What Programming Language Should Learn First in College

Hey Reader…Are you stuck trying to figure out What Programming Language Should You Learn First in College? Pursuing a career in Software & Application Development, Website Development, Data Analyst, AI &ML engineering, Video Game Developer, Information and Cyber Security Analyst, etc is a challenging but highly rewarding career path.

NOW, FOR YOUR NEXT BIG DECISION: Which Programming Language Should You Start With? When making your decision, you should keep in mind the level of difficulty you are willing to deal with, the knowledge of the programming language you already have that matches your existing coding skills or your reasons for learning a top programming language. Whether you are looking to begin coding as a hobby, a new career, or just to enhance your current job role, the first thing you will have to do is decide which programming language you want to start with.

There are many computer programming languages available like C, C++, C#, JAVA, PYTHON, R, SWIFT, KOTLIN, etc. So finalizing the right programming language is not an easy task. If you’re a beginner programmer, you might be wondering which programming language you should learn first. With so many languages out there, it can be difficult to decide which one is right for you.

So, in this article, you will learn about the best programming languages in demand among the tech employers. You will be briefed about the details of each language, its complexity, and how and where it is used. So, Without Any Further Delay Let’s Get Started.

Here We Have Discussed Programming Language As Well As SCRIPTING LANGUAGE, MARKUP LANGUAGE, And So On.

1. C Language

C programming language was developed at AT&T’s Bell Laboratories in the USA in 1972. It was designed and written by Dennis Ritchie and it slowly replaced other contemporary languages like Algol, Pascal, PL/I & APL. Since then C has become a popular programming language as it is reliable, simple, and easy to use. It is probably the oldest commonly used programming language and is the root of other programming languages such as C#, Java, Python, JavaScript, etc.

Starting with C Language can be more rewarding in the long run because it helps you build a better foundation of knowledge. So much of learning how to program involves problem-solving, rather than just learning syntax. For this reason, C is widely taught in introductory college computer science courses.

C language is highly portable and a machine-independent programming language. It is used for scripting system applications which form a major part of Windows, UNIX, and Linux operating systems. It is also used for device drivers, compilers, embedded applications, and other complicated programs such as the Oracle database, Git, Python interpreter, etc. C is widely used for developing desktop applications. Most of the applications by Adobe are developed using the ‘C’ programming language.

Despite the prevalence of higher-level languages, the C programming language continues to empower the world. It gives you basic knowledge about the inner workings of computer systems and the core concepts that drive programming. Also, there are plenty of reasons to believe that C programming will remain active for a long time.

2. C++

A successor of C, C++ is also popular among programmers. It is a general-purpose programming language created by Bjarne Stroustrup as an extension of the C programming language or “C with Classes”. C++ is an enhanced version of C. As an extension of C, one of the oldest coding languages, C++ provides a foundation for many newer, more popular ones. The language has expanded significantly over time, and modern C++ now has object-oriented, generic, and functional features in addition to facilities for low-level memory manipulation.

C++ gives programmers a high level of control over system resources and memory. It is a cross-platform language that can be used to create high-performance Applications, Operating Systems, Games, Embedded Software, Data Structures, Developing Browsers, etc.

Well-known tech companies and organizations using C++ include Evernote, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Opera, NASA, and Facebook. Evernote switched from .NET to C++ for more speed and better graphics.

Right now, C++ ranks as the 4th most popular programming language in the world according to the TIOBE index and the IEEE spectrum. C++ is one of the standard languages used in back-end development. Many tools and frameworks rely on the speed and efficiency of C++. It is an extremely fast and efficient language.

3. C#

Another popular offshoot of C, C# (pronounced ‘C sharp’) was developed by Microsoft to run on its .NET platform for Windows applications. The language was developed in the year 2000 by Microsoft’s Anders Hejlsberg, a Danish software engineer with a history of popular creations. C# is also known for having a huge collection of libraries and frameworks.

Being one of the most popular languages, it has since been adopted into the Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android platforms. Like other general-purpose programming languages, C# can be used to create a number of different programs and applications such as Mobile Applications, Desktop Applications, Websites, Cloud-Based Services, Enterprise Software And Games, Advance Computations and Graphics Compilers, etc.

There are many Animated Software such as Maya 3D software, Alias system, etc which have been developed with the help of the C++ language.

According to the TIOBE programming community index, C# is still Ranked Fifth in the TIOBE index for May 2022, unchanged from May 2021; its rating jumped nearly two full percentage points compared to a year ago.

