Welcome to programming Languages. Before I get into breaking down some of the key features about 5 of the top languages, I wanted to lay a bit of groundwork and give some brief explanations about what some of the following terms are referring to.

Firstly, what is a Program Language?

A high-level programming Language is a source code that is closer to human language than Machine code. Machine code works in binary or 0’s and 1’s making it almost impossible for a human to read and understand it and definitely for a human to decipher in efficiently. Source code is the code that a programmer writes that’s close to human language, but that when put through a translator a computer can understand and run as a program. All websites, apps, etc. All have source codes that are behind the screens and programs you see and use daily. Kind of like the well-known movie the Matrix.

What are translators?

All high-level languages must be run through a translator program and they don’t all use the same type. There are a couple of different translators, however the most common 2 are interpreted and compiled.

Compiled translation is when the entire code is translated at the same time as a whole. With some of the advantages being that it allows the programs to run quickly and take up less memory space it does come with a few disadvantages as well such as the source code having to be re-compiled every time it’s changed. The other type interpreters are where the code id deciphered one line at a time. With the way of doing things, it causes the process to take longer than complied however it also means that it doesn’t have the disadvantages of having to be re-complied every time there is a change and errors are able to be spotted more quickly.

That being said, developers choose what they feel is best for their own program and what will work best moving forward.

A poll from 1965-2019 ranked the top programming languages and these were the top five:

1 – C

2 – Java

3 – Java Script

4 – C++

5 – PHP

I will be touching on a few of these and breaking down key features from each. Did you know that the first ever computational program was actually created in the 1880’s. When we think about the programs we run today and how computers have evolved over the years it’s sometimes hard to imagine that most of the software we use in our daily lives actually goes back that far. Moreso into the 1960’s, but it does reach further back than that.

Python – Is arguably the favorite top programming language. Created in 1991 by Guido Van Rossem. It is an open-source language free for anyone to use and distribute server-side language. Which means that it is a language that is behind the scenes and isn’t seen by the user. It is a fan favorite because it’s compatible with most operating systems Mac, PC, Linux.

Its syntax is fairly simple and is a language that is easily understandable and closest to human language. Programmers like to use this language because it requires less lines of code than other high-level languages. Making it faster to write source code than some others. It is also easy for to learn making it a good code for beginners. It’s most commonly used in Data collection programming by mathematicians and data scientists.

It utilizes the Interpreter system, so it does run a bit slower than some other languages as it translates one line of code at a time, instead of all at once. Some of the companies that use this language are Google, Spotify and even NASA use python

Fun Fact: Its name actually comes from the beloved Monty Python Crew.

Python is an interpreted language. It is multi-paradigm making it flexible and making it possible to use different programming styles.

C – Created in 1972 by Dennis Ritchie at Bell Labs

C is claimed to be the first high programming language, although there is some argument on this with the revised version of Fortran being argued as the actual first high level language. It was developed so that the operating system UNIX would be able to run on different computers. Still remaining among one of the top programming languages today which would make it the arguably one of the longest running high level code in use.

C is a compiled language with procedural language.

C++ – In 1983 Approx. 11 years after C was released, C++ came along. Created by Bjarne Stroustrup at Bell Labs. From what I gather it is basically a revamp on C. It’s C language with added classes, functionality and usability built into it. They continually update this language and have C++23 set to release sometime in the next few months of this year.

It uses complied language as described above and is the programming behind popular software such as Minecraft and Adobe Photoshop.

C++ is a compiled language with multi-paradigm language.

Java Script – Is one of the most learned and important languages from my research. It is a language that is considered by many to be core tech knowledge for anyone working in the development world. Unless you are in a niche area such as solely data science you would do well to learn this as one of the first languages starting out. It works hand in hand with HTML and CSS. The three of those combined making up the 3 languages that are great steppingstones for further knowledge into the programming field.

It was created in 1995 in a very speedy 10 days by Brendan Eich of Netscape. I believe has probably the fastest recorded time for any programming language.

Java Script is a interpreted language with multi-paradigm language.

Swift – Is the main programming language used by Apple and iOS. They have used Objective-C since the early 80s, but they updated it to Swift in 2014.

Since most of the code for their programs and platforms was Objective-C, they needed to make sure that both languages could speak to and work alongside each other. It wouldn’t have been very good if they had to re-write all of their previous code from the last more than 30 years. This language is supported by both desktop and mobile iOS devices.

From my research it also looks like it is usable with all operating systems now, which began around September 2020. Some of the more popular programs that run Swift are companies like Uber, AirBNB and even Facebook.

Swift is a compiled language with multi-paradigm language.

And with that we have come to the end. I know that was a lot of information, it was for me as well. Hopefully now you have a slightly better understanding of some different high-level programming languages, their uses and differences.