TOP Programming Languages and Trends of 2020 • One Group Digital Solutions (2023)

As a software developer in the past, I get to see how some trends in programming languages emerge, while others age and slowly drop out of sight (but for long?).

In 2019, for example, Python dominated software engineering — which was widely used for web apps, software development, data science, and machine learning products.

Now that we’ve entered 2020, it’s time to take a look at the most promising programming languages and trends that you should focus on for your own projects today.

In this article, I want to review some of the options and share my opinion on the state of the programming industry. I will base my talk on my own personal observations as well as StackOverflow, PYPL, and TIOBE surveys for these programming trends.

The top 10 most popular programming languages according to StackOverflow

The top 10 most popular programming languages according to PYPL

The top 10 most popular programming languages according to TIOBE Index

Python

StackOverflow: 4th

TIOBE Index: 3rd

PYPL ranking: 1st

Python is forecasted to remain among developers’ favorite programming languages well beyond 2020. Tech heads love Python’s straightforward syntax that helps them stay focused on the programming process instead of having to delve into code complexities.

Python remains highly attractive for commercial projects — the language is free to distribute and use since it runs on the OSI license. Its powerful toolkit is also noteworthy with, for example, the new release of Django — one of the most versatile and functional web development frameworks ever released — Django 3 has only begun to disclose its potential, and I can’t wait to see what comes later in the year as it continues to unveil more of its elements and full capabilities.

In the future, I believe we will see more of Python since Python 3.8 has just been released. I also doubt that there will be any demand on older versions like Python 2 which has reached its EOL as a product, so we can finally put it to rest.

Strong sides:

– Module support

– Open-source language

– Smooth learning curve

– High-performance speed

– User-friendly data structures

Weak sides:

– Weak mobile computing presence

– Language design restrictions

– Limitations in database access

Applications: web applications, desktop GUI applications, ERP and e-commerce systems, multimedia applications, 3D CAD applications.

PHP

Stack Overflow: 8th

TIOBE: 8th

PYPL: 5th

There are very few developers who haven’t taken part in the ‘PHP is dead’ conversation. Even though the language is blamed for cumbersome syntax and rarely makes its way to the top-5 lists in the industry surveys, I believe in its strong sides and promising future. So we should not dismiss PHP just yet.

Today, PHP supports 79% of websites on the web, which results in huge demand for developers and an enormous amount of learning content for beginners.

Most importantly, the release of 7.4 beta and scheduled PHP 8 shows the community’s interest in this language.

The development team is also going to add Jit support to PHP, which will allow developers to improve the performance of their products by compiling bytecode to assembly code.

Strong sides:

– Large user community

– Contains garbage collection

– Regular expressions and database support

– Interpreted language

– Wide toolkit

Weak sides:

– Unpredictable type system

– Inconsistent function names

– No scoping

– Requires extensions to be fully compatible with C

Applications: web pages and web applications, CMS, GUI-based apps, data representation tools.

JavaScript

Stack Overflow: 1st

PYPL: 3rd

TIOBE: 7th

The JavaScript language is steadily developing as a front-end and back-end tool. I had expected more back-end developments over 2019 — however, SPA apps or CCR were not well-adopted by developers.

Still, at the end of the day, the growing power of Node.js and Electron.js helps expand the functionality of JS exponentially, opening the language to numerous new applications — designing bots, social media platforms, or daemons. As a client-side language, JavaScript takes little time to compile and is compatible with most modern browsers.

Strong sides:

– Performance speed

– Extended functionality

– Interoperability

– Versatility

Weak sides:

– Browser support discrepancies

– Client-side security

– Weak debugging infrastructure

– No multiple inheritance support.

Applications: websites, web applications, server applications, mobile apps.

C++

Stack Overflow: 9th

PYPL: 6th

TIOBE: 4th

Although C++ is one of the harder languages to master, once you get the hang of it, you will be in more demand for lots of top-tier jobs in the gaming development industry, for example.

Its functionality, Unreal engine support, and a powerful blueprint system make C++ worth your while. C++ is still a powerful programming language for cross-platform development, as well.

