JavaScript continues its extraordinary pace of innovation. The JS standard is updated every year, catalyzed by the quick release schedules of web browsers. The next edition, ES2017, is expected to be finalized by 2017. It will bring the dream feature of many JS developers – аsync/аwait for working with asynchronous functions. And thanks to Babel, you can write ES2017 in every browser even today.
TypeScript 2.1got released in the last of 2016 that improved type inference and brought async /await for old browsers. TypeScript is a statically typed language which compiles to JavaScript. It adds powerful features like a classic OOP model and optional static typing to make large codebases easier to maintain. It is the preferred language for writing Angular 2 apps, and we recommend giving it a try. Here is our quick start guide about it.
C# 7.0is expected to release in 2017 and will enhance an ongoing excellent language. On introducing the open source Visual Studio Code editor and .Net Core, the Microsoft surprised everyone. Both of them run on Windows, Linux and macOS and allow you to write fast and performant applications in C#. A vibrant community is forming around both of these tools, and we are confident there is an exciting year ahead of them.
Python 3.6was released in December. It’s strengthening its name as the scripting language of choice for developers, IT pros and scientists. It is suitable for automation, web development, machine learning and scientific computing. It has been years-long struggle for the community for Python 2/3 split, but these days you can confidently choose 3 and enjoy full library support. You can take a look at PyPy, an alternative JIT enabled Python runtime, for those in need of extra performance.
Ruby 2.3came before this year with a numerous performance improvements. Ruby is also a good choice as a general purpose scripting language, but it shines when paired with Rails. The Ruby 3×3 initiative was announced, which will attempt to make the upcoming Ruby 3 release 3 times faster than the current version, opening the doors to using Ruby in more contexts.
PHP 7.1was released in December, and brings minor enhancements to the language. The version 7.0 of PHP, last year, builds upon the major performance improvements that were had in, turning PHP into a fast platform for building web applications. We recommend PHP the Right Way for good practices and a modern take on building web apps in the language.
Java 9 release is expected in 2017 and will come with welcome new features like a repl for evaluating code, HTTP 2.0 support and new APIs. There is a strong demand for talented Java developers and a breadth of exciting projects that use the language. There are a number of JVM based languages like Kotlin and Scala, if Java is not your cup of tea, that you can check out.
Swift 3 was released earlier this year. This is Apple’s vision for a modern programming language that eases the development of apps on iOS and macOS. Swift is open source and has attracted a large community. Version 4 is planned for 2017, which will improve the language and introduce server APIs, making it a good choice for writing web apps and backends.
You can try out Crystal and Elixir If you want to work more excitingly, which both combine a friendly ruby-like syntax with superior performance. Or you can look into a functional language like Haskell or Clojure. We recommend two other fast languages Rust and Go.
Learn one or more of these: JS (ES2017), TypeScript, C#, Python, Ruby, PHP7, Java/Kotlin/Scala.
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