakeslearningitimportant? Javaisusedtodevelopenterprise-levelapplicationsforvideogamesandmobileapps,aswellastocreateweb-basedapplicationswithJSP(JavaServerPages).Whenusedonline,Javaallowsappletstobedownloadedandusedthroughabrowser,whichcanthenperformafunctionnotnormallyavailable. ProgramsthatuseorarewritteninJavaincludeAdobeCreativeSuite,Eclipse,LotusNotes,MinecraftandOpenOffice.JavaisthecorefoundationfordevelopingAndroidapps.Features:ApplicationportabilityRobustandinterpretedlanguageExtensivenetworklibrary Wherediditstart? OriginallyknownasOak,Javawasdevelopedin1990atSunMicrosystemstoaddcapabilitiestotheC++language.JavawasdevelopedaccordingtotheprincipleofWORA(WriteOnceRunAnywhere).Thelanguagewasintroducedtothepublicin1995andisnowownedbyOracle. Forums StackOverflowJavaCommunitySpaceForum Tryitout! CreateacityclassifiedandsearchapplicationorchooseanotherprojectthroughJavapoint. Ruby/RubyonRails Rubyisanopen-sourced,object-orientedscriptinglanguagethatcanbeusedindependentlyoraspartoftheRubyonRailswebframework. Whousesit? ProfessionsandIndustries:RubyonRailsdevelopers,softwareengineers,datascienceengineersUsedbyemployersintechnology,engineering,professionalservices,design,scienceandqualitycontrolMajorOrganizations:Github,Scribd,Groupon,NASALangleyResearchCenter,BlueSequence(partofToyotaMotorManufacturing),Motorola,Google(SketchUp)SpecializationsandIndustries:WebAppDevelopment,Robotics,Networking,SystemAdministrationandSecurity Whatmakeslearningitimportant? Rubyisusedforsimulations,3Dmodeling,andtomanageandtrackinformation. Basecamp,Amazon,TwitterandGrouponwereallcreatedusingRubyonRails.NASAusesRubytoconductsimulations.Features:Freetouse,copy,modifyanddistributeIntuitiveandflexiblelanguageCompletelyobject-oriented(abilitytousemethodchaining) Wherediditstart? Designedin1995,Ruby’screatordescribeditas“simpleinappearance,butitisverycomplexinside,justlikeourhumanbody.” Forums StackOverflowRubyUserGroupsRubyForum Tryitout! ExperienceRubyatCodecademy. HTML(HyperTextMarkupLanguage) HTMListhestandardmarkuplanguageusedtocreatewebpages;itensuresproperformattingoftextandimages(usingtags)sothatInternetbrowserscandisplaytheminthewaystheywereintendedtolook. Whousesit? ProfessionsandIndustries:Webdevelopers,technicaleditors,emaildesigners,softwareengineersUsedbyemployersinInformationTechnology,Engineering,Design,ProfessionalServices,Management,Marketing,CustomerServicesandSalesMajorOrganizations:Apple,CyberCoders,ApexSystems,CareerBuilderSpecializationsandIndustriesWhereHTMLisUsedMost:WebDevelopment,EmailProgramming Whatmakeslearningitimportant? HTMLisusedtocreateelectronicdocuments(pages)displayedonline.VisitanypageandyouwillseeanexampleofHTMLinaction. Thediversityandcomplexityinthestructureandappearanceoftoday’ssitesismadepossiblewithHTML.Features:EasytouseandlearnthebasicsofHTMLFreeandaccessibleMultipleversionsavailable Wherediditstart? HTMLwascreatedbyphysicistTimBerners-Leein1990toallowscientiststosharedocumentsonline.Beforethen,allcommunicationwassentusingplaintext.HTMLmade“rich”textpossible(i.e.textformattingandvisualimages). Forums StackOverflowHTMLforum.com Tryitout! WritearecipeusingHTMLorpickanotherprojectatCoderProjects. JavaScript JavaScriptisaclient-sideprogramminglanguagethatrunsinsideaclientbrowserandprocessescommandsonacomputerratherthanaserver.ItiscommonlyplacedintoanHTMLorASPfile.Despiteitsname,JavaScriptisnotrelatedtoJava. Whousesit? ProfessionsandIndustries:JavaScriptdevelopers,Webdevelopers,softwareengineersUsedbyemployersinInformationTechnology,Engineering,Design,Marketing,FinanceandHealthcareMajorOrganizations:WordPress,Soundcloud,KhanAcademy,Linkedin,Groupon,YahooandmanyothersSpecializationsandIndustriesWhereJavaScriptisUsedMost:FrontEndWebsiteDevelopment,GamingDevelopment