4. JAVA

Java was created at Sun Microsystems Inc., where James Gosling led a team of researchers in an effort to create a new language that would allow consumer electronic devices to communicate with each other. It was first released in 1995. It is one of the most common, in-demand computer programming languages used today.

JAVA is a high-level, class-based, and object-oriented programming language that is designed to have as few implementation dependencies as possible.

Java is used in almost all fields, be it Financial, E-Commerce, Enterprise, Mobile, Distributed, Or Big Data Applications, but it is mostly used for developing Android Apps, Web Apps, Big Data Technologies, Gaming Applications, Desktop GUI Applications, etc. Developers use Java to construct applications in laptops, data centers, game consoles, scientific supercomputers, cell phones, and other devices.

More than 64,000 companies are using Java in the US. Such well-known companies are Airbnb, Twitter, Uber, Google, Netflix, Amazon, Spotify, Facebook, YouTube, and so on. It is the world’s third most popular programming language, after Python and C – according to the TIOBE index, which evaluates programming language popularity.

5. PYTHON

Python was created by Guido van Rossum and first released on February 20, 1991. It is an interpreted high-level general-purpose programming language. It is one of the most commonly used programming languages today and also easy for beginners to learn due to its simple syntax, a large library of standards and toolkits, and integration with other popular programming languages such as C and C++. It is also one of the most preferred languages in the fields of Data Science, Statistics, Analytics, ML, and AI with R as its only real competition.

Python is commonly used for Developing Websites and Software, Task Automation, Data Analysis, and Data Visualization, Machine Learning and AI, Web Development, Game Development, IoT, Application Development, Game Development, and so on. Many sectors including the healthcare sector, finance sector, aerospace sector, and banking sector rely heavily on Python.

According to the Stackshare page for Python, there are about 6,200 companies using Python in the real world. Python is used by Intel, Pixar, IBM, NASA, Facebook, Netflix, JP Morgan Chase, Spotify, and a number of other massive companies. It’s one of the four main languages at Google, while Google’s YouTube is largely written in Python. It is also used by NASA and Reddit and its web framework, ‘Django’, powers the Instagram and Pinterest web apps, etc.

According to Statista, 48.24 percent of developers around the world use Python. Most organizations also find Python suitable for their needs as it helps them achieve smooth-running operations.

6. KOTLIN

Kotlin is a general-purpose programming language originally developed and unveiled as Project Kotlin by JetBrains in 2011. The first version was officially released in 2016. It is a cross-platform, statically typed, general-purpose programming language with type inference. It is focused on interoperability, safety, clarity, and tooling support.

Kotlin is used extensively for Android Apps, Desktop applications, Web Applications, and Server-Side Application Development. It is designed to interoperate fully with Java, and the JVM version of Kotlin’s standard library depends on the Java Class Library, but type inference allows its syntax to be more concise.

About 1040 companies reportedly use Kotlin in their tech stacks including Udemy, Slack, and Robinhood. Various startups and brands like Twitter, EverNote, American Express, Netflix, Airbnb, Slack, Adobe, and many others from different industry verticals opted for Kotlin app development.

Kotlin is one of the programming languages that has gained the most momentum over the last 5 years. It has consistently ranked among the top 4 most-loved programming languages since 2018, according to the Stack Overflow Developer Surveys. Kotlin is one of the fastest-growing programming languages, ranking fourth in that category in GitHub’s 2019 State of the October survey. In fact, over 80% of the 1000 most popular Android apps currently use Kotlin.

7. SWIFT

Swift is a general-purpose, multi-paradigm, compiled programming language developed by Apple Inc. and the open-source community. Apple developed Swift in 2014 for Linux and Mac applications. Swift was developed as a replacement for Apple’s earlier programming language Objective-C, as Objective-C had been largely unchanged since the early 1980s and lacked modern language features. It was developed for Mac computers and specifically for Apple devices including the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch, etc.

Nowadays, so many large corporations are also shifting to Swift. Many startups are opting for Swift over Objective C because of its ease of learning, performance metrics, and less error-prone nature. About 2183 companies reportedly use Swift in their tech stacks, including Uber, Slack, Robinhood, and so on.

Swift is used in popular iOS apps like WordPress, Mozilla Firefox, SoundCloud, and even in the game Flappy Bird. It’s designed to give developers more freedom than ever. Furthermore, it’s the only dynamic language with an integrated development environment specifically designed for iOS development.

