January 11, 2023

Programming Languages Overview: Front-end vs Back-end Development

A programming language is a set of instructions given to computing devices to produce various results.

Before you can begin designing complicated software programs, you must first learn the foundations of the programming language you intend to use. Programming languages can be classified into two main categories: front-end and back-end.

Front-end programming languages create the user interface for a software application. Commonly known front-end programming languages include HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Back-end programming languages power the functionality and logic of a software application. Common back-end programming languages include PHP, Java, and Python.

While front-end and back-end programming languages serve different purposes, they are often used to create a complete software application. This blog post can help you start experimenting with other languages and combinations to see what works best for you and the specific project you’re working on.

What we’ll cover:

Front end vs Back end development
Top front-end languages and frameworks
Top back-end languages and frameworks
Conclusion

Front-end vs. back-end development

In the world of web development, there’s a debate between front-end and back-end development. Both sides have pros and cons. Front-end development is responsible for a website’s look, feel, and user experience. It uses HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to create the visual interface that users interact with. Back-end development is responsible for the server side of a website. It uses programming languages like PHP, Ruby, and Python to power the website and make it work. Both front-end and back-end development are essential to the success of a website. Front-end developers create the interfaces that users interact with, and back-end developers make those interfaces work.

Top front-end languages and frameworks

Building a website or application’s user interface and visual design is called front-end development. The front end is the website component with which the user interacts; therefore, the front end must be well-designed and user-friendly.

There are many advantages to front-end development:

It gives you complete control over the appearance and feel of your website or application.
It can make your website or application more user-friendly and give users a better experience.
Front-end development can help you improve your search engine optimization (SEO).
Front-end development can help you create a responsive design, which is essential for mobile users.

Let’s see one by one the top front-end languages and frameworks.

HTML

HyperText Markup Language (HTML), is a markup language used for structuring content on the web.

Features

Some of the features of HTML include being a markup language, which means it is used to “mark up” or annotate text documents so that they may be shown on a web browser.
HTML documents are made up of a series of elements represented by tags. HTML documents must be well-formed and conform to a set of rules to work.

Advantages and disadvantages

It’s very easy to learn and use, making it ideal for those new to programming.
HTML is extremely adaptable. As such, it may be used to create various websites and online apps.
It is widely supported by web browsers, making it a good choice for those who want to create cross-platform applications.

Use cases

One of the most common uses of HTML as a programming language is to create web pages that users can view in a web browser. HTML code can create pages that include text, images, and links to other websites. Pages containing forms can also be made, which can be used to collect information from users.
Programmers can use HTML to develop web applications. Web applications are programs designed to be run on a web server and are accessible to users through a web browser.

Learn HTML with Cloud Academy

If you want to learn more about HTML, try these Cloud Academy courses:

CSS

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a language that is used to determine the appearance of a markup language document. A style sheet is a set of rules that informs a web browser how to display an HTML or XML document. CSS styles all HTML tags, including the document’s body, headers, paragraphs, and other content. CSS may also be used to design how table components, grid elements, and pictures are displayed.

Features

All HTML tags are styled using CSS, including the document’s body, headers, paragraphs, and other material.

CSS may also be used to customize the appearance of table components, grid elements, and images. Web developers can use CSS to create responsive designs that automatically adjust the layout of a web page to fit the dimensions of the device used to view it. CSS can also be used to create animations and other visual effects.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

CSS can style HTML tags, including the document’s body, headers, paragraphs, and other material.
It can style how table components, grid elements, and pictures are displayed.
It can create responsive designs that look great on mobile devices.
CSS can be used to create animations and other cool effects.

Disadvantages:

CSS can be difficult to learn and use, especially for mobile responsiveness.
Bugs can be difficult to find and fix.
CSS can be time-consuming to write and maintain.

Use cases

All HTML tags are styled using CSS, including the document’s body, headers, paragraphs, and other material. CSS may also be used to design how table components, grid elements, and pictures are displayed. Web developers use CSS to create responsive web designs. A responsive web design is a web design that is easy to read and navigate on all devices, including mobile phones, tablets, and desktops. CSS is also used to create animated web effects. CSS3, the latest version of CSS, includes features that allow developers to create animations and transition effects without using JavaScript or Flash.

