15 Programming Languages Every Programmer Should Learn

7 min readDec 2, 2019

Today, people at Designveloper will walk you through some top essential programming languages that you should take a look at if you want to boost your career in 2020.

Note: You can learn these programming skills in any way you want. Do self-study, enroll yourself in a coding Bootcamp, apply for a related course at a school, or watch online tutorials — it’s up to you.

1. Ruby

Some people think that Ruby will die soon, but according to GitHub, it’s still one of the top programming languages of 2018. It is also a language that many large enterprises such as Airbnb have been using.

The community of Ruby on Rails developers is active and supportive. There are over 3,500 contributors for the Rails framework on GitHub and over 300,000 related questions on Stack Overflow. Ruby 3 will be released in 2020 with a lot of improvements, proved that Ruby creators are working on the language to make sure it’s still alive and continuously evolves.

Where to learn Ruby:

2. ASP.NET

In the early 2000s, Microsoft introduced ASP.NET — an open-source, server-side web application framework. This programming language allows developers to create web applications, web services, and dynamic content-driven websites easily. The newest version of ASP.NET is ASP.NET Core.

You don’t need to spend much time and money when developing a website or an application with ASP.NET. It’s high speed and low cost and comes with multilanguage support.

Where to learn ASP.NET:

3. AJAX

AJAX stands for Asynchronous JavaScript and XML, and it’s not a programming language. In fact, AJAX is a set of web development techniques that you can use to build websites and web applications. Once you know how to use this programming skill, you can update a web page without reloading the page, request/receive data from a server after the page has loaded, and send data to a server in the background.

Where to learn AJAX:

4. Objective-C

Compared to other programming languages, Objective-C has a long history. It’s created by the Stepstone company in the early 1980s and licensed by NeXT Computer in the late of this period. In 1996, Apple acquired NeXT, and Objective-C became the standard in developing iOS apps for many years.

Where to learn Objective-C:

5. Python

Python is one of the top object-oriented programming languages and the second most loved language, according to the 2019 Stack Overflow survey. The average yearly salary of a Python software developer/programmer in the US is $73k.

Python can be used for different purposes, including multiple programming paradigms, web testing, data extraction, web application, and Internet development, etc. Even though Python is a high-level language and can do complex tasks, it has a clean syntax. Hence, learning this programming skill is highly recommended for both beginners and experienced programmers.

Where to learn Python:

6. Perl

A lot of people like Perl because of its flexibility. Using this programming language, you find it easy to accomplish tasks. You can even model the problem in the way you want to think about it, which makes it easier to solve the issue.

Where to learn Perl:

7. C

Learning C programming skills should be a must for every programmer. It’s because this language will bring you a lot of benefits, especially in terms of understanding exactly how computers work.

C forces you to think harder and deeper about what’s happening and how you can solve the problem. You’ll be taught to write a clean procedural code in an imperative paradigm. But remember that mastering this programming skill requires a high coding discipline.

Where to learn C:

8. C#

If you’re a beginner and you don’t know which programming skill you should start learning, choose C#. According to Course Report, “students who learned C# were the most likely to be employed as a developer after graduation.” Sound convincing?

C# is simple and easy to use. It handles for you most complex details of the computer, so you can focus on coding rather than worrying about the small details many consider both tedious and challenging.

Where to learn C#:

9. C++

Learning C++ programming language isn’t easy. Many programmers are even frustrated with C++ because they think it has a very steep learning curve. They prefer Java, C#, Python, etc. But do you know that if you master C++, you can learn other modern programming languages faster, not to mention the fact that most popular games engines like Unity3D, Unreal Engine are written in C/C++?

Where to learn C++:

10. HTML

Even if you’re not a programmer or software developer, you should know (at least a little) HTML. Having knowledge of this programming skill can give your career a good boost.

Learning HTML, you’ll understand the fundamentals of the web and how they work together. You can even customize those elements the way you want to create a unique website for your company.

Where to learn HTML:

11. Java

According to GitHub’s Octoverse ranking, Java is one of the top three most popular programming languages of all time (behind JavaScript and Python). Using Java, you can create programs that are compatible with any devices. Once you get familiar with the Java Virtual Machine, you can easily use other languages with such a runtime environment like Groovy and Kotlin.

Where to learn Java:

12. SQL

If you want to work in business intelligence, data science, or back-end web development, you need to learn SQL (Structured Query Language). It’s a programming language specifically designed to work with databases. Almost all of the biggest names in tech, for example, Uber, Spotify, LinkedIn, Twitter, use SQL.

Where to learn SQL:

13. PHP

80% of the top 10 million websites use PHP. Many small businesses and non-technical people use WordPress, Wix, and other content management systems to build websites, which makes PHP always on-demand. If you’ve never learned PHP, don’t worry! It’s easy to get started with, and there are no hard rules you have to follow. You’re free to solve problems using different methods.

Where to learn PHP:

14. Swift

Created by Apple, Swift is an ideal programming language for iOS, macOS, watchOS, tvOS, and Linux applications. It’s user-friendly and offers useful tools to give you real-time feedback and support your learning. Even if you have no experience in coding, you don’t have much trouble when learning Swift.

Where to learn Swift:

15. TypeScript

Here is the definition of TypeScript from Snipcart: “TypeScript is a statically typed superset of JavaScript that compiles to plain JavaScript.” It manages to fill the feature gap between versions of JavaScript. Besides, TypeScript is a more predictable code that’s easier to debug. You can organize your code and catch all kinds of errors before runtime.

Where to learn TypeScript:

Conclusion

The world of programming keeps changing every year, but the above 15 programming languages are always in-demand. That’s why you should keep them in mind all the time. Once you master them, you’ll reach the next level in your career.