Newcomers don’t fall short when it comes to learning content, either — there are dozens of blogs and Youtube tutorials at your disposal. As an object-oriented language, C++ employs classes, functions, inheritance, and other OOC features — if you have a Java background, learning the basics of C++ syntax will come fairly naturally.

Strong sides:

– Object-orientedness

– Portability

– Memory management tools

– Compatibility with C

– Scalability

Weak sides

– Pointers

– No garbage collector

– Built-in thread absence

– Code redundancy

Applications: database software, games, operating systems, browsers, embedded systems, compilers.

Kotlin

StackOverflow: 16th

TIOBE Index: 33rd

PYPL ranking: 12th

As a language geared specifically towards building Android apps, Koltin is overshadowing Java as the №1 language for Android mobile app development. Designed by IDE developers, Kotlin includes impressive toolkits which help to drastically reduce the overall development time. The development team has also announced an update 1.4 on the horizon. In the future, I believe there’s more to come for this language.

Strong sides:

– Interoperability with Java

– Easily maintainable

– Compact code syntax

Weak sides:

– Fluctuating compilation speed

– Relatively small developer community

– Steep learning curve

Applications: Android apps, Gradle plugins, back-end development, data science.

Swift

StackOverflow: 15th

TIOBE Index: 10th

PYPL ranking: 9th

Although traces of the Swift/Objective debate are still all over the web, there are considerably fewer advocates for the latter. In the last couple of years, Apple-backed Swift has kept its leading position in iOS development. Tools like SwiftUI and Swift for TensorFlow make designing apps and dealing with mobile app innovations (like deep learning) much more manageable.

I am looking forward to seeing Swift’s serverless potential and the expansion of the language beyond designing mobile apps.

Strong sides:

– Rapid development process

– Interoperability with Objective-C

– Increased performance

– Decreased memory footprint

Weak sides

– Poor third-party and IDE support

– Doesn’t support early iOS versions

– Limited talent pool

Applications: apps for iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS.

C#

StackOverflow: 7th

TIOBE Index: 5rd

PYPL ranking: 4st

C# is one of the most powerful languages for desktop software development. It has a robust toolkit, is compatible with other programming languages, and possesses enormous cross-platform potential.

Granted, a steep learning curve and complex syntax is the price you pay for being able to write reusable code and work on projects collaboratively.

At the end of the day, the versatility of C# makes up for difficulties in mastering the language — good command of the language will open a wide range of job offers and will be helpful when designing cloud tools or APIs.

Strong sides:

– Integrates well with Windows

– High collaborative editing potential

– Compiled language

Weak sides:

– No support for older .NET frameworks

– Complicated syntax

– Case sensitivity

– Uses curly brackets

Applications: Windows client applications, Windows components and libraries, native mobile apps (iOS and Android), Azure cloud applications, back-end services, web applications, and web APIs.

What Lies Ahead for Programmers in 2020

2020 looks very promising, both for industry leaders and the software programming community and, if you are still not convinced, here is a fast run-through of some extra innovations I am excited to see by the end of this year.

– Uniting Dot Net Core and Dot Net Framework — having two frameworks in a common branch will simplify the development process and increase the speed of bringing software to the market.

– The steady growth of Kotlin — the development team is focused on building better infrastructure for the language and extending its scope beyond Android development.

– Growth of Python’s popularity, especially in emerging fields like machine learning and data science.

– More applications for PHP. Jit support and the PHP 8 release will broaden the scope of the language, allowing developers to apply PHP to a wider range of projects. I also expect an increase in market share for PHP frameworks — namely Laravel and CakePHP.

– Further development of JavaScript (and electron JS). Over the course of the year, I want to see the growth of JS frameworks — Node.js will support ECMA modules and WebAssembly. As for Electron.js, the new version of the framework now supports V8 and is compatible with Node.js.

– Release of C++ Standard 20 in February 2020. New features include concepts, three-way comparison support, extended lambda support, atomic smart pointers, and other perks.

Wrapping Up

2020 is an exciting year for programming languages. I can’t wait to see some of the new applications that PHP will offer developers outside the web, how the growth of Python and JS unfolds, and what emerging languages like Swift and Kotlin have in stock this year.

With such a wide range of available technologies, every aspiring developer will be able to find a comfortable language to learn. Getting to know new development tools is always fun and widens the world of possibilities.