Those who are entering the world of coding for the first time no doubt know just how important it is to learn the languages of code. After all, it is only through coding that a piece of developed software can be created. But knowing the different types of coding language is not enough. It is also necessary for developers to make sure they know when each one can and should be deployed.
The good news is that there is a coding language for almost every eventuality! This article covers the different coding languages that are available, including those at the cutting edge of the sector, and explains which ones can be used in each particular sub-sector or use case.
Different language families
Just like with written and spoken languages that are used in everyday communication, coding languages belong to families. One such family is object-oriented programming languages, which allow the coder to bring different connected parts of a system together so that features work harmoniously. Another type of language family in the coding world is a scripted language, which means that the languages can communicate with other languages to make the work interoperable. It is important for anyone who is considering a career in this sector to know the difference between these types of languages and to consider what they are likely to need before investing time in learning coding languages.
Python
Anyone who has been involved in the coding sphere for any length of time is likely to have come across Python at one stage or another. It is a famous coding language and an example of a scripting language. Python is also an easy language to learn, which is excellent for newbies who are entering the sector. This is in part because it has got a lot of what are known as coding ‘libraries’ included in the language: this gives coders the chance to pick up parts of code that they don’t understand and integrate them into their language learning.
In this sense, developers can ‘learn on the job’ or at least enhance their knowledge of the coding language in question while they are picking up the skills they need to work in a paid environment. For Python, learning on the job is more accessible than other coding languages.
JavaScript
JavaScript is also a well-known coding language, not least because it is so historic. Many people, even outside of the coding world, have heard of it because it is associated with the average user experience on the internet, like basic web applications such as webforms. It is an example of what is known as a front-end coding language, which means that it helps produce the things that people actually use rather than invisibly supporting the infrastructure behind the scenes. JavaScript can do everything from checking that what a user has put into a website is accurate (a process known as validation) to ensuring that a website is user-friendly and won’t cause hitches.
So, JavaScript is a very versatile language when it comes to using in and securing potential job roles down the line. So whether a developer is interested in technological resilience and are asking themselves what is a site reliability engineer or thinking about how to make sure that games or mobile apps don’t glitch, JavaScript is a useful coding language to have available. Baylor University is highly regarded and is committed to teaching a range of useful sub-disciplines, such as distributed systems, specification testing techniques and Java programming in MSA design and development. Their program ensures that students learn the methods to systematically and efficiently produce and maintain software in a controlled manner.
Perl
Perl is also a well-known language, and it is a good example of why it is useful for a learner to decide in advance what kind of language they want to learn (based on their long-term goals). Perl has several specific use cases: it is especially helpful for the creation of popular websites, for example. This is because it allows for text to be edited easily, which in turn makes websites more useable and focused on the user experience.
For that reason, Perl might not be suitable for everyone. Someone who wants to work on coding in a data science context, for example, may want to choose the likes of Python instead. Meanwhile, someone who is set on becoming a web developer could benefit from considering Perl. For developers, it is all about ensuring that they explore the different languages on offer and choosing one that suits their career intentions. However, learning coding languages is not necessarily a mutually exclusive activity: there’s nothing stopping developers from learning more than one coding language to have multiple skills and enhance their opportunities to find – or move between – employment.
Plenty of choices
Ultimately, the coding world is full of choices and whichever language developers want to learn, there will be one with the right set of potential use cases available. It is worth remembering that this article has only scratched the surface of the coding world and how it functions. There is a plethora of coding languages alongside Python, JavaScript and Perl, which are available to choose from, and it’s up to wannabe coders to ensure that they know the breadth of options available and make the right choices to get where they want to be in terms of skills.
