Top 100 List Of Programming Languages

Programming languages are one of the cornerstones of modern technology and are used in many different fields. Used to manipulate computers, develop software, analyze data, create websites and more, these languages are specifically designed for different functions.

Each language has its own purpose and power. Some shine in applications that require speed and performance, while others provide rapid prototyping and flexibility. Which language to use depends on the project’s needs, the developer’s preferences, and industry standards.

This comprehensive list reflects the richness and diversity of the programming world. Each language stands out with its own unique features and usage areas, offering developers tools that they can use successfully in a variety of projects.

“Programming isn’t about what you know; it’s about what you can figure out.” – Chris Pine

Programming languages form the basis of technological progress in the modern world and are used in a wide range of ways to meet different needs. Each language has its own advantages and disadvantages, and developers carefully evaluate to choose the language or languages that best suit their project’s needs.

Top 100 Programming Languages

Compiling the top 100 programming languages was a very challenging task for me. But I’ve compiled this list to show you what each one is about and why you should consider using them. Here are the top 100 programming languages:

1. Python: The first language on my programming languages list is Python. Python is a high-level, interpreted programming language known for its simplicity and readability. It’s widely used in web development, data analysis, artificial intelligence, machine learning, automation, and scripting.
2. JavaScript: JavaScript: The second language in my list of programming languages is the very popular Javascript. JavaScript is a versatile scripting language primarily used for web development. It enables interactive web pages and is commonly used in front-end (browser-side) and back-end (server-side) development.
3. Java: Java is a class-based, object-oriented programming language. It’s known for its platform independence, meaning Java programs can run on any device that has a Java Virtual Machine (JVM). It’s used in a wide range of applications, including web development, mobile app development (Android), enterprise software, and large-scale systems.
4. C++: C++ is a powerful, general-purpose programming language with a focus on performance and efficiency. It’s widely used in system/application software, game development, embedded systems, and high-performance applications.
5. C: C is a procedural programming language known for its efficiency and low-level control over hardware. It’s commonly used in system programming, embedded systems, and operating systems development.
6. C#: C# (pronounced as “C sharp”) is a multi-paradigm programming language developed by Microsoft. It’s primarily used for developing Windows applications, web applications, and games using the Unity game engine.
7. PHP: PHP is a server-side scripting language designed for web development. It’s commonly used to create dynamic web pages or to build web applications.
8. Ruby: Ruby is a dynamic, object-oriented programming language known for its simplicity and productivity. It’s often used in web development, particularly with the Ruby on Rails framework.
9. Swift: Swift is a programming language developed by Apple for iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS app development. It’s designed to be safe, fast, and expressive.
10. SQL: SQL (Structured Query Language) is a domain-specific language used for managing and manipulating relational databases. It’s used to perform tasks such as querying data, updating records, and managing database structures.
11. Go: Go (or Golang) is a statically typed, compiled programming language developed by Google. It’s known for its simplicity, efficiency, and concurrency support. Go is commonly used in building scalable and reliable software systems, particularly in distributed systems and cloud computing.
12. R: R is a programming language and environment specifically designed for statistical computing and graphics. It’s widely used in data analysis, statistical modeling, and visualization.
13. Kotlin: Kotlin is a statically typed programming language developed by JetBrains and officially supported for Android app development by Google. It’s known for its conciseness, safety features, and interoperability with Java.

