Top 3 Programming Languages To Learn in 2023

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Geek Culture

8 min readJun 30, 2021

As we approach 2023, it’s a good idea to analyze the top three programming languages for software developers to learn this year. Throughout my career, I’ve utilized a variety of programming languages, with the only constant being change.

Let’s have a look at the figure below, which shows the top programming languages that have been trending and will be the greatest choice for you to learn in 2023, according to Google trends.

That’s right!

Several surveys and research have identified Python, JavaScript, and Java as the top programming languages. In this post, we’ll take a closer look at each of these languages to see what distinguishes them and how they differ.

Python

Python is one of the most widely used programming languages. It is really simple to use and clutter-free.

In the United States, a Python developer earns an average of $118,626 a year.

Python is the most desired programming language of the year, according to a 2019 Stackoverflow survey of developers. This isn’t surprising, given Python’s reputation as a developer-friendly language.

How Does Python Code Look?

Let’s write some code to get a better understanding of Python’s syntax. Let’s develop a simple program to determine whether the number entered by the user is odd or even.

num = int(input("Enter a number to check if odd or even: "))
if (num % 2) == 0:
   print("{0} is Even".format(num))
else:
   print("{0} is Odd".format(num))

If you’re unfamiliar with Python, you’ll note that its syntax is somewhat different from those of other programming languages. Curly braces, classes, and public/private modifiers are all absent. It’s quite straightforward and clutter-free. One of the reasons Python is so popular among programmers is because of this. Let’s take a look at the output of the above program.

Enter a number to check if odd or even: 56
56
56 is Even

Why Python?

Here’s a quick rundown of why Python is one of today’s most popular programming languages.

Simple to use.
Free of clutter in code.
Easy to learn for beginners of programming.
Best suited for machine learning, AI projects and research.
Follows Object Oriented Paradigms.
Can be used to build frontend and backend applications.
Extensively used by data scientists.
Huge community support.

Here is a video explaining Why Everybody is Learning Python.

Why not Python?

Python is a popular and developer-friendly programming language, yet every programming language has flaws. Here’s a list of reasons why Python might not be the best choice.

Python is rarely used for mobile development due to the availability of various frameworks such as React Native and Flutter, as well as native languages such as Swift and Java. As a result, you won’t find any Python-based mobile apps.
Other programming languages are difficult to learn if Python is your first language. You may fall in love with its simplicity and find it difficult to learn other programming languages. When migrating from Python to another programming language, such as Java, it may appear complicated.
Python isn’t widely utilized in large-scale software development — Python isn’t widely used in enterprise software development in major corporations. In comparison, languages like Java and JavaScript are utilized more frequently. Python is slower at runtime and has database access limits. Python’s database access layer is inferior to JDBC or ODBC, making it unsuitable for large-scale applications.

Java

Java is the second most popular programming language to learn in 2023. Java is one of the most popular programming languages, and it will be an excellent language to learn in 2023.

In the United States, the average salary for a Java Developer is $103,464 per year.

I wrote a lot of Java code for an enterprise software program in the beginning of my career. Java is a programming language that is commonly utilized in large-scale software applications.

Let’s have a look at some Java Code

Let’s recreate the Python application we created earlier in Java. The application verifies whether the number entered by the user is odd or even.

import java.util.Scanner;
public class EvenOdd {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Scanner reader = new Scanner(System.in);
        System.out.print("Enter a number: ");
        int num = reader.nextInt();
        if(num % 2 == 0)
            System.out.println(num + " is even");
        else
            System.out.println(num + " is odd");
    }
}

It’s worth noting that the syntax is completely different from Python’s. We’ve covered topics like class, public/private access, scanner, and more. In comparison to languages like Python, Java programs are more organized. In Java, everything must be contained within a class or interface.

Why Java?

