Business success relies on constant innovation, evolution and growth. And in the modern world, that means cutting-edge software solutions. Customer expectations are constantly changing in line with the latest technological advancements, and customer experiences must match those expectations. Failure to deliver will result in lost business and a negative impact on ROI. Software development has never been more crucial to the success of any business. But what are the top trends in programming languages for 2021 and how should we prepare for the upcoming changes?
Rust programming looks set for a boom
Rust is an innovative system-level language in terms of safer memory management as it doesn’t allow dangling pointers or null pointers. Its focus on speed, memory safety and parallelism are key drivers in the recent decision by Android to use Rust programming language to prevent memory flaws.
Rust has been used in software development for a wide range of apps, including game engines, operating systems, file systems, browser components and VR simulation engines. 2020 saw Rust enter the top 20 popularity rankings for the first time in its history, and the adoption of the programming language by Google is another feather in its cap which suggests it has a big future. Rust is designed to make programming quicker, safer and more agile – making it the perfect choice for the scalability and adaptability that is essential for modern business success.
JavaScript and Python to battle it out for top spot
Since the 1990s, JavaScript has been the dominant force in software development apps, but Python is now pushing to become the most popular programming language. In a 2020 survey, JavaScript was identified as the programming language of choice by 70% of respondents. But with Python widely considered one of the easiest programming languages to learn, it’s popularity is on the rise. Python is used to solve problems in learning and development and is the perfect tool for AI and machine learning owing to its syntax which is accurate and efficient, has a low entry point and integrates nicely with other programming languages.
Kotlin to continue on the up
Since its launch in 2016, Kotlin has emerged as one of the fastest-growing programming languages. It was even chosen by Google as its official programming language for Android app development due to its simplicity coupled with a clear and compact codebase. It uses a different approach from Java but is interoperable with the most popular programming language of recent years. Indeed, Kotlin is now the second most popular choice for Android app development, behind Java.
It is widely used in software development for IoT applications, game development and data analytics – all of which look set to be major areas of focus in 2021 and beyond. In addition to Google, Kotlin is used by TikTok, Instagram and Microsoft OneDrive, and enjoys an impressive 15.99% market share. It has been used in the development of more than 131,000 apps and boasts more than 298 billion downloads worldwide.
Kotlin improves productivity and the speed of app development while making debugging easier, so expect to see its rise continue.
Ruby to remain a gem
As the demand for SaaS grows following the pandemic, Ruby looks set to see a boost in demand. Ruby language programming is favored by Airbnb and Fiverr due to its simple syntax and extensive library of ‘gems’ which can be quickly and easily added to a program. It’s also a popular choice in e-commerce markets.
It may not be the best in terms of debugging or speed so won’t be popular among game developers, but for SaaS apps it offers everything you could want. The object-oriented nature of Ruby reduces development time by 25-50% when compared with other popular programming languages, meaning your MVP (minimum viable product) will be available sooner than with some alternative languages.
Do not pass Go
Go is a procedural programming language launched by Google developers Robe Pike, Ken Thompson, and Robert Griesemer in 2007. Designed to make software development more scalable, it has since become one of the most popular programming languages to learn.
It uses simple syntax and doesn’t have too many complex functions to learn. The language is capable of multithreading and concurrency, making it a good choice for speed and efficiency. It has its own standard library which is quite comprehensive, but is also compatible with third-party libraries for testing and string manipulation.
Drawbacks include a limited number of available packages and a lack of a major framework. That said, as a compiled language, similar to C or C++, Go requires no interpretation. It performs as well as C but is easier to maintain than Java, which explains why it was chosen as most loved program by 67.% of respondents in a survey of software developers carried out by StackOverflow.
Software development is more important now than they ever have been. The pandemic brought forward the inevitable growth of software solutions and created an opportunity for companies to invest in the best talent out there to establish themselves as leaders in their field.
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