Top 10 Programming Languages To Learn In 2022

Computer programming is no doubt one of the highest-priced tech-oriented careers making waves in 2022.

The Bureau of Labour Statistics estimates a mean annual salary of $95,640 for computer programmers in the US.

Whether you’re building a software application or seeking to provide a tech solution, your business must cut across programming and the mastery of the best programming languages.

The past several decades have seen a vast increase in the volume of programming information available, and the number of programmers has also risen considerably.

There are currently many programming languages in 2022, but the most important thing is finding out and learning the top programming languages as they are the most lucrative.

Besides, knowing the features of the top programming languages can help you choose the best programming language that aligns with your development goals.

Here are the top 10 programming languages to learn in 2022:

1. Python
2. Javascript
3. Java
4. C++
5. Golang
6. C#
7. R
8. PHP
9. Swift
10. SQL

1. Python

Python is the most popular high-level, multipurpose programming language that prioritizes readability. Because of its readability emphasis, it shares some similarities with the English language and has a touch of Mathematics.

It uses new lines to finish a command, unlike other programming languages, mostly parentheses or semicolons. New programmers in 2022 should have at least basic Python knowledge because of its intuitive and straightforward syntax.

It is an open-source programming language with vast community development and support modules.

Python is very versatile: it can be used in virtually every application and can easily be integrated with web services to produce user-friendly data structures. The programming language is essential for academics because of its use in complex machine learning and deep learning.

Interestingly, several development frameworks based on Python are simple to learn and feature-filled. Such frameworks include Django, Pyramid, and Turbo Gear.

Big names like Google, HP, IBM, Dropbox, Mozilla, Cisco, etc., use Python for their various software solutions.

Aside from the big names, a lot of startups also kickstart their development projects with Python because of how versatile, and available its libraries are.

The shared platform between starters and professionals in Python makes it a massive goldmine for full-stack Python developers and a nice platform to begin your programming journey.

Data is indeed key, being the principal topic in the tech industry. Python’s importance in data science is one reason it is among the top programming languages.

Its tools like SciPy and NumPy find widespread application in mathematics, engineering, and computing.

It is also widely applied in developing 2D and 3D animation tools and creating high-quality and well-known video games.

Python helps to ease computation for running business models cheaply and quickly through its libraries—Keras, Tensor Flow, and Keras. Like that, it helps businesses to grow their markets via data analysis.

2. Javascript

Running up in the list of the best programming languages in 2022 is Javascript—dubbed the most widely used programming language for creating interactive websites.

Isn’t it amazing to know that Javascript was used together with HTML and CSS to build the internet we all use?

Javascript is among the friendliest computer programming languages for learners because it has a flexible and forgiving syntax and works well across every major browser.

It is widely considered the essential programming language of the web, and it finds application in virtually every website you see online.

Javascript began as an ordinary client-based language before growing gradually into a sensation in the web development niche with multiple frameworks for frontend and backend developers alike.

You couldn’t talk about the household websites of today, such as Wikipedia, Google, and YouTube, without talking about Javascript—making it one of a kind among web development languages.

Primarily a front-end, feature-packed, object-based scripting language, Javascript can also be used on the server-side throughout Node.js for creating scalable network applications.

Node.JS is a JavaScript-based run-time environment. Programmers can combine Javascript and Node.js to create web content on the server even before a page is uploaded to the browser. 

Such a combination with Node.js can create video games and other applications that can be run directly on the browser.

Javascript uses its many different popular frameworks and libraries to make Javascript development as easy as possible.

Some of the handiest supporting technologies connected with Javascript include React, Angular, JSON, jQuery, etc.

A lot of programmers use Javascript because of its versatility since it has a syntax that makes it handy for website front and back ends.

Thanks to Javascript, it’s now a piece of cake to write client-side and server-side scripts with a single programming language.

Like CSS and HTML, Javascript improves websites by integrating functionalities or add-ons into them. And, that is the hack used for most of the logic you see on web pages today.

Many of the best tech companies in the world—Facebook, Google, Dell, Accenture, SAP, etc., use Javascript for designing user-friendly and optimized web pages. 

3. Java

Java is among the most demanded computer programming languages in 2022. As a matter of fact, the IT market never gets enough Java developers for the massive demand.

