Published on : 26 September 20195 min reading time
You want to get involved in an IT project and you are wondering what the easiest programming language is to start with? Don’t worry; it’s quite natural since you’re not the only one asking yourself this question. Faced with the multitude of programming languages, there is a real risk of scattering you. This will eventually discourage you before you even start.
The first step would therefore be to focus on the objective of your project. What do you want to achieve with this programming language? Only then would the choice of your programming language be made.
We therefore propose, through this article, to return to the questions that should guide you in the choice of your programming language. We will then focus on 3 programming languages that are popular but still subject to many questions, Java, Python and C.
How to choose a programming language?
There are certainly some programming languages that are more affordable than others when you start in IT development. The MicroAlg language is part of it, offering a simple syntax and in addition in French. But if you want to professionally develop a mobile application, a website, a video game or an IT solution specific to your business, you will need to go further. The programming language will depend on the objective you want to achieve. If you want to focus on developing a web application, the HTML5+CSS3 binomial is inevitable.
If your project involves creating a mobile application, your choice of programming language will depend on the platform on which your application will run. An Android application will direct your choice towards Java, C# or Python. On the other hand, if your mobile application will run on Apple devices, it would be a good idea to start learning Objective-C. Finally, C# would allow you to develop a mobile application that would work on Windows Phone.
Choose your programming language: discover Java
Java is a programming language created in 1995. It all started with the desire of Patrick Naughton, an engineer at Sun Microsystem, a company that has since been integrated into Oracle, to improve the C++ that no longer suited him. It then removes superfluous aspects from this programming language. Java (“coffee” in American slang) is created.
Widely used in the banking industry, Java is one of the most widely used languages in IT. It has the particularity of being portable. In other words, Java can be used under any operating system.
If your project is about developing mobile applications running Android, you should know that Java is a popular language for this task. On the other hand, it is also an object-oriented programming language. If you don’t like it, it would be better to look at the concepts of object-oriented programming before you start learning Java.
If you want to learn Java language and application development, discover our Java Application Developer training path.
Choose your programming language: discover Python
Created in 1991 by Guido Van Rossum, Python is one of the most popular open source programming languages. Initially developed to quickly create software prototypes, this language has proven to be a very powerful tool for data analysis. In terms of characteristics, Python is a high-level language. This means that it is very close to human language. Its intuitive side makes it a computer language that is very popular with beginners, because it is therefore easy to learn, read and write.
Like Java, this programming language also has the significant advantage of being portable. By learning Python, you will be able to create IT solutions that can run on iOS, Windows, Linux …
Finally, its user community is one of the most active. This point is far from anecdotal because it will probably be the people in the community who will help you when you encounter challenges in your learning of Python.
We have created a whole path that will allow you not only to learn Python but also to get a diploma and a job as a Python application developer.
Choose your programming language: discover C
Long before Python was born, there was already the C programming language that was created in 1972. Dennis Ritchie, then employed in Bell Laboratories, wanted to evolve the previous language, B, created to write their UNIX operating system. The C language is now one of the best known because of its age. Like Python, C is portable, meaning that all operating systems can support it.
Voted “Language of the Year 2017” by TIOBE, an indicator measuring the popularity of programming languages, C has several advantages. IT professionals continue to use it extensively for the creation of business applications. These are IT solutions that specifically meet the needs of a sector of activity (performing calculations in insurance, producing financial accounts, etc.).
The conclusion is that the programming language C is considered rather complex to learn. The other side is that mastering this language will then give you a very solid programming foundation.
To acquire the basics and learn how to quickly program this language, you can take our online programming course in C language.