Learn CSS with Cloud Academy

If you want to learn more about CSS, try these Cloud Academy courses and lab:

JavaScript

JavaScript is a programming language most commonly used in web development. It’s a client-side scripting language, meaning the code is executed on the user’s computer. As a programming language, JavaScript is used to build interactive web pages and is considered a fundamental component of web development.

Features

Dynamic typing in JavaScript allows variables to be declared without specifying their type. This means that the same variable may be used to contain values of various kinds throughout a program.
Weak typing means that JavaScript does not perform type-checking on variables. Weak typing can again lead to errors, but it can also be used to create more flexible programs that can work with data of different types.
JavaScript’s prototypal inheritance model differs from the classical inheritance model used by languages like Java. In the prototypal model, objects inherit directly from other things rather than from classes. This makes it possible to create objects without defining a category first.
JavaScript supports multiple programming paradigms. It is primarily an imperative and object-oriented language and supports functional programming. This means it can be used to write programs using different programming styles, depending on the project’s needs.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

It’s relatively easy to learn for beginners and has a forgiving syntax.
It runs on all major browsers and platforms.
It is a universal language and can be used for front-end and back-end development.
It has a large community of developers who create libraries and frameworks to extend the language’s capabilities further.
It is constantly evolving, with new features being added regularly.

Disadvantages:

JavaScript is a client-side language, meaning that any code you write is viewable by the user. This can be a security risk as malicious users can view and alter your code.
It can be challenging to debug as it is executed on the client side.
It’s not a compiled language, meaning errors you make will only be discovered when you run your code.
It lacks features of other programming languages, making it difficult to write large and complex applications.

Use cases

Some of the most popular applications built using JavaScript include:

Create interactive and online games. Many popular games have been built using JavaScript, such as Plants vs Zombies, Candy Crush, and Angry Birds.
Create desktop applications. Slack is a famous example of a desktop application built using JavaScript.
Create mobile applications. One famous example of a mobile application that is built using JavaScript is React Native.
Build server-side applications. One famous example of a server-side application that is built using JavaScript is Node.js.

Learn JavaScript with Cloud Academy

If you want to learn more about JavaScript, try this Cloud Academy learning path:

JavaScript for beginners

React

React is a front-end library created by Facebook for building user interfaces and web applications. React is a declarative, fast, and adaptable JavaScript toolkit for creating user interfaces. It lets you create reusable components, making your code easy to read and maintain.

Features

React lets you create reusable components, making your code easy to read and maintain.
It’s a declarative library, which means you can describe how your component should look without specifying how it should be implemented.
React is also efficient because it uses a virtual DOM (Document Object Model), a JavaScript representation of the real DOM. When a component is updated, only the changed parts of the DOM are updated instead of the entire DOM.
It’s flexible because it can be used with other libraries and frameworks. React is also easy to learn because it uses a syntax extension of JavaScript called JSX, which makes it easy to read and write React components.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

React is easy to learn for developers with JavaScript experience.
Its code is easy to read and understand. This makes it an excellent choice for teams working on large projects with many developers.
It’s fast and efficient. It uses a virtual DOM, making updating the UI quicker.
React is easy to scale. Because it is just a JavaScript library, it can be easily integrated into a project.

Disadvantages:

React is a partially-fledged framework. This means that it lacks certain features that other frameworks have.
It’s only easy to learn for developers with a JavaScript background.
React has a steep learning curve. This is because it uses a lot of concepts that need to be more familiar to most developers.

Use cases

User interfaces for single-page applications.
Landing pages for marketing websites.
Higher-order components for adding authentication to a component.
A composable component for a dropdown menu.
A presentational component for a data table.
A stateful component for managing the doughnut progress status for a multi-step form.

Learn React with Cloud Academy

If you want to learn more about React, try these Cloud Academy courses:

Vue

Vue.js is a JavaScript framework that makes creating complex, interactive applications easy. It provides various tools that make development quicker and more efficient.

Features

Unlike other frameworks, Vue.js is intended to be gradually adaptable, which means it can construct both small and sophisticated applications. Create simple applications as well as complex ones.
In addition, Vue.js also offers a range of features that makes it unique and well-suited for modern web development.
Some of these features include:

Component-based architecture – developers can create self-contained and reusable components that are easy to maintain and test.
Virtual DOM enables it to be much faster than other frameworks that use full-page reloads or template compilation.
Data binding – VueJS allows you to easily bind data to your HTML templates, making your code more concise and declarative.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

Its lightweight size.
Simple syntax.
Support for various libraries.
Easy to learn for developers already familiar with JavaScript.
Vue.js applications tend to be fast and responsive.

