Picking a programming language

In the great, ongoing debate of language superiority, many factors are considered ... and brandished. The discussions of languages are sometimes heated. My purpose here is to provide some musings in a cool light.

The popular languages of the day are (in order provided by Tiobe Software): Java, C, C++, PHP, C#, Objective C, Visual Basic, Python, Perl, and Javascript.

But instead of arguing about the sequence of these languages (or even other candidates for inclusion), let's look at the attributes that make languages popular. Here's a list of some considerations:

• Platform: which platforms (Windows, OSX, iOS, Android, Linux) support the language
• Performance: how well the programs perform at run-time (whether compiled or interpreted)
• Readability: how well programs written by programmers can be read by other programmers
• Reliability: how consistently the written programs perform
• Cost: here I mean direct costs: the cost of the compiler and tools (and ongoing costs for support and licenses)
• Market support: how much support is available from vendors, groups, and developers

How well do languages match these criteria? Let's try some free association.

For performance, the language of choice is C++. Some might argue that Objective-C provides better performance, but I think the argument would come only from developers in the OSX and iOS platforms.

Readability is a difficult notion, and subject to a lot of, well, subjectivity. My impression is that most programmers will claim that their favorite language is eminently readable, if only one takes the time to learn it. To get around this bias, I propose that people will pick as second-best in readability the language Python, and I choose that as the most readable language.

I submit that reliability among languages is a neutral item. Compilers and interpreters for all of these languages are quite good, and programs perform -- for the most part -- consistently.

For cost, all of these languages are available in no-cost options. There are commercial versions for C# (Microsoft's Visual Studio) and Objective-C (Apple's developer kit), and one would think that such costs would give boosts to the other languages. And it does, but cost alone is not enough to "make" or "break" a language. Which brings us to market support.

The support of Microsoft and Apple for C# and Objective-C make those languages appealing. The Microsoft tools have a lot of followers: companies that specify them as standards and developers who know and keep active in the C# language.

Peering into the future, what can we see?

I think that the Perl/Python tussle will end up going to Python. Right now, Perl has better market support: the CPAN libraries and lots of developers. These factors can change, and are changing. O'Reilly has been printing (and selling) lots of books on Python. People have been starting projects in Python. In contrast, Perl loses on readability, something that is hard to change.

The Java/C# tussle is more about market support and less about readability and performance. These languages are about the same in readability, performance, and reliability. Microsoft has made C# the prince of languages for development in Windows; we need to see what Oracle will do with Java.

Apple had designated Objective-C, C, and C++ as the only languages suitable for iOS, but is relaxing their rules. I expect some change in the popularity of iOS programming languages.

But what about those other popular languages, the ones I have not mentioned? What about C, Visual Basic, PHP, and Javascript? Each have their fanbase (companies and developers) and each have a fair rating in performance, reliability, and market support.

I expect that Javascript will become more popular, continuing the current trend. The others I think will fade gradually. Expect to see less market support (fewer books, fewer updates to tools) and more conversion projects (from Visual Basic to C#, for example). But also expect a long life from these languages. The old languages of Fortran and COBOL are still with us.

Which language you pick for your project is a choice that you should make consciously. You must weigh many factors -- more than are listed here -- and live with the consequences of that decision. I encourage you to think of these factors, think of other factors, and discuss them with your colleagues.