Whatmakeslearningitimportant? JavaScriptisusedprimarilyinWebdevelopmenttomanipulatevariouspageelementsandmakethemmoredynamic,includingscrollingabilities,printingthetimeanddate,creatingacalendarandothertasksnotpossiblethroughplainHTML.ItcanalsobeusedtocreategamesandAPIs. TheagencyCyber-DuckinBritainusespublicAPIs,createdwithJavaScript,topullindataaboutcrimeandenablesuserstoreviewalocalarea.Tweetmap,createdbyPeteSmartandRobHawkesusingJavaScript,representsaworldmapthatisproportionallysizedaccordingtothenumberoftweets.Features:BasicfeaturesareeasytolearnMultipleframeworksUserscanreferenceJQuery,acomprehensiveJavascriptlibrary Wherediditstart? JavaScriptwasdesignedbyNetscapeandoriginallyknownasLiveScript,beforebecomingJavaScriptin1995. Forums StackOverflowJavascriptonRedditCodingForums.com Tryitout! MakeasimplewebsitewithanimagegalleryorimageslideratHTML-TUTS. CLanguage CLanguageisastructure-oriented,middle-levelprogramminglanguagemostlyusedtodeveloplow-levelapplications. Whousesit? ProfessionsandIndustries:Softwaredevelopers,computerengineers,businessandsystemsanalysts,ITandWebcontentadministrators,embeddedsoftwareengineersUsedbyemployersinInformationTechnology,Engineering,Management,HealthcareandProfessionalServicesMajorOrganizations:Microsoft,Apple,Oracle,Cisco,RaytheonSpecializationsandIndustriesWhereCLanguageisUsedMost:EmbeddedSystems,SystemsProgramming,ArtificialIntelligence,IndustrialAutomation,ComputerGraphics,SpaceResearch,ImageProcessingandGameProgramming Whatmakeslearningitimportant? CLanguageisusedtodevelopsystemsapplicationsthatareintegratedintooperatingsystemssuchasWindows,UNIXandLinux,aswellasembeddedsoftwares.Applicationsincludegraphicspackages,wordprocessors,spreadsheets,operatingsystemdevelopment,databasesystems,compilersandassemblers,networkdriversandinterpreters. Facebook’sTAOsystemsisprogrammedmostlyusingClanguage.MostdevicedriversarestilldevelopedusingCLanguage.Features:Simpletolearn;thereareonly32keywordstomasterEasytowritesystemsprogramssuchascompilersandinterpretersFoundationallanguageforbeginners Wherediditstart? TheCLanguagewasdevelopedin1972atBellLabsspecificallyforimplementingtheUNIXsystem.Iteventuallygaverisetomanyadvancedprogramminglanguages,includingC++,JavaC#,JavaScriptandPearl. Forums StackOverflowCprogramming.comGo4Expert Tryitout! Createatic-tac-toegameusingopensourcecode. TopOnlinePrograms Exploreprogramsofyourinterestswiththehigh-qualitystandardsandflexibilityyouneedtotakeyourcareertothenextlevel. C++ C++isageneralpurpose,object-oriented,middle-levelprogramminglanguageandisanextensionofClanguage,whichmakesitpossibletocodeC++ina“Cstyle”.Insomesituations,codingcanbedoneineitherformat,makingC++anexampleofahybridlanguage. Whousesit? ProfessionsandIndustries:C++softwareengineers,C++softwaredevelopers,embeddedengineers,programmeranalystsUsedbyemployersinInformationTechnology,Engineering,ProfessionalServices,Design,QualityControlandManagementMajorCompanyandOrganizationUsers:Google,Mozilla,Firefox,Winamp,AdobeSoftware,Amazon,LockheedMartinSpecializations:System/ApplicationSoftware,Drivers,Client-ServerApplications,EmbeddedFirmware