Top 14 Best Programming Languages

Choosing the best programming language to learn can be tricky. And when you consider that the Stack Overflow developer survey alone lists more than 40 different languages, there is a lot to choose from! So if you’ve been asking what are the best programming languages to learn, we're here to help! Perhaps you’re curious about data, and you’re thinking about taking a course to learn Python. Or maybe you’re interested in learning JavaScript for front-end development? Whatever your goals, join us as we deep-dive into the 14 best programming languages to learn in 2023, including pros and cons, use cases, difficulty level, and much more. Note that you can save 15% on Educative programming courses when you use our exclusive code HACKR15 during signup. And to help you choose the best language to learn in 2023, we’ll start with a recap of programming language types and the most common programming paradigms. Let's get started!

Low-Level vs High-Level Language

Low-Level Languages

Low-level programming languages allow programmers to work directly with the computer’s hardware, such as memory, CPU, and I/O (input/output) interfaces. This makes them better suited to creating systems-level programs, like operating systems and device drivers. One trade-off with this type of language is that they tend to offer less abstraction, meaning they can be more challenging. In general, low-level languages tend to be assembly languages or machine code (binary sequences of 0s and 1s), although it’s not uncommon to see languages like C or C++ referred to as lower-level or mid-level due to their ability to interact with hardware.

High-Level Languages

When you hear programmers talk about programming languages, this is mostly what they’re referring to. These languages tend to have human-friendly syntax, making them easier to read, write, and maintain than low-level languages. These provide a high level of abstraction and tend to offer less direct hardware control. One upside, however, is that these often include features like automatic memory management, dynamic typing, and type-checking. High-level programming languages can be used to develop various application types, like web apps, mobile apps, artificial intelligence, desktop applications, and more. Common examples of high-level languages include Python, JavaScript, Java, and Ruby.

The Most Common Programming Paradigms

Programming paradigms are different ways of writing and organizing code. They provide problem-solving guidelines and influence how a programmer thinks about software development. Let’s look at five common programming paradigms.

Imperative Programming

This paradigm involves defining a sequence of instructions that your machine will follow to solve a problem. Overall, this is the most common programming paradigm and is used by languages like C, Java, and Python.

Object-oriented Programming (OOP)

OOP uses classes and objects to solve problems. Classes provide a blueprint to capture the data and behavior of an object. As a result, objects are instances of classes. OOP is ideal for modeling real-world objects and concepts. Common examples of languages that support OOP are Java, C++, and Python.

Procedural Programming

This approach breaks problems into smaller, more manageable parts that can be easily understood and modified. Code is often divided into blocks called procedures or subroutines, which are made up of smaller, well-defined tasks. Languages that support the procedural approach include C, Pascal, and FORTRAN.

Functional Programming

This paradigm uses pure functions to build a program, meaning that functions can be passed as arguments, returned as results, or assigned to variables. Common examples of functional languages include Haskell, Lisp, and F#. But this paradigm can also be adopted by languages like Python and JavaScript.

Logic Programming

This paradigm implements logical rules to derive conclusions. This means a program is defined by a set of facts and rules that a machine uses to solve a problem. Some examples of logic programming languages include Prolog and Mercury.

The 14 Best Programming Languages to Learn in 2023

• Python
• JavaScript
• SQL
• Java
• PHP
• C#
• C++
• TypeScript
• Golang
• Rust
• Ruby
• C
• Swift
• R

If you’re still unsure of the most useful programming languages for you, it might help to consider the best language for different use cases. This is really important if you’re looking to start your programming career and you need to know which language is best to land a specific job. So what do you say? Shall we break it down into categories?

Best languages for beginners: Python, JavaScript, Ruby Best languages for frontend development: JavaScript, TypeScript Best languages for backend development: Python, PHP, JavaScript, Ruby, Go Best language for database management: SQL Best language for iOS development: Swift Best language for Android development: Java Best languages for game development: C++, C# Best languages for artificial intelligence: Java, Python, R Best languages for systems programming: C, C++, Rust Best languages for data science: Python, R, SQL Best languages for OOP: Java, C++, Python

Conclusion

And there you have it, the 14 best programming languages you need to learn in 2023. We hope this article helps you answer the question, which programming language should I learn first? No matter your career goals or areas of interest, our list of the best coding languages fits nearly every niche you can think of in modern programming. What’s more, there’s a range of options for complete beginners and more experienced programmers. If you’re a complete beginner that wants to start learning coding languages, it’s best to start with one language to gain the fundamentals. The coding skills you gain while learning will be transferable when you want to learn another of the top programming languages.