1.9 Other Popular Programming Languages

The following is a brief introduction to several other popular programming languages—in the next section, we take a deeper look at Python:

• Basic was developed in the 1960s at Dartmouth College to familiarize novices with programming techniques. Many of its latest versions are object-oriented.

• C was developed in the early 1970s by Dennis Ritchie at Bell Laboratories. It initially became widely known as the UNIX operating system’s development language. Today, most code for general-purpose operating systems and other performance-critical systems is written in C or C++.

• C++, which is based on C, was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup in the early 1980s at Bell Laboratories. C++ provides features that enhance the C language and adds capabilities for object-oriented programming.

• Java—Sun Microsystems in 1991 funded an internal corporate research project led by James Gosling, which resulted in the C++-based object-oriented programming language called Java. A key goal of Java is to enable developers to write programs that will run on a great variety of computer systems. This is called “write once, run anywhere.” Java is used to develop enterprise applications, to enhance the functionality of web servers (the computers that provide the content to our web browsers), to provide applications for consumer devices (e.g., smartphones, tablets, television set-top boxes, appliances, automobiles and more) and for many other purposes. Java was originally the key language for developing Android smartphone and tablet apps, though several other languages are now supported.

• C# (based on C++ and Java) is one of Microsoft’s three primary object-oriented programming languages—the other two are Visual C++ and Visual Basic. C# was developed to integrate the web into computer applications and is now widely used to develop many types of applications. As part of Microsoft’s many open-source initiatives implemented over the last few years, they now offer open-source versions of C# and Visual Basic.

• JavaScript is the most widely used scripting language. It’s primarily used to add programmability to web pages—for example, animations and interactivity with the user. All major web browsers support it. Many Python visualization libraries output JavaScript as part of visualizations that you can interact with in your web browser. Tools like NodeJS also enable JavaScript to run outside of web browsers.

• Swift, which was introduced in 2014, is Apple’s programming language for developing iOS and macOS apps. Swift is a contemporary language that includes popular features from languages such as Objective-C, Java, C#, Ruby, Python and others. Swift is open source, so it can be used on non-Apple platforms as well.

• R is a popular open-source programming language for statistical applications and visualization. Python and R are the two most widely data-science languages.

Self Check

1. (Fill-In) Today, most code for general-purpose operating systems and other performance-critical systems is written in      .
   Answer: C or C++.

2. (Fill-In) A key goal of       is to enable developers to write programs that will run on a great variety of computer systems and computer-controlled devices. This is sometimes called “write once, run anywhere.”
   Answer: Java.