Questioning the existence of many Programming Languages-Weighing Java and Visual Basic
Programming deals with solving problems and different solutions can appear in the course. In the end, the best solution is chosen. Why there are so many programming languages today can in turn be thought of as the quest for different solutions or tools to solve a problem.
Since I can script with python, questioning the existence of java, PHP, perl, ruby, Visual Basic etc. is as asking why other solutions or tools exist.
Virtually most programming languages can solve most problems but technically, some languages are better in solving some problems than others. An example is an android application. Java is not the only language than can be used for mobile applications, but its unique features has made it possible for developers to find ease in using it build android applications.
The world is changing and we would need more reliable and robust software to keep it and advance in technology, thereby resulting in more complexities. New programming languages and more are being created and existing ones are being modified to meet the change which is more leading to the massive number of programming languages in existence today.
Codelani, a platform currently building a database of programming languages and their common design patterns claim that their current estimate for active general purpose programming is between 500 and 2,000 while their current estimate for all active computer language is between 5,000 and 25,000. Well, these figures seem exaggerated but to experienced developers, they are too close to reality.
Taking Java as an example, it is one of the world’s most import and widely used computer languages. Unlike other programming languages which influence has waned with the passage of time, Java has grown stronger from JDK 1.0 which was released in 1996 up to Java JDK 13 which was released in September 17, 2019. However, the Java Development Team is still planning to announce a new one, JDK 14 by 17th of March, 2020. It is a powerful, general programming language suitable for a wide variety of purpose.
Java has gained ground and contributed immensely to the growth of many corners of technology ranging from native, web, mobile applications to networking. Apart from the fact that it has been in existence for about 24 years and it is widely known for its readability and platform Independence [write once and run anywhere], it is the most widely used programming language. It is used by over 9 million developers and powers more than 7 billion devices. It acts as the engine for both very small devices and the largest cloud computing systems.
In the analysis of current job advertisements at seven big banks (Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, Citi, UBS, Credit Suisse and Barclays) java tops the list of skills the banks really want to hire.
Readability is a particularly valuable trait for a programming language and java has gained its ground in this case. Another Java’s long-touted “write once, run anywhere” capability is the fact that developers can write java programs on windows, then run it on a Linux or Mac Server without recompiling the code for the new platform.
On the other had, Visual Basic applications are typically tied to one platform(windows) which doesn’t give it a bright future in the industry and can technically be a failure in the nearest future when technology advances more than it has today.
When comparing Java with Visual Basic, the slant community recommends Java for most people. When asked “what is the best programming language to learn first?” Java was ranked 18th while Visual Basic was ranked 53rd. The most important reason people gave was that Java follows a very standardized coding styles, programming methodologies and patterns are well established and consistent. This discipline with consistent stylistic standards also become useful when coordinating larger teams effort to reach a common goal.
All programming languages are important but the developer’s skills and expertise are more important, for it could lead to the rise and downfall of a language in the eyes of others.