Swift is heavily used across Apple’s ecosystem of apps. Many top companies including Uber, Lyft, Facebook, Airbnb, and LinkedIn use the Swift language to write most of their iOS-based apps. Some Swift developers in companies like IBM have been known to use this language for server-side development.

While the Swift community is growing fast, it is still significantly smaller as compared to any other open-source language. According to the latest StackOverflow Developer Survey, only 5.1 percent of the 83,053 respondents use Swift.

8. GOLANG (GO)

Go (also known as Golang) is a statically typed, compiled programming language designed at Google by Robert Griesemer, Rob Pike, and Ken Thompson. It was developed by Google in 2007 for APIs and web applications. Most similarly modeled after C, Go is statically typed and explicit.

Many companies use Golang because more complicated projects can be completed faster and work is more efficient. It also reduces the risk of bugs, and their removal is faster and more effective.

Go was originally built for programs related to networking and infrastructure. It is used for a variety of applications like Cloud and Server Side Applications, DevOps, Console Utilities, GUI Applications, Command Line Tools and Web Applications, and Much More.

The Go programming language sometimes referred to as Google’s Golang is making strong gains in popularity. While languages such as Java and C continue to dominate programming, new models have emerged that are better suited to modern computing, particularly in the cloud.

9. R

R programming language was first implemented in the early 1990s by Robert Gentleman and Ross Ihaka, both faculty members at the University of Auckland. It is basically used for statistical computing and graphics supported by the R Core Team and the R Foundation for Statistical Computing. According to user surveys and studies of scholarly literature databases, R is one of the most commonly used programming languages used in DATA MINING.

R is considered to be the best programming language for any Statistician as it possesses an extensive catalog of statistical and graphical methods. It is one of the most popular languages in the world of Data Science. It is heavily used in analyzing data that is both structured and unstructured.

Some of the top companies use the R language, such as ANZ, Google, Firefox, BOA, LinkedIn, Flipkart, Amazon, etc. As of March 2022, R ranks 11th in the TIOBE index, a measure of programming language popularity, in which the language peaked in 8th place in August 2020.

10. RUBY

Ruby is an interpreted, high-level, general-purpose programming language that supports multiple programming paradigms. It was developed in the mid-1990s by Yukihiro ‘Matz’ Matsumoto in Japan. It was designed to have a more human-friendly syntax while still being flexible from the standpoint of its object-oriented architecture that supports procedural and functional programming notation. In Ruby, everything is an object, including primitive data types.

The Ruby programming language is a highly portable general-purpose language that serves many purposes. A big reason people like Ruby is because of the awesome full-stack framework, Ruby on Rails, which is becoming increasingly popular among startups and enterprise solutions.

Ruby is great for building Desktop Applications, Static Websites, Data Processing Services, and Even Automation Tools. It is used for Web Servers, DevOps, and Web Scraping and Crawling. It is widely used for websites such as Hulu, Kickstarter, etc.

Ruby is one of the most popular languages among tech startups. Many Silicon Valley unicorns have been built on Ruby, including Airbnb, Twitch, GitHub, and Twitter. Stack Overflow Developer Survey names Ruby the 14th most popular programming language in the world with 7.1% of respondents being Ruby on Rails developers.

11. SCALA

Scala is a strong statically typed general-purpose programming language that supports both object-oriented programming and functional programming. It is ideal for reducing and removing bugs in large, complex applications. Scala supports both object-oriented and functional programming.

Scala is mainly used in Data Processing, Distributed Computing, and Web Development. It powers the data engineering infrastructure of many companies. Some of the top companies use the R language, such as Netflix, Tumblr, Twitter, Airbnb, Foursquare, LinkedIn, and so on.

Scala is currently considered to be one of the best programming languages for functional programming. Even though it did not rank high on Stackoverflow’s list of the most popular languages in 2021, Scala is still one of the top ten paying programming languages.

12. HTML and CSS

Although, HTML and CSS are not technically programming languages. However, if you are interested in web development, you have to learn these two languages in addition to JavaScript.

The HyperText Markup Language or HTML is the standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser. It can be assisted by technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and scripting languages such as JavaScript.

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language used for describing the presentation of a document written in a markup language such as HTML or XML (including XML dialects such as SVG, MathML, or XHTML). CSS is a cornerstone technology of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and JavaScript.