The general-purpose programming language is owned by Oracle Corporation and is quite easy to learn for a rookie.

That said, it is also very interesting to know that Android development is primarily based on Java.

Talk about your most loved games and android applications? A very large percentage of them are created using Java language.

Also, acquiring basic Java knowledge can help you understand and appreciate new languages such as C++ and Python.

Aside from Android, Java has also become the standard for applications that cut across various other platforms, e.g., Windows, iOS, Mac, etc., mostly because of its object-oriented structure.

Other domains such as big data, web development, and system programming are also based on the Java programming language.

One factor that has helped Java rise to where it is—is that it is independent of platforms.

It also has WORA (Write Once Run Anywhere) capabilities which make codes transferrable and compatible within multiple platforms.

Java is the technology upon which some of the most powerful companies in the world, like Amazon, base their applications.

It also features high performance, top-notch memory management, and impregnable and backward compatible security.

Companies have not been left out in the Java magic as over 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies build their applications and back-end systems using Java.

There are currently over 3 billion devices in the globe that run Java-built applications. Java is used on the backend of some of your everyday websites such as Google, Adobe, Flipkart, Twitter, Amazon, YouTube.

Barclays, Capital One, and HCL are some of the big companies that use develop their applications with Java.

Because of the growing popularity of Java, its new frameworks—Struts, Spring, and Hibernate have also grown in popularity.

Java programming experts are hot cakes worldwide because it is not that easy to become a professional in Java coding.

However, Java programmers collaborate adequately. They gang up to form a vast online community where they support and help each other to solve problems.

4. C++

C++ may not be the simplest programming language for rookies, but it has widespread application in certain areas where it’s almost impossible to use other languages.

After the C language, It is the pioneer of some of the most popular programming languages today. Other programming languages like Java, C#, and JavaScript are based on C++.

It is a simple programming language, yet it’s very powerful and provides a structured approach. The object-oriented language is basically an extension of the C language.

C++ ranks high as the base language on most platforms in the tech industry, and learning C++ can help you master other programming languages with ease.

Its application can be found in database software, web browsers, video game creation, etc. Interestingly, C++ was also used to create some of the popular operating systems.

The demand for C++ remains evergreen, being used by some of the most notable tech companies with mouthwatering salaries for developers.

Some of the companies that hire C++ experts include Microsoft, Adobe, Nivida, Oracle, etc.

C++ is widely seen as a performance-oriented language, and it’s mostly used in developing applications that focus primarily on performance.

It also functions well in multiple-device and platform systems. It is also mostly used in GUI and Desktop applications, game development, Competitive Programming, and several other fields.

Several areas of development like computer graphics, gaming, and virtual reality maximize C++. 

C++ also makes several generic frameworks and libraries available such as GTK++, Wx-Widgets, Qt, boost, etc.

It is the language behind most of your computer games, and mathematical simulations and programmers have written a huge set of compilers and libraries for C++ over time.

C++ can be found in many applications such as Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Adobe Photoshop, MySQL database, and MapReduce.

5. Golang

Also called “Go” for short, Golang is a programming language that best suits engineers who want to pursue a career in systems programming.

Google developed Golang to create readable, efficient, and secure system-level programming.

It is one-of-a-kind among programming languages because of its extensive vocabulary, meaning it displays more information than most other programming languages.

The most used programming language in Silicon Valley, It’s the ideal language for creating data pipelines, web servers, and machine-learning packages.

The Google-favored language is a low-level language. And as a compiled language, it has an ultra-fast runtime.

It is primarily used for applications that process large amounts of data, and much of its functionality is similar to that of C and C++. 

The syntax of Golang is clean—making it easy to learn. Another factor that simplifies its learning process is the fact that it’s a statically typed language.

It combines the best aspects of object-oriented and functional programming and features a rich set of built-in development tools.

Go is tailor-made for distribution systems where systems exist on different networks and need to connect by messaging each other.

Even though Golang is an extremely powerful language, it is straightforward to understand even for programming newbies.

What’s more thrilling about Go is that its structural typing capabilities add a long chip to its functionality and dynamism.

The design of Go is such that it readily supports multithreading and favors simultaneous running of processes.