Disadvantages:

Programmers less widely adopt it than other frameworks, so there’s less community support.
Additionally, Vue.js doesn’t have as many features as some other frameworks.

Use cases

One of the reasons Vue.js is popular is that it makes it easy to create single-page applications (SPAs). SPAs are web programs that load a single HTML page and then update it dynamically based on user input. This makes them fast and responsive, like a native app, but they can also be more accessible to develop than a traditional multi-page web app.

Another reason Vue.js is popular is that it can be used with various frameworks and libraries. This makes it a good choice for projects that need to integrate with other software. For example, Vue.js can be used with the Laravel PHP framework or the Node.js runtime environment.

Angular

Angular is a programming language for building web applications. It is a complete rewrite of the AngularJS framework developed by Google. The language is a TypeScript-based open-source front-end web application platform.

Features

Three features of Angular that make it powerful are:

Angular is a declarative programming language. This means that Angular code is easy to read and understand. Angular projects are also easy to refactor and maintain.
It’s a component-based programming language. This means that Angular code is organized into small, reusable components. This makes Angular code easy to reuse and maintain.
Angular is a two-way binding programming language. This means that Angular code can automatically update the view when the data model changes and vice versa. This makes Angular code very responsive and interactive.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

It helps create dynamic and responsive user interfaces.
It can be used for developing both desktop and mobile applications.
It supports multiple programming languages, such as TypeScript, Dart, and JavaScript.
It has a large community of developers constantly working on improving the framework.

Disadvantages:

It has a steep learning curve.
It is not easy to debug Angular applications.
It has a complex syntax.

Use cases

There are many real-world uses for the Angular programming language. One use case is for developing web applications. Angular can be used to create single-page applications or complex, multi-page applications.
Another use case is for creating mobile applications. Angular can be used to develop cross-platform mobile applications that can run on Android and iOS devices.
Finally, Angular can also be used for creating desktop applications. Angular can be used to develop desktop applications installed on Windows, Mac, and Linux computers.

Learn Angular with Cloud Academy

If you want to learn more about Angular, try these Cloud Academy labs:

JQuery

JQuery is a lightweight, feature-rich JavaScript library. It simplifies HTML page navigation and manipulation, event handling, animation, and Ajax with an easy-to-use API that works across many browsers. JQuery has altered how millions of people write JavaScript by combining flexibility and extensibility.

Features

DOM Manipulation: JQuery provides powerful methods to manipulate the Document Object Model (DOM).
Event Handling: JQuery provides comprehensive event-handling support. This means that we can bind event handlers to elements very quickly and also trigger events on elements.
Animations and Effects: JQuery provides numerous methods to create animations and effects. This includes ways to show/hide elements, fade them in/out, etc.
Cross-Browser Compatibility: JQuery is well-supported across all major browsers. This means we can create websites and applications that will work well in all major browsers without issues.

Advantages and disadvantages

Some of the advantages of JQuery include the following:

JQuery can help make your website more user-friendly by providing built-in features such as drop-down menus and accordions.
JQuery can make your website more responsive and faster by lowering the amount of code that must be written, JQuery may make your website more responsive and quicker.
Even individuals with little programming skills can learn and utilize JQuery.

Some potential disadvantages of JQuery include the following:

JQuery can make your website slower if it is not used carefully.
It can be difficult to debug because it is a JavaScript library.
JQuery can be over-used and add unnecessary complexity to your website.

Use cases

One actual use case of JQuery is to create an image carousel. An image carousel can be made by writing just a few lines of code using the JQuery library.
Another actual use case of JQuery is to create a slideshow. This, too, can be accomplished by writing just a few lines of code. Again, the slideshow can be set up to play automatically, or the user can be given the option to scroll through the images manually.

TypeScript

The TypeScript programming language is a superset of JavaScript, which means that all JavaScript code is valid TypeScript code. It allows developers to write code with types and modern features like classes, modules, and arrow functions.