14. TypeScript: TypeScript is a superset of JavaScript that adds optional static typing to the language. It’s primarily used for large-scale web development projects where type safety and tooling support are important. Those who see its benefits may become addicted to TypeScript.
15. Scala: Scala is a multi-paradigm programming language that combines object-oriented and functional programming features. It’s often used in big data processing (with frameworks like Apache Spark), web development, and general-purpose programming.
16. Rust: Rust is a systems programming language focused on safety, speed, and concurrency. It’s used for developing performance-critical software such as operating systems, game engines, and web browsers.
17. Swift: Swift programming language is a language developed by Apple for iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS application development.. It’s designed to be safe, fast, and expressive.
18. Objective-C: Objective-C is a general-purpose, object-oriented programming language primarily used for developing software for Apple’s platforms, such as macOS and iOS, before the introduction of Swift.
19. Perl: Perl is a high-level, interpreted programming language known for its text processing capabilities and strong support for regular expressions. It’s commonly used for system administration, web development, and network programming.
20. Lua: Lua is a lightweight, embeddable scripting language commonly used in game development (as a scripting language for game engines like Unity and Corona SDK), embedded systems, and scripting within larger applications.
21. Shell Scripting (Bash): Shell scripting involves writing scripts in languages like Bash (Bourne Again Shell) for automating tasks and interacting with the operating system’s command-line interface. It’s commonly used for system administration and automation on Unix-like systems.
22. Assembly Language: Assembly language is a low-level programming language that provides a symbolic representation of the machine code needed to control a computer’s hardware. It’s used for writing programs that require precise control over hardware resources, such as device drivers and operating system kernels.
23. Haskell: Haskell is a purely functional programming language known for its strong type system and lazy evaluation. It’s used in academic research, financial modeling, and high-assurance systems where correctness and reliability are crucial.
24. COBOL: COBOL (Common Business-Oriented Language) is a high-level programming language primarily used in business, finance, and administrative systems. It’s known for its readability and reliability, especially in legacy systems.
25. Lisp: Lisp is a family of programming languages known for their unique syntax based on parenthesized expressions and their support for metaprogramming. Lisp dialects are used in artificial intelligence research, language design experimentation, and symbolic computation.

26. Lua: Lua is a lightweight, embeddable scripting language commonly used in game development (as a scripting language for game engines like Unity and Corona SDK), embedded systems, and scripting within larger applications.
27. Groovy: Groovy is a dynamic, object-oriented programming language that runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). It’s often used for scripting within Java applications, build automation (with tools like Apache Maven and Gradle), and web development.
28. Dart: Dart is a client-optimized programming language developed by Google. It’s primarily used for building web, mobile, and desktop applications, particularly with the Flutter framework for cross-platform app development.
29. Julia: Julia is a high-level, high-performance programming language designed for numerical computing and scientific computing. It’s known for its speed, ease of use, and ability to efficiently handle large-scale mathematical computations.
30. Elixir: Elixir is a functional, concurrent programming language built on the Erlang virtual machine (BEAM). It’s used for building scalable, fault-tolerant, distributed systems, particularly in areas such as telecommunications, messaging platforms, and real-time web applications.
31. Erlang: Erlang is a concurrent, functional programming language designed for building distributed, fault-tolerant systems. It’s widely used in telecommunications, instant messaging, and other applications requiring high availability and reliability.
32. Racket: Racket is a general-purpose, multi-paradigm programming language that serves as a platform for language-oriented programming. It’s used in education, research, and language design experimentation.
33. Matlab: MATLAB (Matrix Laboratory) is a high-level programming language and environment primarily used for numerical computing, data analysis, and visualization. It’s widely used in academia, engineering, and scientific research.
34. VHDL (VHSIC Hardware Description Language): VHDL is a hardware description language used in electronic design automation to describe digital and mixed-signal systems. It’s commonly used in the design and verification of digital circuits and electronic systems.
35. Verilog: Verilog is another hardware description language used in electronic design automation for describing digital systems. Like VHDL, it’s used in the design and verification of digital circuits and systems, particularly in the field of digital hardware design.
36. Scala: Scala is a multi-paradigm programming language that combines object-oriented and functional programming features. It’s often used in big data processing (with frameworks like Apache Spark), web development, and general-purpose programming.

37. Clojure: Clojure is a modern dialect of Lisp that runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). It’s known for its emphasis on functional programming and immutable data structures. Clojure is often used in web development, distributed computing, and data analysis.
38. Erlang: Erlang is a concurrent, functional programming language designed for building distributed, fault-tolerant systems. It’s widely used in telecommunications, instant messaging, and other applications requiring high availability and reliability.
39. Lua: Lua is a lightweight, embeddable scripting language commonly used in game development (as a scripting language for game engines like Unity and Corona SDK), embedded systems, and scripting within larger applications.
40. Haskell: Haskell is a purely functional programming language known for its strong type system and lazy evaluation. It’s used in academic research, financial modeling, and high-assurance systems where correctness and reliability are crucial.
41. COBOL: COBOL (Common Business-Oriented Language) is a high-level programming language primarily used in business, finance, and administrative systems. It’s known for its readability and reliability, especially in legacy systems.
42. Kotlin: Kotlin is a statically typed programming language developed by JetBrains and officially supported for Android app development by Google. It’s known for its conciseness, safety features, and interoperability with Java.
43. Lua: Lua is a lightweight, embeddable scripting language commonly used in game development (as a scripting language for game engines like Unity and Corona SDK), embedded systems, and scripting within larger applications.
44. Julia: Julia is a high-level, high-performance programming language designed for numerical computing and scientific computing. It’s known for its speed, ease of use, and ability to efficiently handle large-scale mathematical computations.
45. Assembly Language: Assembly language is a low-level programming language that provides a symbolic representation of the machine code needed to control a computer’s hardware. It’s used for writing programs that require precise control over hardware resources, such as device drivers and operating system kernels.
46. Verilog: Verilog is a hardware description language used in electronic design automation for describing digital systems. It’s commonly used in the design and verification of digital circuits and systems, particularly in the field of digital hardware design.
47. VHDL (VHSIC Hardware Description Language): VHDL is another hardware description language used in electronic design automation to describe digital and mixed-signal systems. Like Verilog, it’s used in the design and verification of digital circuits and electronic systems.