HTML provides tags which are surrounding the content of any web page elements, whereas CSS consists of selectors which are surrounded by a declaration block. CSS has fragmentation, but HTML doesn’t produce any such problems. CSS uses much lesser code and thus produces a much lesser web page loading time than HTML.

Web developers and designers use HTML in creating websites. It is often used as a markup language for a site, and several well-known companies use it, such as Google, Amazon, Facebook, Baidu, Tencent, YouTube, etc.

HTML and CSS are relatively old languages. However, they are still highly relevant for coders. The basic knowledge of HTML and CSS not only helps professional programmers but also helps individuals in a variety of professions by giving them basic web page development knowledge.

13. JAVASCRIPT

JavaScript often abbreviated JS, is a programming language that is one of the core technologies of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and CSS. It was originally used only to develop web browsers, but they are now used for server-side website deployments and non-web browser applications as well. As of 2022, 98% of websites use JavaScript on the client-side for web page behavior, often incorporating third-party libraries. There are over 1.6 billion websites in the world, and JavaScript is used on 95% of them (1.52 billion websites with JavaScript).

Javascript is used by programmers across the world to Create Dynamic and Interactive Web Content Like Applications and Browsers. It is a text-based programming language used both on the client-side and server-side that allows you to make web pages interactive.

JavaScript is one of the most popular programming languages in the world, so it’s no wonder that it’s one of the most sought-after skills in the web development industry today.

14. PHP

PHP is a general-purpose scripting language geared toward web development. It was originally created by Danish-Canadian programmer Rasmus Lerdorf in 1994. It is considered a relatively easy language to learn for beginning developers.

PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is known as a general-purpose scripting language that can be Used To Develop Dynamic and Interactive Websites. It is a great language to learn if you are interested in creating dynamic web applications. PHP was among the first server-side languages that could be embedded into HTML, making it easier to add functionality to web pages without needing to call external files for data.

PHP is a widely used language supported by a range of web servers, including Apache and IIS. Also, most popular operating systems such as WINDOWS, UNIX, LINUX, and macOS also use PHP. According to w3Techs’ data, PHP is used by over 79.2% of websites as their server-side language. PHP powers content management systems, eCommerce, customer rights management, and resource management systems.

PHP has driven the demand for development languages year over year. It continues to be used by nearly 80% of all websites, powering some major platforms like WordPress and Facebook.

*TECH CAREERS*	*REQUIRED/ MOSTLY USED PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES*
Software Engineer	C, C++, JAVA, PYTHON.
Software Architect	JAVA, PYTHON, C, PERL.
Cloud Computing	JAVA, JS, PYTHON, PHP, .NET, RUBY, GOLANG.
Blockchain Engineer	SOLIDITY, C++, PYTHON, JAVA, SIMPLICITY, JS.
Big Data Engineer	SQL, PYTHON, R, JAVA, C++, SCALA.
IoT Solutions Architect	C, C++, JAVA, PYTHON.
Computer Systems Analyst	SQL.
Computer Network Administrator	TCL, PYTHON.
Cyber Security Analyst	JAVA, JAVASCRIPT, PYTHON, SQL, PHP, POWERSHELL, C.
Web Developer	HTML, CSS, JS, PHP, SQL.
Web Designer	HTML, CSS, JS.
Database Administrator	SQL, PHP, PYTHON, R, C#.
Data Scientist	PYTHON, SCALA, R.
Computer Hardware Engineer	VERILOG, C, C++.
Computer and IT Scientist	C, C++, JAVA, JAVASCRIPT, PHP, RUBY, OBJECTIVE C, PYTHON.
Video Game Developer	C++, JAVA, PYTHON, LUA.
DevOps Engineer	JAVA, PYTHON, PERL.
AI Engineer	PYTHON, R, JAVA, C++, SCALA, JULIA.
ML Engineer	PYTHON, R, LISP, PROLOG.
Robotics Engineer	C, C++, PYTHON.

: Summary Chart :

These are some of the POPULAR PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES that you can learn based on your interests. It’s not important to learn 3-4 languages simultaneously as a beginner. Start with one language and get well versed in it. Once you become experienced, you can easily learn other languages. Switching to the next language becomes easier after the first one.

Hope you enjoy this article on ‘What Programming Language Should Learn First in College’? This article will definitely help you to choose the right programming language for your future career. If you have any queries, please comment. THANK YOU & DON’T FORGET TO SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS Who Need This Informative Article.