Features

TypeScript is a superset of typed JavaScript that compiles to ordinary JavaScript.
TypeScript, like C# or Java, is entirely object-oriented, with classes and interfaces, and is statically typed. TypeScript is JavaScript with a type information layer on top.
TypeScript supports all of the capabilities of JavaScript and TypeScript’s features, such as ECMAScript 6.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

TypeScript is a typed superset of JavaScript that compiles to ordinary JavaScript, allowing it to operate on any platform, operating system, and browser.
It helps improve code quality and maintainability by catching common programming errors like misspelled variables, property names, and undeclared variables.
Its code can be organized into modules, which can be reused in other projects.
The TypeScript compiler can generate source maps, which map the generated JavaScript back to the TypeScript code, making debugging easier.

Disadvantages:

TypeScript can be challenging to set up and configure, especially for JavaScript developers who are not used to working with type checking and compilation.
It can add significant overhead to your project, especially if you’re working on a large project with a lot of code.

Use cases

Create large-scale applications. The static typing system ensures that the code is consistent and easy to refactor. This makes it an ideal choice for projects with many codebases or a need for solid tooling support.
Improve the development experience for JavaScript libraries. The type system can document the API and catch bugs early, which is especially useful for library maintainers who want to provide a high-quality experience for their users.

Learn TypeScript with Cloud Academy

If you want to learn more about TypeScript, try this lab and learning path from Cloud Academy:

Elm

Elm is a functional programming language designed to make creating high-quality web applications easier. Elm is a statically typed language that uses type inference, meaning it’s unnecessary to declare explicitly the types of variables. This can make the code more concise and easier to read. Elm also strongly emphasizes immutability, meaning variables cannot be changed once set.

Features

Elm is based on the Function Programming Language (FPL) family of languages, characterized by their use of pure functions and immutability. This makes Elm programs easy to reason about and predict and is often more efficient than imperative programs.

Compiles to JavaScript: Elm compiles to Javascript to run in web browsers. To assemble to Javascript, Elm uses the 1938 Wasm specification. This specification allows for a programming language that can be compiled into a format run in a web browser.
Easy-to-use syntax: Elm has an easy-to-use syntax that allows developers to create web applications quickly. The syntax comprises simple, easy-to-learn commands that are easy to remember. This makes Elm ideal for building web applications without learning a complex programming language.
Excellent type of system: Elm has an excellent type of system that can be used to check for errors in programs before they are run. This system can be used to check for type mismatches, and it can also be used to infer types for programmable values.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

Elm is a functional programming language that compiles JavaScript. It has excellent tooling support and a robust system that helps prevent program errors.
It’s easy for beginners and has a very straightforward syntax.
Elm programs are fast and reliable, thanks to the language’s excellent optimizing compiler.

Disadvantages:

Elm has a small community, and few resources are available to learn the language.
It’s less widely adopted than other programming languages, so finding Elm developers can be difficult.

Use cases

Creating user interfaces. Since Elm is a declarative language, it is well suited for creating UIs that are easy to reason about. Another use case for Elm is building web apps.
Elm’s compile-to-JavaScript functionality can be used in any JavaScript environment, and its functional programming paradigm makes managing complex states and data flow in web apps easy.

How to become a front-end developer?

You can become a front-end developer with the right skills and practice. One way is to get a degree in computer science or a related field. Another is to take an online course or attend a coding boot camp.

Top back-end languages and frameworks

Back-end development refers to the server-side development of a website or application. The back-end includes the server, the database, and the application and is responsible for the functionality of a website or application. It’s written in a server-side language, such as PHP, Ruby on Rails, or Java.

Back-end development has many pros:

It is faster and easier than front-end development.
Developers can focus on the functionality of the website or application without worrying about the design.
It’s more scalable than front-end development.
It’s more secure than front-end development.

Let’s see the top back-end languages and frameworks one by one.

Python

Python is a multipurpose programming language that has recently gained popularity for its ease of use. Python is popular for many projects, including web development, scientific computing, data analysis, artificial intelligence, and more.

Features

Python is an interpreted language. It uses an interpreter to execute code instead of compiling it into machine code.
It’s a dynamically typed language. This implies you don’t have to define the kinds of variables when you declare them or anything. You can reassign a variable to a different data type, for example.
Python is garbage collected. In Python, garbage collection reclaims the program’s memory that is no longer being used. This is done automatically by the Python memory manager.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

Python is a high-level, interpreted, general-purpose programming language.
It offers a variety of programming paradigms, such as procedural, object-oriented, and functional programming.
It’s a popular programming language with many libraries and tools for scientific computing, data mining, and machine learning.
It’s free and open-source software, with a large community of developers contributing to its development.