48. Perl: Perl is a high-level, interpreted programming language known for its text processing capabilities and strong support for regular expressions. It’s commonly used for system administration, web development, and network programming.
49. R: R is a programming language and environment specifically designed for statistical computing and graphics. It’s widely used in data analysis, statistical modeling, and visualization.
50. Dart: Dart is a client-optimized programming language developed by Google. It’s primarily used for building web, mobile, and desktop applications, particularly with the Flutter framework for cross-platform app development.   “The only way to learn a new programming language is by writing programs in it.” – Dennis Ritchie
51. Scheme: Scheme is a dialect of Lisp and a minimalist, general-purpose programming language. It’s often used in educational settings to teach principles of programming language design and functional programming.
52. Tcl: Tcl (Tool Command Language) is a scripting language commonly used for rapid prototyping, testing, and automation tasks. It’s known for its simplicity, extensibility, and embeddability in applications.
53. Prolog: Prolog is a logic programming language used for symbolic computation and artificial intelligence applications. It’s based on formal logic and is often used in areas such as expert systems, natural language processing, and automated reasoning.
54. F#: F# is a strongly typed, functional-first programming language developed by Microsoft. It’s used for developing applications on the .NET platform, particularly in domains such as finance, scientific computing, and data analysis.
55. Scratch: Scratch is a visual programming language and online community targeted primarily at children. It’s designed to teach programming concepts through a simple, block-based interface, making it accessible to beginners.
56. Smalltalk: Smalltalk is an object-oriented, dynamically typed programming language known for its simplicity and powerful development environment. It’s often used in educational settings and for building interactive, graphical applications.
57. ActionScript: ActionScript is a scripting language used primarily for developing interactive content and applications within Adobe Flash and Adobe AIR platforms. It’s commonly used for web-based games, multimedia applications, and rich internet applications.
58. Delphi: Delphi is an object-oriented programming language and integrated development environment (IDE) developed by Embarcadero Technologies. It’s primarily used for rapid application development (RAD) and building Windows desktop applications.
59. Objective-C: Objective-C is a general-purpose, object-oriented programming language primarily used for developing software for Apple’s platforms, such as macOS and iOS, before the introduction of Swift.
60. Ada: Ada is a structured, statically typed programming language designed for building large, mission-critical software systems. It’s often used in industries such as aerospace, defense, and transportation where safety and reliability are paramount.

61. Logo: Logo is a programming language designed for educational purposes, particularly for teaching children basic programming concepts. It’s known for its turtle graphics, which allow users to draw shapes and patterns using a virtual “turtle” on the screen.
62. Julia: Julia is a high-level, high-performance programming language designed for numerical and scientific computing. It combines the ease of use of languages like Python with the performance of languages like C or Fortran, making it suitable for a wide range of computational tasks.
63. Ocaml: OCaml (Objective Caml) is a functional programming language with strong static typing and type inference. It’s used in various domains such as compiler development, theorem proving, and web development.
64. Forth: Forth is an imperative stack-based programming language known for its simplicity and efficiency. It’s often used in embedded systems, real-time control systems, and other applications where minimal resources are available.
65. PL/SQL (Procedural Language/Structured Query Language): PL/SQL is Oracle Corporation’s proprietary procedural extension to SQL. It’s used for writing stored procedures, triggers, and other database-centric logic within Oracle Database.
66. Rexx: REXX (Restructured Extended Executor) is a high-level scripting language designed for ease of use and readability. It’s often used for system administration, automation tasks, and as a macro language in various applications.
67. Fortran: Fortran (Formula Translation) is one of the oldest high-level programming languages designed for numerical and scientific computing. It’s still widely used in fields such as computational physics, engineering, and weather forecasting.
68. ColdFusion Markup Language (CFML): CFML is a scripting language used for building dynamic web applications. It’s primarily associated with Adobe ColdFusion and Lucee server platforms and is used for rapid web application development.
69. ABAP (Advanced Business Application Programming): ABAP is a high-level programming language developed by SAP for building business applications in the SAP ecosystem. It’s used for customizing and extending SAP software solutions.
70. Assembly Language: Assembly language is a low-level programming language that provides a symbolic representation of machine code instructions. It’s used for writing programs that require direct control over the computer’s hardware, such as device drivers and operating system kernels.
71. MUMPS (Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System): MUMPS is a procedural, multi-user programming language designed for healthcare applications. It’s used in electronic health record systems and other medical information systems.

