There are numerous programming languages you can learn today. Some of them are very popular and used in thousands of projects that simplify our daily lives. Others are not that popular but still used for highly complex and important projects. There are languages that have mostly gone out of use. Finally, there are new languages emerging every day. Some of them might become the next big thing.

How do you know which one to focus on? Which of the dozens of them will give you a competitive advantage in your career? In this article, we’ve gathered the top programming languages that will dominate the industry in 2022. Read on to find out what they are, their advantages, disadvantages, and where to learn them.

Java

Java has consistently been among the most in-demand programming languages in the last few years. In 2021 over 35% of developers worldwide used it as their primary language. That number is guaranteed to grow.

Java was built by Oracle as a general-purpose language over 25 years ago. Today it is widely used in web development, mobile app development, and big data. Java continues to evolve, and its latest release was published in September 2021.

Advantages

• Platform independence. Java Virtual Machine (JVM) allows running Java code on any system that supports JVM. No recompilation is required. And most machines, platforms, and systems are built to support JVM.
• Object-orientedness. As an object-oriented language, Java allows creating modular programs and reusing the code.
• Native language for Android. Java was the first language Google used to build Android. Today, it is the number one language used to write native apps for the platform.
• Easy to learn. The primary reason for Java’s popularity is its beginner-friendly nature. Its primordial concept is to be easy to write, compile, debug, and learn.
• Entry-level job opportunities. Because of the immense demand for Java developers, most companies offer junior positions for beginners. And the career growth opportunities are enormous.

Disadvantages

As with any other technology, Java has its disadvantages. However, they are few and do not outweigh the advantages.

• Memory consumption. Java is more memory-consuming and therefore slower than languages like C or C++ due to the need for compilation and abstraction by the JVM.
• It’s a verbose language. Java is a wordy language, which makes it less readable.

Where to learn?

• CodeGym. This one is a very structured and thought-through course with over 1200 practical Java exercises. There’s also a blog for Java developers where you can find a lot of helpful information from experts in the field.
• Pluralsight. This is a collection of expert-authored courses on various tech skills. Their Java courses vary from fundamentals to highly advanced knowledge for senior developers.
• Educative. Another collection of online courses on various subjects, offers a very good selection of Java lessons for every level.

Python

Like Java, Python is a general-purpose language extremely popular among beginners. Python is named among the top three languages time and time again. It is now number one in the TIOBE index, for example. It is safe to say Python won’t lose its popularity any time soon.

Advantages

• Simplicity and readability. Python has English-like syntax, which makes it easier to learn and read the code.
• It’s an interpreted language. Python executes the code directly, line by line. In case of an error, it stops further execution and reports the error back, which makes debugging easier.
• It’s extensible and embeddable. Python can be extended to other languages. And it can be embedded in the source code in another language, C++, for example.

Disadvantages

• It’s slow. Because Python is a dynamically-typed and interpreted language, the execution is slower.
• Inefficient memory consumption. Python uses a lot of memory, which makes it useless for a number of fields that prioritize memory optimization.

Where to learn?

• LearnPython. This is a free interactive online tutorial.
• Learn Python the Hard Way. This one is a textbook with videos and exercises.
• Invent With Python. A collection of books on programming by Al Sweigart.

Go

Go, or Golang is a newer language than the previous two in our list. First released by Google in 2011, it continues to evolve and is among the most widely used languages in Silicon Valley.

Go is a statically typed language with syntax similar to C. It has a simple, modern structure and rich features (garbage collection, dynamic typing, type safety, high performance and efficiency, etc.)

Advantages

• It’s easy to switch to. If you are already proficient in other programming languages, like C++ or C#, learning Golang will be a walk in the park.
• Built-in testing. Testing support is built into the standard library, so there’s no need for any extra dependencies.
• It’s fast. Unlike the interpreted languages, Go is compiled to machine code. And therefore it is a lot faster. It also compiles fast.

Disadvantages

• No manual memory management. This can lead to overhead garbage collection and issues with performance.
• It’s a younger language. The libraries and frameworks are not as developed as with other popular languages.
• No generics. This means the level of reusability of the code is a lot lower.

Where to learn?

• A tour of Go. This website covers all the basics of Go, as well as methods and interfaces, and concurrency.
• Go By Example. This is an extensive collection of annotated example programs.
• The Go Bootcamp online book. The book by Matt Aimonetti covers everything you’ll need to know to start programming with Go.

C/C++

C and C++ are both considered the basis of programming. They are widely used in system-level programming (file systems and operating systems). Besides, both languages are very high-performing. So they are used to write performance-critical applications, particularly – video games.

Advantages

• Great performance. The languages are pre-interpreted and don’t require any special runtime. Compilation and execution are very fast as well.
• Good range of built-in libraries. The libraries help developers work faster and be more productive.
• Form a building block for other languages. A lot of other languages, like the extremely popular Python and Java, are based on C. So understanding C can help in learning other languages faster.

Disadvantages

• Complex syntax. The languages are not as readable as some of the other popular ones.
• No garbage collection. The unnecessary data is not filtered automatically in C++. The memory management is handled manually with
• No runtime checking. In the C programming language, the bugs aren’t detected after each line of code is executed. The compiler shows all the errors after executing the whole program.

Where to learn?

• C Programming by LearnVern. This is a comprehensive online course on C aimed at beginners. It covers all the basics and goes deeper into the more advanced topics.
• C++ Fundamentals at Pluralsight. Pluralsight offers a great course for beginners on C++. After you master the fundamentals, you can go on to more advanced courses.

Bottom line

There are hundreds of programming languages you can learn. But if you go for one of the five described above, the chances of finding interesting projects to work on in 2022 are much higher. You can always try one language and then go for another. Luckily, learning materials are aplenty. And knowing one programming language makes