Disadvantages:

Python is only suitable for some programming tasks. For example, it is not recommended for system-level or low-level programming tasks.
It’s a dynamically typed language, which can lead to runtime errors.
The readability of Python code may be both a benefit and a drawback. Python code is frequently more understandable than code produced in other languages. However, Python’s syntax is commonly considered overly complex or peculiar.
Python’s popularity might be a drawback since it can be challenging to locate skilled Python programmers, and Python code is frequently less portable than code produced in other languages.

Use cases

Python is used in many different areas, including web development, scientific computing, data analysis, and artificial intelligence.
It’s often used as a server-side scripting language in web development. Several famous web frameworks, including Django and Flask.
Scientific applications in scientific computing.
Data analysis and machine learning.

Learn Python with Cloud Academy

If you want to learn more about Python, try these Cloud Academy learning paths:

Java

Java is a solid and adaptable programming language that allows developers to design robust, high-performance programs. Java is an object-oriented programming language with primitive data types. Java features reference kinds, such as class and interface types, array types, and enum types, in addition to primitive data types.

Features

Java is a platform-independent language, meaning that programs can execute on any platform that supports it without needing recompiled.
It’s object-oriented and relies on objects and Classes to structure code. This makes code written in Java more modular and easier to maintain.
It has an extensive standard library, providing many common functions and data structures out of the box. This reduces the amount of code that must be written for many everyday tasks and promotes code reuse.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

Java is free and open source.
It’s platform independent.
It’s a powerful programming language.
It has a vast community of developers.

Disadvantages:

Java can be slow and consume a lot of memory.
It has a steep learning curve.

Use cases

Developing Android apps.
Back-end web development with frameworks such as Spring Boot.
Developing desktop applications with JavaFX.
Writing command-line utilities.
Build tools such as Gradle and Maven.

Learn Java with Cloud Academy

If you want to learn more about Java, try these Cloud Academy courses:

PHP

PHP used to stand for Personal Home Page, but it is now an abbreviation for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor. It is a popular open-source general-purpose scripting language ideal for web development. PHP code may be blended with HTML code or combined with other web template systems and frameworks.

Features

PHP is a server-side programming language for creating dynamic web pages.
Its code can be embedded into HTML code, making it easy to create dynamic web pages.
It has many built-in functions, making it easy to perform everyday tasks such as connecting to a database or sending an email.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

PHP code is executed on the server before the webpage is sent to the client. Users who access the website cannot see or modify PHP code.
It is a powerful programming language that can build many websites and web-based applications.
It can be used with many databases, making it a good choice for developing database-driven websites.
PHP code is often embedded into HTML code, making it easy to create dynamic web pages.

Disadvantages:

As PHP code is executed on the server, it can strain the server resources, leading to slower page loading times.
If not used correctly, PHP code can be challenging to debug and can result in code that is hard to maintain.
As PHP is a scripting language, it is slower than compiled languages such as C++.
PHP is less widely used than other scripting languages, such as ASP.NET, making it more challenging to find skilled PHP developers.

Use cases

Develop dynamic web applications.
Connect to and manage databases.
Process form data.
Create cookies and sessions.
Generate the dynamic web page content.
Craddock functionality in web applications.

Rust

Rust is a back-end programming language that helps you write fast code that is both safe and concurrent. It achieves these goals by being memory-safe without using a garbage collector. This means you can avoid the dramatic pauses that can happen in a program that is otherwise running perfectly smoothly.

Features

Rust is a statically typed language, meaning variables must be declared before they can be used. This allows the compiler to catch more errors at compile time and results in faster code.
It features a highly efficient garbage collector that works in the background and frees memory when it is no longer required. This removes the requirement for manual memory management while also strengthening the code.
It strongly focuses on safety and aims to be free of crash-inducing bugs. It has many features that help ensure safe code, such as ownership and borrowing.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

Rust is a programming language that is very lightweight and fast.
It’s an excellent language for systems programming.
It offers great memory safety.
Rust has outstanding support for concurrent programming.