Its concurrent processing capability is the major reason Go is the development language for projects like Hugo, Docker, Kubernetes, and Blockchain. 

And, despite being one of the newest players in the programming community, it flaunts a massive standards library and extensive documentation.

Go is an open-source language through which ambitious developers can have their contributions accepted and used by programmers worldwide.

Aside from Google, most startups use Go for their development. Some other big companies that use Go for their applications include Uber, Dell, Walmart Twitch, Springboard, and Netflix.

6. C#

Since Microsoft created C#, the language has grown to be one of the most powerful computer programming languages in the Dot NET framework.

Also called C Sharp, many people look at C# as a blend of C++ and Java. However, its creator Anders Hejlsberg says it is more similar to C++ than Java.

Launched in 2002 as an improvement on C++, C# has become a trendy general-purpose, object-oriented language.

It is a flexible and powerful coding language that provides you with an easy-to-learn, and wholesome programming foundation applicable to PHP, Java, Objective-C, etc.

Since its creation, C# has become a go-to language for developing desktop and web applications, which is why it has its place in the top programming languages.

It features a rich set of libraries that supercharge compilation and execution of codes.

C# works best for Windows and Android-based applications. It’s also used in iOS applications because it applies a bit of Microsoft Visual C++.

Its frameworks—.Net and Xamarin, are used to build mobile applications and develop games.

If you build 2D and 3D video games, you may like to add C# to your arsenal. This is because it uses the famous Unity game engine responsible for a third of the highest-ranked games.

More so, just like other top programming languages, C# has an extensive community of its programmers who work together and support each other.

The support system of C# makes it easier to learn C# instead of diving into some of the newer, less-documented languages.

C# is used with the .NET framework to design Windows applications, web forms, etc.

It is also used in Voice Recognition and featured in the backend activities of some notable websites like Dell, Bing, Market Watch, and Visual Studio.

7. R

R is one of the emerging names in the programming community. It is an extensible language that runs on different operating systems.

But what has caught everyone’s attention is how quickly it has moved up the ladder of the most loved programming languages within a short time.

Suppose you are a statistician or have anything to do with Statistical Analysis, Data Science, or Machine Learning. In that case, you should be checking out the R language as it is a free coding solution for statistical computing.

Because of its statistical orientation, the R language has been dubbed “The lingua franca of statistics.” You couldn’t expect less from a language that statisticians designed.

The need for machine learning and data science expertise has increased recently, especially with the increase in complexity of data collection,  and there is no better time to learn the R language than now.

Some tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Uber currently use the R language to analyze the data they receive and run their businesses more smoothly.

Furthermore, R is an open-source language, but that’s not all. It features multi-platform compatibility and a +6-Million Repositories community on GitHub.

R is very compatible with Microsoft Windows and GNU/Linux systems. It also allows the integration of some data processing technologies such as Spark and Hadoop.

R is basically used in statistical software products. The language might not be very easy for newbies, but it is very valuable in programming and statistical marketplaces.

The major reason it may be a little hard to learn is that it lacks the strict programming guidelines of those older, more established languages.

R also has a strong graphical capability and distributed computing. And these, together with its cross-computing feature, make it a very preferred language among developers.

8. PHP

PHP is a fast, simple, and platform-independent programming language used by almost two-thirds of all websites with a known server-side programming language.

When it was first launched in 1994, it was just a simple set of CGI (Common Gateway Interface) binaries written in C language. 

Fast-forward to 2022, PHP is still very much relevant and one of the top programming languages to learn.

It is primarily used to develop data-heavy and dynamic websites and applications, and it has been a major pillar in web development for a long time.

The open-source, server-side programming language has some prominent features like object-oriented programming features, cross-platform compatibility, easy integration with CSS, HTML, JavaScript, etc.

PHP uses a host of powerful frameworks. It is also effortless to use, especially if you are a beginner in web page design.

Some of the most popular PHP frameworks to consider while programming includes Symfony, CodeIgniter, Laravel, etc.

Though several other languages like Javascript and Python have established themselves in the market, Python still has big companies like Wikipedia, Facebook, and Yahoo in its patronage.

In 2022, PHP developers are still in great demand because many websites have their baseline as PHP.