72. Turing: Turing is a programming language designed for educational purposes, particularly for teaching programming concepts to beginners. It’s named after Alan Turing, the pioneering computer scientist.
73. FORTH: FORTH is a stack-based programming language known for its simplicity and flexibility. It’s often used in embedded systems, real-time control applications, and situations where efficiency and low-level control are critical.
74. ABAP (Advanced Business Application Programming): ABAP is a high-level programming language developed by SAP for customizing and extending SAP applications. It’s primarily used in enterprise resource planning (ERP) software development.
75. PL/I (Programming Language One): PL/I is a general-purpose programming language designed for scientific, engineering, and business applications. It supports a wide range of data types and features, making it suitable for various programming tasks.
76. APL (A Programming Language): APL is a high-level array programming language known for its concise syntax and powerful array manipulation capabilities. It’s often used in mathematical and statistical applications.
77. J: J is a high-level, array-oriented programming language based on APL. It’s used for numerical and symbolic computing, particularly in financial modeling, data analysis, and scientific research.
78. RPG (Report Program Generator): RPG is a high-level programming language used for developing business applications on IBM midrange systems, such as the IBM AS/400 (now IBM i). It’s known for its ease of use in creating reports and handling business logic.
79. Simula: Simula is one of the earliest object-oriented programming languages, designed for simulating real-world systems. It introduced many concepts of object-oriented programming, such as classes, objects, and inheritance, which later influenced languages like Smalltalk and C++.
80. APL (A Programming Language): APL is a high-level array programming language known for its concise syntax and powerful array manipulation capabilities. It’s often used in mathematical and statistical applications.
81. Lisp: Lisp is a family of programming languages known for their unique syntax based on parenthesized expressions and their support for metaprogramming. Lisp dialects are used in artificial intelligence research, language design experimentation, and symbolic computation.
82. BASIC (Beginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code): BASIC is a high-level programming language designed for beginners and non-expert programmers. It’s often used in educational settings and for writing simple programs and scripts.
83. Algol (Algorithmic Language): ALGOL is one of the earliest high-level programming languages designed for expressing algorithms clearly and concisely. It influenced the development of many subsequent programming languages, including Pascal and C.

84. D (Distributed Systems Programming Language): D is a systems programming language with C-like syntax and modern features like garbage collection, built-in concurrency support, and metaprogramming capabilities. It’s designed for writing efficient and scalable software, particularly for systems programming and high-performance applications.
85. Dylan: Dylan is a multi-paradigm programming language that combines functional, object-oriented, and imperative programming styles. It’s known for its expressive syntax and advanced features like dynamic typing, first-class functions, and automatic memory management. Dylan is used in various domains, including web development, game development, and artificial intelligence.
86. Eiffel: Eiffel is an object-oriented programming language known for its emphasis on software engineering principles such as design by contract and reusable components. It’s used in software development for building reliable, maintainable, and scalable systems.
87. Fantom: Fantom is a versatile programming language designed for building cross-platform applications, including web applications, desktop software, and mobile apps. It’s known for its simplicity, scalability, and interoperability with other languages like Java and JavaScript.
88. Factor: Factor is a stack-based programming language and concatenative programming language known for its concise syntax and powerful metaprogramming capabilities. It’s used for rapid prototyping, scripting, and developing domain-specific languages.
89. Io: Io is a prototype-based programming language inspired by Smalltalk, Lisp, and Self. It’s known for its simplicity, flexibility, and reflective features, making it suitable for experimenting with language design and building dynamic, expressive systems.
90. K (K-Programming Language): K is an array processing language used for high-performance numerical and statistical computing. It’s known for its concise syntax and powerful array manipulation capabilities, making it suitable for data analysis, financial modeling, and scientific computing.
91. Mercury: Mercury is a logic programming language and functional programming language known for its strong static typing, declarative syntax, and ability to express complex algorithms concisely. It’s used in fields such as symbolic computation, theorem proving, and program analysis.
92. Nim: Nim is a systems programming language with a focus on performance, expressiveness, and portability. It’s known for its metaprogramming capabilities, which allow developers to generate efficient code at compile time. Nim is used for building web servers, games, embedded systems, and more.
93. Red: Red is a programming language and runtime environment inspired by Rebol. It’s known for its simplicity, expressiveness, and ability to write concise, readable code. Red is used for building web applications, GUI desktop software, and system utilities.
94. Seed7: Seed7 is a general-purpose programming language known for its extensibility and ability to define new syntax and semantics. It’s used for developing compilers, interpreters, domain-specific languages, and other projects that require custom language features.
95. Tcl (Tool Command Language): Tcl is a scripting language known for its simplicity, extensibility, and embeddability. It’s used for building GUI applications, web servers, network protocols, and automation scripts.

