4. Zig
Zig is the biggest thing to take off since the Captain in Zero Wing! Among its pros are its abilities in systems programming, with its only real competition in this space being Rust (and perhaps Mojo, but that story is for another day!). It is being hailed as Rust’s successor, but it still hasn’t reached its tipping point yet. Unfortunately, there are no real books out as of writing this that I can point you to to learn this language. Maybe in a year’s time?
3. Gleam
Another language too new at time of writing to have books. Gleam is a statically typed programming language on the BEAM. Its pros include static types, massively parallel operations through message passing, and clean code utilizing pipes (made popular in languages such as Clojure and Elixir).
2. Elixir
Ah, this one has books! Its pros include a soon-to-be gradual typing system, macros, and it shares message passing and pipes with Gleam (although they originated in Erlang and Elixir, respectively). If you are interested in learning Elixir, just head on over to https://www.pragprog.com and do a search for “Elixir” or “Phoenix”.
Honorable Mention: Rust
Rust has been around for a while (like Elixir) but seems to be losing some steam to Zig, which is why I left it off this list. Its pros include static typing, a “borrow checker” for memory safety, and statically linked libraries in the form of “crates”. I recommend No Starch Press’s book on Rust as a primer for newbs to the language.
And Finally… 1. Python
Python is still my number 1 on this list due to its prevalence in machine learning and AI. While Elixir is catching up steam in this regard, it is still yet to compete with the vast quantities (and stability) of libraries like Pandas, PyTorch, and TensorFlow. Python (like Elixir) is more of a general-purpose language and includes practical applications in many fields, including AI, web development (with Django, Flask, and FastAPI), and game development with PyGame. Its pros include simplicity (PEP 8), popularity, and ease of use.
So There You Have It
My top 4 programming languages to learn in 2024. If you found this post useful, you can always donate to my Buy Me A Coffee page: https://buymeacoffee.com/danieljaouen . However, please don’t feel pressured if you can’t afford to.
Thanks for reading!
