5 Best Programming Languages for Java Developers In 2021

Suppose you are a Java developer and want to expand your skills on learning more programming languages. The reason can be anything to take a new job, get a promotion, or do side projects.

It is not easy to learn another programming language because you might get confused with the syntax every time you code. But learning more programming languages will expand your skills and will help you shine in the interview.

Let’s discuss some of the top programming languages that are JVM-based, and you can learn quickly without giving so much time to understand just the syntax.

1. Java

Java is a general-purpose, class-based, object-oriented programming language designed to have very few dependencies. Sun Microsystems released it in 1995, and it is the most loved programming language for Android development, video games development, social media applications, and many more. According to Oracle, It runs on around 1.5 billion devices with 16 million users worldwide. Till today, It is the most preferred language for application development.

Advantages of Java

• Java has many benefits that make it the ideal choice to develop enterprise-level software. 
• Java is platform-independent, which means you need JVM (Java Virtual Machine) on your system and code from any other platform can run smoothly. 
• Java has rich security features such as no explicit pointers and a security management system in classes. 
• Java is a multi-threaded language that gives it the capability to run multiple tasks/threads simultaneously.

To make it easy for you to switch to other programming languages. Here are the top 4 programming languages which are close to Java and run on JVM (Java Virtual Machine) based, according to Tiobe-index -

Since Java is the most common and powerful programming language for enterprise solutions, it is widely used in software development for these applications. Here is detailed information on enterprise software development if you want to know more about it. https://sumatosoft.com/solutions/enterprise-software-development. ERP, CRM, HRM are just some of the applications that various businesses use to facilitate easy handling of huge data.

2. Kotlin

Kotlin is a statically typed programming language that runs on JVM. It is an open-source programming language and similar to Java and is used along with it. In 2011, Jetbrains introduced Kotlin to the programming world. It is a general-purpose programming language that is also termed as the “matured Java”. According to a recent survey of Jexenter, Kotlin has been regarded as the 6th in the top technology trends. With Kotlin, safety is higher, and the performance is excellent. It is Google’s preferred programming language, used to develop both server-side applications and Android applications.

Advantages of using Kotlin

• Kotlin and Java both are object-oriented programming languages
• Kotlin is interoperable with Java
• Like Java, it can create multiple threads in Kotlin.
• The syntax is simple and similar to Java
• It merges functional and procedural programming language
• Code maintenance is easy
• Kotlin is null-safe.

3. Groovy

Groovy is an object-oriented programming language based on JVM. It can be both used as a programming language and scripting language. It is compiled to JVM bytecode and interoperates with Java Code and libraries easily.

Groovy was submitted to JCP (Java Community Process) in March 2004. After its standardisation, Groovy launched on January 2, 2007; it supports various markup languages like HTML and XML. Groovy also supports type checking, multi-check blocks, static compiling, modularity and many more.

With Groovy, you can make web applications, mobile applications, etc. Groovy is an excellent investment for Java developers as it eases the learning curve with similar behaviour as Java.

Advantages of Groovy

• Runs on JVM
• The syntax is similar to Java
• It has a rich collection of Java libraries
• The code is reusable
• It is easily integrable with the existing interface

4. Scala

Scala is also a statically programming language that runs on JVM. Scala is a pure object-oriented, functional programming language. The best part is that Scala can execute Java code. You can use all the Java SDK classes, Java open source projects, and your own custom Java classes in Scala.

Scala was introduced in 2003 by Martin Odersky. Scala is also object-oriented and a functional language. It is a compact, faster, and efficient programming language. Scala can be used to build web applications, complex applications, etc.

Advantages of Scala 

• The code is concise and readable.
• It is easy to write, compile and debug.
• It is used to develop web applications, concurrency, distributed applications, parallel batch processing, and many other applications.
• It assures fewer defects.
• It is an expressive programming language.

5. Clojure

Clojure is a dynamic, high-level programming language used to design the Lisp programming language that runs on the Java platform. Clojure focuses on programming with immutable values and immutable data structures; it is intended to make development more robust and faster. On October 16, 2007, it was first released by Rich Hickey, who also developed dotLisp, a .NET platform-based project.

According to Hickey, Clojure meaning is incorporated by three primary letters - C, L, and J for C#, Lisp, and Java which are three major languages on which Clojure is designed. As a functional language, it emphasises recursion and higher-order-functions more than side effect looping. Clojure is used for building websites, scraping web pages, HTML templating, writing async web servers, etc.

Advantages of Clojure

• It supports Java Code in Clojure
• It is flexible
• It is portable and supports garbage collection like Java
• Code is compact with late binding, multi methods, and macros
• It is interoperable to Java

6. C#

It is a multi-paradigm programming language encompassing strong typing, imperative, declarative, static typing, functional and component-oriented programming disciplines. It is used in developing software components suitable for software development in distributed environments. C# is ideal for writing applications for both hosted and embedded systems, ranging from large, sophisticated operating systems to small ones having dedicated functions.

James Gosling, the creator of Java Programming language, and Bill Joy, the originator of Java, called C#, an imitation of Java. It was developed in 2000 by Microsoft as a .NET initiative.

Advantages of C#

• It is similar in reliability and productivity to Java
• The syntax is more simple and similar to Java
• It is a fast and open-source programming language
• It is a type-safe, faster, and modern programming language.
• It is also scalable and updatable.

Conclusion

It is often a difficult choice to make when deciding on the programming language to learn. It would be best to focus on latest or flashy trends rather than focus on learning the already established and stable language. The concepts of any programming language remain the same for a particular paradigm.

The significant changes are in syntax and application. These can be quickly learnt when the basics and background are clear. As a beginner, you should choose a language based on technology and software you are interested in building.

It is unnecessary to learn programming languages similar to Java until you have a particular use case. You can learn any popular programming languages like Python, JavaScript, C++. 

I hope you found this article useful and informative.