10 Programming Languages You Should
Learn Right Now
Among thousands, 10
programming languages stand out for their job marketability and wide use. If
you're looking to boost your career or learn something new, start here.
Knowing a handful of programming languages is seen by many
as a harbor in a job market storm, solid skills that will be marketable as long
as the languages are.
Yet, there is beauty in numbers. While there may be
developers who have had riches heaped on them by knowing the right programming
language at the right time in the right place, most longtime coders will tell
you that periodically learning a new language is an essential part of being a
good and successful Web developer.
"One of my mentors once told me that a programming
language is just a programming language. It doesnt matter if youre a good
programmer, its the syntax that matters," Tim Huckaby, CEO of San
Diego-based software engineering company CEO Interknowlogy.com, told eWEEK.
However, Huckaby said that while his company is
"swimming" in work, hes having a nearly impossible time finding
recruits, even on the entry level, that know specific programming languages.
"Were hiring like crazy, but were not having an easy
time. Were just looking for attitude and aptitude, kids right out of school
that know .Net, or even Java, because with that we can train them on
.Net," said Huckaby.
"Dont get fixated on one or two languages. When I
started in 1969, FORTRAN, COBOL and S/360 Assembler were the big tickets. Today,
Java, C and Visual Basic are. In 10 years time, some new set of languages will
be the in thing. …At last count, I knew/have learned over 24 different
languages in over 30 years," Wayne Duqaine, director of Software
Development at Grandview Systems, of Sebastopol, Calif., told eWEEK.
By picking the brains of Web developers and IT recruiters,
eWEEK selected 10 programming languages that are a bonus for developers to add
to their resumes. Even better, theyre great jumping-off points, with loads of
job opportunities for younger recruits.
1. PHP
What it is: An open-source, interpretive, server-side,
cross-platform, HTML scripting language, especially well-suited for Web
development as it can be embedded into HTML pages.
Why you should learn it: Its particularly widely used.
"High-speed scripting with caching, augmented with compiled code plug-ins
(such as can be done with Perl and PHP) is where the future is. Building Web
apps from scratch using C or COBOL is going the way of the dinosaur," said
Duquaine.
Job availabilities: 1,152*
2. C#
What it is: A general-purpose, compiled, object-oriented
programming language developed by Microsoft as part of its .NET initiative, it
evolved from C and C++
Why you should learn it: Its an essential part of the .Net
framework. "Learning C#, which is just Java with a different name plate,
is critical if you heavily use Microsoft," said Duquaine.
Job availabilities: 5,111
3. AJAX (Asynchronous
JavaScript and XML)
What it is: Though technically not a programming language,
AJAX uses XHTML or HTML, JavaScript and XML to create interactive Web
applications.
Why you should learn it: Ever since Google Maps put AJAX,
well, on the map, the requests for AJAX-knowledgeable pros went through the
roof. "The demand for AJAX knowledge is huge because its so damned hard to
learn," said Huckaby. Of note, Microsoft announced recently plans to
release a tool named Atlas that will make AJAX easier to implement. "If
Microsofts Atlas tool is successful, it would bring the extreme complexity and
annoyance of AJAX to the average worker," said Huckaby.
Job availabilities : 1,106
4. JavaScript
What it is: Not to be confused with Java, JavaScript is a an
object-oriented, scripting programming language that runs in the Web browser on
the client side. Its smaller than Java, with a simplified set of commands,
easier to code and doesnt have to be compiled.
Why you should learn it: Embedded into HTML, its used in
millions of Web pages to validate forms, create cookies, detect browsers and
improve the design. With its simplicity to learn as well as wide use, its
considered a great bang for your educational buck.
Job availabilities: 4,406
5. Perl
What it is: Perl is an open-source, cross-platform,
server-side interpretive programming language used extensively to process text
through CGI programs.
Why you should learn it: Perls power in processing of piles
of text has made it very popular and widely used to write Web server programs
for a range of tasks. "Learning some form of scripting language, such as
Perl or PHP is critical if you are doing Web apps," said Duquaine.
Job availabilities: 4,810
6. C
What it is: A standardized, general-purpose programming
language, its one of the most pervasive languages and the basis for several
others (such as C++).
Why you should learn it: "Learning C is crucial. Once
you learn C, making the jump to Java or C# is fairly easy, because a lot of the
syntax is common. Also, a lot of C syntax is used in scripting languages,"
said Duquaine.
Job availabilities: 6,164, including all derivatives
7. Ruby and Ruby on
Rails
What they are: Ruby is a dynamic, object-oriented,
open-source programming language; Ruby on Rails is an open-source Web
application framework written in Ruby that closely follows the MVC
(Model-View-Controller) architecture.
Why you should learn it: With a focus on simplicity,
productivity and letting the computers do the work, in a few years, its usage
has spread quickly. As a bonus, many find it easy to learn.
Job availabilities : 210 and 54, respectively
8. Java
What it is: An object-oriented programming language
developed by James Gosling and colleagues at Sun Microsystems in the early
1990s.
Why you should learn it: Hailed by many developers as a
"beautiful" language, it is central to the non-.Net programming
experience. "Learning Java is critical if you are non-Microsoft,"
said Duquaine.
Job availabilities: 14,408
9. Python
What it is: An interpreted, dynamically object-oriented,
open-source programming language that utilizes automatic memory management.
Why you should learn it: Designed to be a highly readable,
minimalist language, many say it has a sense of humor (spam and eggs, rather than
foo and bar), Python is used extensively by Google as well as in academia
because of its syntactic simplicity.
Job availabilities: 811
10. VB.Net (Visual
Basic .Net)
What it is: An object-oriented language implemented on
Microsofts .Net framework.
Why you should learn it: Most argue that VB.Net is currently
more popular than ever and one of the only "must-learns." "It is
currently dominating in adoption and that is where all the work is," said
Huckaby.
Job availabilities: 2,090
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