Popular Web Programming Languages and Their Features

Web programmers use different types of web programming languages for web development. It’s hard to tell which one is the best, because every programmer has different opinion. Some will tell you that PHP is the best, while some are die hard fan of Ruby. If you are a newcomer in web programming industry, then start learning the most popular programming languages one by one to increase your knowledge.

1.   Java- Java is an object oriented language. It was launched by Sun in 1995. It’s a well organized language and has an inbuilt software component library. Thanks to the compatibility features of JVM (Java Virtual Machine), an application written in Java works on any server and operating system.

2.   C- C was developed by Dennis Ritchie in 1972. Though it was developed to run on UNIX operating system, it can run on other operating systems as well. However, you have to compile C properly to make it usable in different operating systems. The greatest advantage of C is that it’s extremely fast and responsive.

3.  C++- C++ is basically an updated version of C. While its compatible to old web programming standards, it also has object-orientation facilities. C++ is mainly used for office application and game development.

4.   PHP- This is probably the most powerful programming language and thousands of developers use PHP for customized web development. With the help of PHP, you can create dynamic web pages and make your site SEO friendly. PHP supports almost all the standard operating systems and web servers.

5.   VB or Visual Basic- Visual basic is a popular programming language, but it has more limitations than features. First of all, it does not posses the power and speed of C or C++ and secondly, it runs only on Windows platform. If you want to develop an application that can run on Mac, VB is not for you.

6.   Python- Python has great coding structure. It was first written by Guido van Rossum in late 1980 and this great language promotes elegant code writing techniques. It’s so wonderful that Google uses it as their main programming language.

7.   C#- The syntax structure of C# is similar to Java. The language was developed by Microsoft and despite its open source nature; web developers seldom use it for other operating systems.

8.   JavaScript- Don’t get confused. JavaScript has nothing to do with Java. It’s a completely independent programming language and you will mainly see it in web browsers. With the help of JavaScript, you can validate web forms and develop applications. You can also develop simple games using JavaScript.

9.   Perl- Perl has great text processing and system administration features. However, it’s a highly complicated language and novice web programmers should not experiment with Perl. Due to its complicated structure, even the Perl experts are now leaving their old friend and shifting towards PHP or Python.

10.  Ruby- Ruby is the probably the best “object oriented” programming language. Even the numbers and letters are treated as an object in Ruby. However, too much object orientation has its negative aspects as well. Ruby is a bit slower compared to other popular programming languages.

If want to hire a programmer for web development, then look for someone who knows at least 3-4 aforementioned programming languages. A good programmer specializes in a particular language like PHP or Ruby, but he also plays with different languages to offer custom programming solutions.