Disadvantages:

Rust is a very young language and thus lacks the robustness and stability of more established languages.
The Rust community is still tiny compared to other languages, so more support is needed.

Use cases

Rust can be used for developing a wide range of applications, from web applications to network servers to system libraries to multitasking operating systems.
Its focus on safety, speed, and scalability makes it an excellent choice for developing concurrent and parallel applications.
Its static type system and ownership model prevent many common programming errors, such as null pointer dereferences and memory leaks.
Rust’s memory safety guarantees mean that it is memory-safe without needing a garbage collector, making it suitable for developing real-time and embedded systems.

Go

Go is a computer language that is statically typed and compiled, created by Robert Griesemer, Rob Pike, and Ken Thompson at Google. Go is comparable to C in syntax but has memory safety, garbage collection, structural typing, and CSP-style concurrency.

Features

Go is a statically typed language, meaning all variables must be declared with a specific type before they can be used. This can help to prevent errors and can make code more readable.
It’s a garbage-collected language that automatically manages the programmer’s memory. This can help to reduce memory leaks and can make code more readable.
Go has a simple syntax that can be easy for programmers from other languages.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

Fast compilation times.
Easy to learn and use.
Garbage collection avoids memory leaks.
Excellent tooling and IDE support.
Excellent performance.
Can be used for a wide range of tasks, from web development to system programming.

Disadvantages:

No built-in support for threading.
No built-in support for networking.
No built-in support for advanced graphics or multimedia.

Use cases

Develop system tools like command-line applications or distributed services.
Develop web applications.
Develop game server backends.
Develop system daemons or other long-running processes.

Learn Go with Cloud Academy

If you want to learn more about Go, try this Cloud Academy course:

Introduction to the Go programming language

Ruby

Ruby is a back-end programming language created in the mid-1990s by Yukihiro Matsumoto. Ruby is a universal language that can be used for creating web applications, system utilities, and even games. Ruby is free and open-source, meaning anyone can use and contribute to the language. Ruby is a reasonably simple language with syntax intended to be straightforward and accessible.

Features

Ruby is a very concise and readable language. It is easy to write code that is both understandable and maintainable.
It has excellent support for metaprogramming, which allows for a great deal of code reuse and flexibility.
Ruby’s object model is simple and consistent, making it easy to understand and work with.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

Ruby is easy to learn and use, making it a great choice for beginners.
The syntax is clean and concise, making code easy to read and write.
It is a very versatile language, allowing developers to create a wide range of applications.
Ruby has a large and supportive community, which can be helpful when getting started with the language.
Ruby is open-source and free to use.

Disadvantages:

Ruby is a relatively slow language, which can be a disadvantage when working on large or complex applications.
It’s not as widely used as some other languages, so finding experienced Ruby developers can be difficult.

Use cases

Ruby on Rails is a popular Ruby-based web application framework. Many top sites, including Basecamp, GitHub, Shopify, and Airbnb, are all built using Ruby on Rails. Ruby on Rails provides a great way to develop robust web applications with minimal code quickly.
Another everyday use case for Ruby is data analysis and manipulation. The Ruby programming language makes it simple to read and write data from several sources. It also has several powerful libraries for performing data analysis, such as the RubyData and Statsample libraries.
Ruby is also commonly used for building command-line tools and utilities. Ruby’s syntax is compact and easy to comprehend, making it an excellent choice for writing tiny scripts to automate activities. The Ruby standard library includes several functional modules for working with files, network sockets, and databases.

C#

C# is a multi-paradigm programming language that supports imperative, declarative, functional, generic, object-oriented (class-based), and component-oriented programming paradigms. Microsoft created it as part of its NET program. C# is one of the Common Language Infrastructure programming languages.

Features

C# provides complete object-oriented programming capabilities, including encapsulation, inheritance, and polymorphism.
It’s a type-safe language, which means that all C# code is checked for type safety at compile time. This prevents errors from happening at runtime.
C# comes with a sizable standard library, which provides a wide range of functionality. This includes support for networking, file input/output, and database access.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

C# is a clear language. It has a lot of features that are not available in other languages.
It’s easy to learn. If you know another programming language, you can learn C# quickly.
It’s well organized. The code is easy to read and understand.
It’s a compiled programming language. This implies that the code has been translated into machine language and is ready to be run.
C# is a safe language. The code is checked for errors before it is executed.

