Top  programming languages to learn in 2017

Coding or programming has risen as one the most lucrative career options of 2016 and will continue to do so in 2017. As the tech landscape continues to grow especially with the oncoming deluge of Internet of Things, the need for programmers and other affiliated coding skills will continue to rise. However, pursuing the right programming language can be a big challenge given the fact that there are close to 300 different programming languages one can learn. It’s no secret that coding skills are highly sought after and often very well remunerated in the I.T industry. But it’s not possible for one to learn every language, and some skills are more valuable than others.
Making the right choice is very important as coding skills are highly sought after and often the highest paid job positions in tech companies. As a programmer, learning the 300+ languages is not the option, nor is selecting a dud programming language. Therefore it is important to know how to choose a programming language, what is the best way to learn that language, and how your choice might affect your prospects of getting the right job.
In this article, we have compiled data from different rating agencies and have tried to come out with the best programming languages preferred by businesses, educational institutions and other players in the tech sector.

For years C++ and Java have been hogging the programming language space probably because both these languages are favourites among educational institutions. Every year these institutions churn out thousands of students with Java and C++ skills. What would happen if the demand for C++ and Java suddenly fall down and tech companies opt for a newer programming language? The best way to decide the best programming languages is the indexing and rating sites which rate programming languages based on different criteria like polls and job requirements or payouts. So let us first analyse what these indexing sites say for programming languages in 2017.

TIOBE Index

One of the most popular rating index for programming languages is TIOBE Index. It measures the popularity of programming languages based on the number of search engine queries which contain the language as a keyword. TIOBE stands for “The Importance of Being Earnest” and is maintained by the TIOBE Company based in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

TIOBE indexes only the Turing-complete languages, hence it does not consider SQL and HTML. As on 30th November, TIOBE lists Java as the most popular programming language followed by C and C++  with ranks 2 and 3, respectively. For the first time in 2016, Visual Basic and Python got higher rankings as compared to Javascript, and Assembly language managed to climb to the top 10 programming language list as well.

GitHub

Unlike TIOBE, Github ranking relies on in-house rankings based on the total number of repositories a specific programming language is made in.  Ahead of its annual conference in September 2016, Github shared its latest coding language rank and contrary to TIOBE, Javascript is the top coding language used on Github. Github ranking should be accorded due importance because it has 19.4 million active repositories and above 5.8 million active users over last 12 months.
Based on the two ranking indices and other requirements we try to decipher the best programming language for you in 2017.

Programming languages to learn in 2017

As the rank indices show, Java and Javascript will perhaps remain industry favorites with their web-based services. If you are keen on entering Google, its GO programming language is the best option. Ruby is a favorite among the startups and it doesn’t look like its popularity will reduce anytime soon.
Among the new languages, Mozilla’s RUST and Facebook’s HACK (Over 90% Facebook code is being written in it) are bound to make it to TIOBE and Github top 10 list soon.
The other programming languages which can guarantee a good career option are :
• R : With data science emerging as a top job destination, R is the go-to language for upcoming data scientists. If you are into statistics and data analysis, R is the language you need to add to your portfolio. Data mining and data science could make R the most sought after language in 2017 if you go by the increasing number of jobs related to R advertised on job portals.
• MATLAB : Once a hardcore language for mathematicians and scientists, MATLAB is back as the interest in analytics and statistics is growing. More developers are going back to MATLAB as the complexity of mathematical analysis is increasing.
• SQL : As more and more people are getting onboard technology; the database has been increasing exponentially. If you are interested in managing the database, SQL is made for you. Termed Special purpose language, SQL is made for a special purpose, unlike general purpose language. Used almost everywhere where database management is required. SQL is a great skill to learn.
• Arduino : It is said that the future belongs to Internet of Things connected devices and if IoT is the future, Arduino is the mainstay coding language. The embedded-based programming will drive the IoT push in 2017 and choosing it as a career option may be the best career decision you ever took.
• Swift : Like an Apple jobe, choose Swift! When Apple, in response to developers’ complaints, decided to come up with Swift to replace Objective-C, it was bound to be a favorite among the developers. If the mobile side appeals to you, then learning Swift should be a part of your 2017 resolutions!