Here’s a brief overview on why you should learn Java:

Java is used in enterprise software applications — One of the main reasons to learn Java is that it is used to construct large-scale apps in many tech businesses around the world. Java is used in the tech stacks of top firms such as Uber, Airbnb, Twitter, and many others. As a result, obtaining work as a Java developer is pretty simple.
Performance — Java apps are faster than dynamically typed languages because they are optimized for performance. The JVMs have been upgraded and are fast, making it ideal for huge projects.
Android Development — Java is used in the development of native Android applications. If you want to work as a mobile developer who focuses on creating native Android apps, knowing Java is a good idea.
Huge Community — Java has been a popular programming language for more than a decade, and it has a sizable community behind it. When you first start learning Java, you’ll come across a plethora of tools, forums, and books to assist you.
Platform and Tools — The Java ecosystem has changed over time, and there are now a variety of amazing tools and IDEs that assist Java development, such as IntelliJ, Eclipse, and others.

Why not Java?

Let’s have a look at why Java isn’t an option.

Verbose Code — Java code is quite verbose, which can be confusing to a new programmer. This indicates that the code has a lot of boilerplate, which some developers may find tedious. You can see how verbose Java is by comparing the code snippets from our example above.
Older Language — Alternatives to Java are increasingly popular among newer developers and startups. This is because it is an older programming language, and they would rather learn a newer, cutting-edge programming language. If you want to work for startups or with cutting-edge technology, you might wish to learn a new programming language.

JavaScript

One of my favorite programming languages, JavaScript, is the next top programming language to learn in 2023.

In the United States, the average JavaScript Developer salary is $113,615 per year.

In a study performed by StackOverflow, JavaScript was recognized as the most popular programming language for the seventh year in a row.

Code in JavaScript

We’ve built a function isEven that takes an integer and examines if it’s even or odd in the code snippet below. The console.log file is used to record the console’s response. The end-user will not be able to see this. Developers can use console logging for testing and debugging purposes.

function isEven(num) {
    if (num % 2 === 0) {
        console.log(num + " is even");
        return true;
    } else {
        console.log(num + " is odd");
        return false;
    }
}

Why JavaScript?

In the year 2023, there are lots of reasons why you should learn JavaScript.

It is used everywhere — JavaScript is used in almost all current frontend applications nowadays. There is no way to avoid or disregard JavaScript while developing modern frontend software.
Lots of modern frameworks — There are many high-quality JavaScript frameworks and tools available nowadays to help with frontend development. Many frameworks, such as React, Vue, Angular, React Native, and others, are commonly utilized to construct modern frontend applications.
Developer Friendly and Ease of Learning — JavaScript is a beginner-friendly language, and newcomers to the language tend to fall in love with it. This could be due to a variety of circumstances. The language itself is enticing to developers, and the current ecosystems that are available to enable development further enhance the developer experience.
Job Opportunities — JavaScript programmers are in high demand around the world. Many Fortune 500 firms, such as Google, Facebook, and Uber, have extensively invested in JavaScript development, resulting in a large number of job openings in the JavaScript sector.
Both Frontend and Backend Development —It’s worth noting that, while JavaScript dominates the frontend development scene, it’s also actively used in backend development with frameworks like Node.js. This means that you can be a frontend and backend developer with contemporary JavaScript.
Speed — JavaScript app runs fast Because all of the code runs on the client-side.

Why not JavaScript?

Rapidly Changing: Depending on how you look at it, this might be a pro or a con. JavaScript and its frameworks are fast-changing, and JavaScript today is way different than what it was three years ago. The fact that it is always changing implies that it has a lot of momentum and community involvement. It can, however, be difficult to keep up with.
Security Concerns: On the client-side, JavaScript code is performed, and the code is normally exposed. As a result, if best practices are not followed during development, security breaches may occur.

Conclusion

Here are some resources to help you get started with these three programming languages, for further learning.

We have reached the end of this post. If you enjoyed this post, please share it and leave a comment on what your favorite pick is for 2023.