Web technologies improve really fast to ensure a convenient experience on the web for billions of Internet users. A well-programmed site or a web app can also provide its owners with the opportunity to develop their business efficiently and become highly profitable. A great part of the success depends on the chosen technology stack for web development, so experienced development teams always keep track of updates of the programming languages, frameworks, and databases to deliver the best possible solution for the client’s business.
In this article, we will talk about the best languages for web programming that are currently popular with developers.
5 Best Programming Languages for Web
There’s no actual competition between programming languages. Software specialists just choose the tool that’s primarily convenient for them. Still, some instruments become more trendy than others, so the popularity is the only criterion by which we made our list. In this part, we are going to describe the five most used languages for web development in 2020. This list specifies both front-end and back-end programming languages with their distinctive features, advantages, and disadvantages.
1. JavaScript
HTML, CSS, and JavaScript is a standard combination for front-end programming on the web. Despite the popularity of JavaScript, it has a steep learning curve and requires high expertise and skills of a developer. The ECMAScript standard for JavaScript programming frequently updates, so it’s important to stay tuned on the latest improvements of the language to deliver highly performant client solutions. The most popular JS tools are Angular, React, and Vue, which offer a wide range of built-in capabilities to create a convenient front-end solution.
Advantages:
- a large development community;
- a programmer can run code on any computer, the main tools here is a browser;
- a specialist can easily optimize server interaction, for instance, by validating user input on the client side.
Disadvantages:
- has a steep learning curve;
- JavaScript is asynchronous, it doesn’t allow developers to work with multiple threads.
2. TypeScript
TypeScript is a programming language and a JavaScript superset developed by Microsoft. At first glance, TypeScript looks like ordinary JavaScript code. However, it allows adding strict data types to each object, which prevents developers from using wrong or random data. If programmers add new features to the application, but a browser still uses the old version of JavaScript, the app may stop working. TypeScript solves this problem by generating code for the required version of ECMAScript. Thus, developers don’t have to deal with the cross-compatibility logic between devices, browsers, and other environments. Since programmers can work with types, classes, interfaces, and other capabilities provided by TypeScript, the development process becomes more organized and convenient.
Advantages:
- optimizes JavaScript code;
- ensures a more organized and easier development process than JavaScript;
- has higher flexibility and testability than JavaScript.
Disadvantages:
- generates too many additional files, which isn’t favorable for small projects;
- a developer must hold in mind every attribute when working with classes.
3. Java
According to the TIOBE index, Java is the leading language for web development. The main tools for Java programming now are Servlet API and the Java Server Pages or JSP technology. Servlet is a web-component that ensures the “request-response” interaction with a client side. It serves as an extension for Servlets that makes working with web content easier. JSP allows developers to divide the content into the static and dynamic one. By doing so, they can use the previously defined components multiple times.
Advantages:
- high popularity even though developers admit other languages to be more convenient;
- cross-platform orientation;
- a wide range of frameworks for any problem;
Disadvantages:
- low productivity, so there’s a need to find ways of optimization;
- some frameworks can be cumbersome and difficult to understand at first.
4. Python
Python has a great number of web frameworks like Django, Flask, Tornado, etc. which makes web development faster. Developers most commonly prefer to use Django because it’s highly efficient as a full-stack framework, while Flask is the most popular solution for simple web apps with basic logic. Python is primarily used for server-side processing and routing. It helps developers work with HTTP requests, data storages, page templates, etc. The simplicity of Python made it also one of the most used languages for data science projects.
Advantages:
- simple and understandable syntax;
- a great variety of libraries;
- a specialist can build a solution using less code compared to other languages.
Disadvantages:
- the language has performance issues but can be optimized with the additional tools based on the project under development.
5. Go
In 2009, Google officially released its Go programming language (or Golang). Now, it’s one of the fastest-growing languages for web programming. Go combines the best features of static and dynamic languages, including strict typing, high execution speed, flexibility, and a productive and reliable concept of parallel programming. It also handles parallel computations efficiently thanks to the so-called routines. They allow developers to create systems able to process hundreds and thousands of requests per second even if the server resources are minimal.
Advantages:
- the ability to create multiple threads;
- fast code execution and low memory consumption;
- the language is easy to learn.
Disadvantages:
- it’s a relatively new language, so the number of Go specialists available on the market is small;
Final words
Every year new programming languages appear with an ambitious goal to conquer the development world. Several years ago, almost every company used Java. Although Java is keeping its strong position in web programming, companies admit other languages to be more productive than Java. Now, companies have a vast choice of languages to choose from. Many software engineers predict the bright future for JavaScript and Go. JavaScript is an undeniable leader for front-end development, while TypeScript keeps the pace with it and even handles imperfections of JavaScript code. Go is a new kid on the block promoted by Google, so many coders begin to use it enthusiastically. Python is one of the simplest general-purpose languages; it suits perfectly for the server-side programming and data-related projects. Experts say it is also going to keep strong positions for the years to come.