Whatmakeslearningitimportant? TheC++languageisusedtocreatecomputerprogramsandpackagedsoftware,suchasgames,officeapplications,graphicsandvideoeditorsandoperatingsystems. TheBlackberryOSisdevelopedusingC++.ThenewestMicrosoftOfficesuitewasdevelopedusingC++.Features:OftenthefirstprogramminglanguagetaughtatcollegelevelQuickprocessingandcompilationmechanismRobuststandardlibrary(STL) Wherediditstart? Releasedin1983andoftenconsideredanobject-orientedversionofClanguage,C++wascreatedtocompilelean,efficientcode,whileprovidinghigh-levelabstractionstobettermanagelargedevelopmentprojects. Forums StackOverflowCPlusPlusCodeGuru Tryitout! CreateastudentdatabaseorothersimilarsystemthroughCodeincode::blocks. C# PronouncedC-sharp(notC-hashtag),C#isamulti-paradigmprogramminglanguagethatfeaturesstrongtyping,imperative,declarative,functional,generic,object-orientedandcomponent-orienteddisciplines. Whousesit? ProfessionsandIndustries:C#developers,automationtestengineers,softwareengineers,senior.netWebdevelopersUsedbyemployersinInformationTechnology,Engineering,Design,ProfessionalServices,ManagementandQualityControlMajorOrganizations:MicrosoftIntel,HewlettPackardSpecializations:Windows-basedplatforms Whatmakeslearningitimportant? C#helpsdeveloperscreateXMLwebservicesandMicrosoft.NET-connectedapplicationsforWindowsoperatingsystemsandtheinternet. UsedtodevelopawiderangeofsoftwareapplicationsthataccompanyVisualStudioIDE.TheonlylanguageusedbytheWindowsPresentationFoundation(WPF).Features:SimilartoJavaincapabilitiesIdealforbeginnersThego-toforworkingonMicrosoftapps Wherediditstart? C#wasdevelopedin2000aspartofMicrosoft’sreleaseof.NETframework;in2003itbecameanISOstandard.C#wasbasedoffofC,C++,andJavalanguages. Forums StackOverflowCodeProjectDream.In.Code Tryitout! MicrosoftVirtualAcademyoffersafree,extensivecourseinC#fundamentals. Objective-C Objective-Cisasimple,general-purposeandobject-orientedlanguage.ItusesasystemofmessagepassingborrowedfromthelanguageSmalltalk;whenanobjectinObjective-Cissentamessage,itcanchoosetoignoreorforwardtoanotherobject,ratherthanreturnavalue. Whousesit? ProfessionsandIndustries:ITandWebcontentadministrators,iOSandAndroidmobiledevelopers,softwareengineersUsedbyemployersinInformationTechnology,Engineering,Management,HealthcareandDesignMajorOrganizations:Apple,CyberCodersSpecializations:Softwaredevelopment Whatmakeslearningitimportant? Objective-CisprimarilyusedbydeveloperstocreateappsforiOSandOSX. FromeverythingtoTwitterandFacebooktoWellsFargoandMint,objective-Cisthemostcommonlyusedlanguagetowriteprogramsforappleproducts.FeaturesIncreasedflexibilitywithdynamictypingOftenusedalongsideaframeworksuchasCocoaorCocoaTouchGreatfirstlanguageforbeginningprogrammers Wherediditstart? Objective-CwasdevelopedatApplein1983toaddressdeficiencies(specificallylackofobject-orientation)inClanguage.ItwaslicensedbyNeXTin1988. Forums StackOverflowClassroomMCodeProject Tryitout! BuildasimpleiPhoneAppwithanopensourcetutorialatCodingGround. PHP(HypertextPreprocessor) PHPisanopen-sourcescriptinglanguagedesignedforcreatingdynamicwebpagesthateffectivelyworkwithdatabases.Itisalsousedasageneral-purposeprogramminglanguage. Whousesit? ProfessionsandIndustries:PHPdevelopers,PHPsoftwareengineersUsedacrossindustries,toincludeInformationTechnology,Engineering,Design,ProfessionalServices,Healthcare,ManagementandFinanceMajorOrganizations:Facebook,Yahoo,CyberCoders,NextGenSpecializationsWherePHPisUsedMost:WebApplicationDevelopment,Server-SideScripting,CommandLineScripting