One of the best (or worst) parts of being a developer is that it is a constant learning process. Each year, new iterations of old core languages keep us on our toes, while new frameworks, libraries, and languages are being released that change how we go to work. As you might imagine, there are varying schools of thought on the best languages to learn in 2020. We’ll review what a few of the “experts” say to help you figure out the best programming tools to learn before the New Year.
TechBeacon’s Recommendations
One of the buzzwords we see a lot of this year is automation. We know programmers are beginning to work machine learning algorithms into a lot of code to help the machines work a little smarter. TechBeacon says automation “can yield code worthy of the terms ‘faster, smarter, and bug-free’” Some of their recommendations have been around a while, like Java 8, which has some new features prior versions don’t have. But they also suggest D, which is supposed to be an improvement over C and C++ while making use of more modern features. Given that it’s still under construction, we will have to wait and see.
Interestingly, TechBeacon recognizes that remote sensors found in Internet of Things (IoT) devices are going to rule the world someday. Norton says by 2025, there will be 21 billion IoT devices online worldwide. To keep up, TechBeacon recommends learning open-source Arduino to bridge gaps between hardware and software.
Hackr.io’s Recommendations
Hackr.io went in a different direction from TechBeacon, recommending that old standby Python as one of the top languages to learn this year. They say, “It is widely accepted as the best programming language to learn first.” (For the record, we’ve heard this same statement for so many core languages.) However, Python is important if you want to get into data or even artificial intelligence (AI). One of the problems, however, is that Python and mobile do not compute. For mobile, they recommend Swift for iOS.
Ignite Digital’s Recommendations
Ignite Digital says JavaScript for the front end with NodeJS for server-side scripting. They report, “JavaScript is very rich and gives a nice aesthetic.” They also recommend Go or Golang, which is a newer language. Go is reported to be in high use in Silicon Valley, which makes sense because Google built it. Ignite Digital reports that C# is still the best language if you’re in a Windows environment. You can use C# for building games with Unity or for creating Window mobile phone apps. It’s a good general-purpose programming language that is modern and pretty easy to learn. Finally, Ignite Digital says that R is the best language for machine learning algorithms. R is widely in use today in data analytics.
Which Language is Best for You?
The diversity of languages, frameworks, and libraries means you have a lot of choices when building your skills. What languages do you know? What would you like to learn?
Talk to Blackstone Talent Group about what we’ve seen most in-demand in your city.