96. Verilog-AMS: Verilog-AMS is an extension of Verilog used for mixed-signal and analog/mixed-signal (AMS) circuit design. It allows designers to model both digital and analog behavior in a single language, making it suitable for designing complex integrated circuits.
97. X10: X10 is a high-performance, high-productivity programming language designed for parallel and distributed computing. It’s used for developing scalable applications that can efficiently utilize multi-core processors, clusters, and distributed systems.
98. YAML Ain’t Markup Language (YAML): YAML is a human-readable data serialization language commonly used for configuration files, data exchange, and structured data representation. It’s designed to be simple and easy to read, making it popular in configuration management systems, continuous integration pipelines, and other areas where human-readable data is important.
99. ZPL (Z-Level Programming Language): ZPL is a high-level programming language used for specifying and programming parallel algorithms on distributed-memory parallel computers. It’s designed to abstract away low-level details of parallel computing, making it easier to express complex parallel algorithms.
100. Befunge: Befunge is an esoteric programming language known for its unconventional two-dimensional grid-based execution model. It’s designed as a playful and challenging language for programming puzzles and recreational programming.
101. Brainfuck: Brainfuck is another esoteric programming language known for its minimalistic design and extreme simplicity. It’s designed to be difficult for humans to write and understand, often used in programming challenges and as a demonstration of Turing completeness.
102. Whitespace: Whitespace is an esoteric programming language where the only meaningful characters are whitespace characters (space, tab, and newline). It’s designed as a humorous and challenging language for programming puzzles and brain teasers.
103. ArnoldC: ArnoldC is a parody programming language inspired by the action movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger. It uses Arnold Schwarzenegger movie quotes as keywords and is designed as a fun and educational introduction to programming concepts.
104. Chef: Chef is an esoteric programming language designed to resemble cooking recipes. Programs in Chef consist of a list of ingredients (variables) and a set of instructions (recipes) for manipulating those ingredients. It’s designed as a playful and creative language for programming puzzles and challenges. It is one of the most interesting programming languages on my list.
105. INTERCAL (Compiler Language With No Pronounceable Acronym): We have arrived at the 105th and final language on my list of programming languages. INTERCAL is an esoteric programming language known for its intentionally obscure syntax and humoristic design. It’s designed as a parody of traditional programming languages, often used in programming competitions and for entertainment purposes.

“The only way to learn a new programming language is by writing programs in it.” – Dennis Ritchie

Each of these programming languages has its own unique features, strengths, and applications, catering to diverse programming needs and preferences. Whether it’s for building web applications, systems software, numerical simulations, or experimental projects, there’s a programming language suited to the task at hand.

“In some ways, programming is like painting. You start with a blank canvas and certain basic raw materials. You use a combination of science, art, and craft to determine what to do with them.” – Andrew Hunt

Attention Please: I did not include HTML in my list of the best programming languages. Because HTML cannot be defined as a programming language. Because a program that works on its own cannot be written with HTML codes. However, programs that can run through programs that can interpret this language can be written. This is exactly why it cannot be called a programming language.

I don’t know which of these top 100 programming languages will be your favorite language. But the world of programming continues to constantly develop and evolve. New languages emerge and existing languages are improved. That’s why it’s necessary to constantly learn new skills to adapt to technology. I hope you continue to learn and improve programming languages. 😎

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