Programmers often tilt towards PHP because it has an arsenal of automation tools used for application testing and deployment.

Furthermore, PHP boasts about 631,000 GitHub repositories and a community of almost 6 milllion programmers to support it.

If you’re aspiring to become a backend developer for any organization, you may want to learn PHP.

You’d also find it very easy to learn because it is a simple language and has huge community support.

9. Swift

Standing firm as number nine on the list is a relatively new language—Swift. Apple developed it in 2014 for Mac and Linux applications.

Swift is the right place to start for developers who want to publish their applications on AppStore.

The open-source language is easy to learn and complements everything from the Objective-C language.

It is also an easy-to-read programming language because its codes are close to natural English.

Swift is the improved version of Objective-C and a major language for creating iOs applications, and it is to Apple the same thing as Kotlin and Java are to Android.

Swift is among the most in-demand programming languages of 2022, and it will most likely be an all-time high-demand language as long as Apple and iOS applications remain.

It is a highly optimized programming language built in a detailed manner to suit today’s iOS development realities.

The programming language has not lowered its anchor on just basic iOS development. 

It has also extended its reach to become the basis for closely related operating systems like watchOS and tvOS for Apple watches and Apple TVs, respectively.

A fun fact: Swift does not require very great coding skills, unlike most other programming languages, so it’s a win for anyone with intermediate or beginner-level coding skills.

It is also one of the best coding languages to learn because it does not have an extensive code line.

Swift can be used with IBM Bluemix and IBM Swift Sandbox. It is also used in some of the most popular iOS applications, such as SoundCloud, Mozilla Firefox, and WordPress.

The relatively new programming language has defied competition from iOS development options React Native and Flutter (Dart) to remain the most popular and widest-used iOS programming language.

10. SQL

SQL (Structured Query Language) is a programming language that affords programmers the luxury to query and manipulate databases.

It can be further described as a special-purpose programming language for interacting with databases.

One of the most used languages in the programming Industry, SQL analyzes and understands databases with fields of data in tables.

It is designed to locate and retrieve data and add, remove, or update records to a database.

Many fortune 500 companies have created their high-performance database systems, querying and analyzing data with SQL.

Like every domain-specific language, it is primarily designed for managing data in a Relational Database Management System.

It has +260K GitHub repositories. That makes it one of the most dominant programming languages even in the near future.

As an extension of Database Management, SQL comes in handy in the field of business management.

Big names like Google, Netflix, Amazon, Uber, and AirB&B use SQL as their basic querying language. 

Bonus: Rust

And, last but not least, this list of the top programming languages is Rust—which, despite being among the relatively new languages, is one of the best programming languages to learn in 2022.

In fact, Rust ranked number one —the fifth time in a row—among the most-loved programming languages in a 2020 Developer Survey by Stack Overflow—which sounds great!

Among the developers who participated in the survey, a whopping 86 percent of Rust developers said they were interested in continuing to develop with it.

The Mozilla Corporation developed Rust; and like C and C++, it is basically built for low-level systems programming.

It allows developers to work in different programming styles—the reason it is referred to as a multi-paradigm programming language.

Just in case you’re looking for a programming language that offers greater cross-platform capabilities or faster compilation, then Rust is a very good option.

What more? Rust brings a huge advantage to the table as it prioritizes speed and security. 

It lays an emphasis on writing safe code by not allowing programs to access memory parts that they shouldn’t, which could result in unwanted behavior and system crashes.

Rust is used for the development of VR (Voice Recognition) systems, web browsers, and operating systems. 

It is expected that more programmers will get to know how useful Rust is and begin to use it in their development projects in no distant time.

Other programming languages include:

• Kotlin
• Scala
• C
• Ruby
• Matlab
• HTML
• Dart
• NoSQL
• CSS
• Elm; and
• Perl

Conclusion

Virtually everyone has used a product of computer programming languages before. 

Matter of fact: if you have used a phone or computer before, then you have had a feel of what programming languages can do.

As years go by, mankind keeps devising ways to solve problems with minimal human labor. 

Thanks to programming languages, codes are doing most of what would have been impossible with human intellect or strength.

The top 10 programming languages talked about above are in great demand, and any programmer who masters any of them will be very relevant and valuable in the IT industry.