Whatmakeslearningitimportant? PHPisprimarilyusedalongsidedynamicdata-heavywebsitestocollectformdata.It'salsousedinappdevelopmenttogeneratedynamicpagecontent. PHPispartoftheLAMPplatformusedbyFacebookandYahoo.PlatformssuchasJoomla,WordPressandDrupalusethePHPlanguage.Features:Easytolearn(assimpleasembeddingcodeinsideHTML)FreeandopensourceCanbeusedonallmajoroperatingsystemsandwebservers Wherediditstart? PHPwasreleasedin1995asaserver-sidescriptinglanguage,whichisprocessedonaservertobecomeawebsiteinplainHTML. Forums StackOverflowPHPFreaksPHPBuilder Tryitout! BuildaPHP/MySQL-poweredforumusingafreetutorialfromEnvatoTuts+. SQL(StructuredQueryLanguage) SQLisadatabasequerylanguage(notadevelopmentlanguage)thatallowsforadding,accessingandmanagingcontentinadatabase.ItisthelanguagethatallowsprogrammerstoperformthecommonacronymCRUD(Create;Read;Update;Delete)withinadatabase. Whousesit? ProfessionsandIndustries:SQLserverdevelopers,databasetesters,softwaredevelopers,databaseadministratorsUsedacrossindustrieslikeInformationTechnology,Engineering,Design,Management,ProfessionalServers,BusinessandFinanceMajorOrganizations:SQLisusedbymostcompaniesandorganizationsthatgatherdata.ExamplesincludeRobertHalfTechnology,NigelFrank,CyberCodersandUnitedHealthCare.SpecializationsWhereSQLisUsedMost:DataAnalysisandBigDataMining Whatmakeslearningitimportant? SQLinteractswiththebackenddatabaseofwebapplication.Itisthe“defactostandard”databaselanguage,alwaysusedinconjunctionwithanotherprogramminglanguage.SQLprogramsareimplementedasawayforbusinessesandorganizationstoaccessandmanipulateinformationstoredintheirdatabases. RelationaldatabasemanagementsystemsthatuseSQLincludeMySQL(byOracle),Sybase,MicrosoftSQLServerandothers.Features:SimplesyntaxFreeandeasilyaccessible Wherediditstart? SQLwasdevelopedattheIBMResearchCenterin1974andoriginallyknownasSEQUEL.Thefirstcommercialversionwasintroducedin1979byORACLE. Forums StackOverflowSQLTeamSQLServerCentral Tryitout! BuildaPHP/MySQL-poweredforumusingafreetutorialfromEnvatoTuts+. TopOnlinePrograms Exploreprogramsofyourinterestswiththehigh-qualitystandardsandflexibilityyouneedtotakeyourcareertothenextlevel. Swift SwiftisApple’snewestopen-source,multi-paradigmprogramminglanguageforiOSandOSXapps.SwiftintegratesObjective-C’snamedparametersandobject-orientedmodel,whileincludinganadvancedcompiler,debuggerandframeworkinfrastructure. Whousesit? ProfessionsandIndustries:SwiftPlatformDevelopers,iOSMobileApplicationDevelopers,SoftwareDevelopers,SeniorProgrammers,DataEngineersInformationTechnology,Engineering,Design,ManagementandProfessionalServicesMajorOrganizations:Apple,GettyImages,Slack,DowJones,PlaylistMediaSpecializationsWhereSwiftisUsedMost:Softwaredevelopment Whatmakeslearningitimportant? SwiftisprimarilyusedbydeveloperstocreateappsforiOSandOSX. DowJonesisrewritingsectionsofitsmobileWallStreetJournalappusingSwift.GettyImagesbuiltitsconsumer-facingapp,Stream,usingSwift.Features:Supports‘playgrounds,’afeaturethatletsprogrammersexperimentandseeimmediateresultsEasytounderstandsyntaxIdealforwritingproduction-readycode Wherediditstart? Swift,whichisbasedoffoftheObjective-Cprogramminglanguage,wasintroducedatApple’s2014WorldwideDevelopersConference(WWDC).Thenewestversion,Swift2,wasreleasedasanopen-sourcelanguagein2015. Forums StackOverflowSwiftLanguageGoogleGroups Tryitout! BuildaminesweeperapporchooseanotherminiprojectatMakeSchool. RecommendedReading Viewhand-pickeddegreeprograms Telluswhatyou’dliketospecializein,anddiscoverwhichschoolsofferadegreeprogramthatcanhelpyoumakeanimpactontheworld.