Different languages, similar goals
Developers use languages to describe calculations, decisions, and actions. The language has rules for how instructions are written, rather like grammar. A compiler or runtime helps the computer run them.
Different jobs often lead teams to different languages:
- Websites and business software: JavaScript makes webpages interactive, TypeScript adds development checks to JavaScript, PHP is used on many web servers, and Java and C# are common in services and business systems.
- Automation and services: Python is used for automation and data work; Go is often used for server tools and services.
- Software close to the computer: C and C++ are used where control over hardware or performance matters. Rust is another choice for software that needs close control over resources.
- Mobile apps: Swift is common for Apple apps and Kotlin for Android apps. Older Apple app code may use Objective-C.
SQL is a language for reading and changing data in many databases, rather than building a whole app. These are examples, not rules. A product may use several languages; the right choice depends on its job and the team maintaining it. Despite their names, C, C++, and C# are distinct languages, and JavaScript is different from Java.