Disadvantages:

C# is not a very portable language. It’s not easy to run C# code on other platforms.
It’s a closed language. This means that only Microsoft can add new features to the language.

Use cases

Web applications because it is easy to learn and use.
Desktop applications and many game engines.
Create mobile apps for Android, iOS, and Windows Phones.
Create desktop apps for Windows and Mac.
Create web services and web APIs.

Learn C# on Cloud Academy

If you want to learn more about C#, try this learning path from Cloud Academy:

Introduction to C# programming

C++

C++ is an object-oriented programming language that allows developers to design complex software systems. C++ boasts many features that make it a highly versatile language, including type-safe memory management, exception handling, and templates. C++ is also widely used in applications where performance is critical, such as video games and high-performance computing.

Features

C++ is an object-oriented programming language, which means that it allows you to create objects and programs that are organized around these objects. This makes C++ an ideal language for building large and complex software systems.
It’s a clear language, giving you much control over how your programs run. This may be both good and negative since it implies that C++ programs can be rapid and efficient, but they can also be challenging to debug and read.
Finally, C++ is a template-based language, meaning you can create template files that can be used to generate code for different types of data. When you need to, this may be a big time saver to create similar code for other data structures.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

C++ is an object-oriented language, allowing for easy modularity and code reuse.
It has various features, such as templates and exception handling, which can make code more robust.
Its code can be easily linked to other libraries, allowing for greater functionality.
C++ compilers are available on many platforms, making it a portable language.

Disadvantages:

C++ can be difficult to learn, especially for those without programming experience.
Its code can be difficult to read and understand, making maintenance and debugging challenging.
It can be less efficient than other languages due to the overhead of object-oriented features.
C++ programs can be prone to security vulnerabilities due to the language’s complexity.

Use cases

Developing system software like an operating system or a compiler.
Creating a domain-specific language.
Developing video game engines.
Writing scripts to automate everyday tasks.

Learn C++ on Cloud Academy

If you want to learn more about C++, try this learning path from Cloud Academy:

C++ programming learning path

Kotlin

Kotlin is a programming language that is statically typed and may be used with the JVM, Android, JavaScript, and Native platforms. JetBrains is the company behind it. Kotlin is a language with roots in the Island of Java. While very similar to Java, Kotlin introduces some features that Java does not have, such as null safety, lambdas, and operator overloading.

Features

Kotlin is a general-purpose, statically typed programming language with type interference.
It’s safe because it avoids null pointer exceptions by default.
Kotlin supports both object-oriented and functional programming.

Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages:

Kotlin is a statically typed language that can help reduce errors and enable more precise code.
It has a concise syntax that can make code more readable and easier to write.
It offers null safety to help avoid null pointer exceptions.
Kotlin can be used for both server-side and client-side development.

Disadvantages:

Kotlin is a relatively new language, meaning a smaller community and less documentation is available.
It can be challenging to learn for Developers who are new to functional programming.
It requires a Java Development Kit (JDK) to be installed, which adds complexity for some developers.

Use cases

Java developers can use Kotlin to write better code that is more concise and readable.
Android developers can use Kotlin to write more idiomatic and concise code.
Web developers can use Kotlin to write more expressive and concise code.
Kotlin developers can use Kotlin to write more type-safe and concise code.

Learn Kotlin with Cloud Academy

If you want to learn more about Kotlin, try this course and learning path Cloud Academy:

How to become a back-end developer

Tips to follow to become a back end developer:

Join or attend meetups for back-end developers. This is an excellent opportunity to network with other developers while learning about new technology.
Get involved in open-source projects. This is an opportunity to learn new technologies and gain experience working on real-world projects.
Read blog posts or watch video tutorials on back-end development. This is an excellent way to explore new technologies and keep up with the latest trends.
Follow back-end development news on Twitter. This is a great way to stay up-to-date with the latest news and trends.
Join a back-end development community or forum. This is a great way to get help from other developers and learn new technologies.

Conclusion

You should have now a comprehensive understanding of the main programming languages! Orienting yourself in the tech world isn’t easy, but this overview can help you begin or accelerate your tech career. And remember, you can go deeper into most of the topics through the Programming Training Library on Cloud Academy.

Happy Learning!