Most Popular Languages to Outsource Programming

Choosing the right programming languages for software development is crucial for shaping the foundational operating philosophy and technical execution of your product or service. Decision to outsource programming carries significant weight, making it imperative to consider all aspects with a balanced and informed perspective.

IntelliSoft, a seasoned player in the software development arena, excels in delivering innovative solutions tailored for start-ups. Our expertise spans web development, product design, and mobile development services. We also specialize in data analytics, machine learning (ML), cloud technologies, quality assurance (QA), and DevOps infrastructure. Mastering this broad array of technologies requires a profound understanding of various programming languages.

Leveraging our extensive industry experience, we are eager to share insights on the top 10 most popular programming languages. These languages not only lead current tech trends but are also essential for future innovations. Whether you’re crafting a simple application or an intricate cloud solution, your choice of programming language can significantly influence the functionality and scalability of your product. Let’s explore these languages, delve into their unique features and ecosystems, and understand why they are pivotal in the competitive landscape of software development.

Why you should outsource software development

Subordinating chunks of work related to common programming languages allows your developers to focus on higher-priority tasks.

And dedicated teams, thanks to their well-established development procedures, will do everything as quickly and qualitatively as possible because they are always aware of all innovations.

At the same time, management can offer the market functional products that rely on frameworks. Such a step will also increase the time resource for testing the new product.

If you focus on the modern market tendencies and recognize the advantages of the decision to outsource programming projects, you can launch products quickly, appeal to customers with dependability, and offer a pleasant user experience.

Best Programming Languages for Software Development 2023

Python

Number of users

11 300 000, or 49,28%

Hourly developers rate in USA

Pros

• Simplicity. Python is a popular bridge to the IT industry and is easy to learn.
• Perspective. This language is used mainly in data science, machine learning, and IoT applications.
• Popularity. Python has gained immense popularity, overtaking Java. The language is still used in desktop applications.
• Versatility and scalability. GitHub named Python the most popular programming language for machine learning, mainly for its pre-configured tools for implementing ML models and algorithms. Thanks to this, developers can use the language without deep knowledge and create, for example, chatbots from scratch.

Cons

• Slowness. Python lacks static code analysis capabilities. But all the shortcomings of the language are leveled by the use of additional libraries, the code inside of which is written in fast low-level languages.
• Not for mobile development. It is not suitable for mobile application development.
• Not for game development. Although Python is a server-side language, the game’s core is not written directly in Python.

C#

Number of users

6 333 321, or 27.62%

Hourly developers rate

Pros

• Importance. C# is an object-oriented programming language.
• Gaming industry usage. ML Agents is one of the most popular ML projects on GitHub written in C#. It is an open-source plug-in for the Unity game engine that allows games and simulation spaces to act as training environments for intelligent agents.
• Popularity. C# is a programming language with a C-like syntax. Thus, it is similar to C++ and Java.
• Web orientation. Like Java, C# was initially used in web development.
• Reliability. C# allows developers to create secure and reliable applications that run on .NET.

Cons

• Unaesthetic. It may not be the prettiest.
• Unpromising. C# is dying, and Microsoft is killing it because they keep adding new features that no one asked for. Death will come from constant expansion and over-complication of functions.
• Difficulty. The problem with feature extension makes learning and mastering a programming language difficult.

C++

Number of users

5 140 951, or 22.42%

Hourly developers rate

Pros

• Neural networking. The high position of this language is due to the creation of the Google TensorFlow ML library, in which the emphasis is on neural networks.
• Versatility. C++ allows you to outsource programming of any complexity. Also, in this language, you can program microcontrollers and systems in real-time.
• Hard + Soft. C++ will allow you to understand the relationship between code and hardware better.
• For the game industry fans. AAA-class games must be well-optimized, and C++ is flexible enough. But at the same time, writing on it in the OOP style is convenient without going down to a shallow level.

Cons

• The most difficult. C++ is suitable for those who are already well-versed in most common programming languages.
• High cost of error. It is easy to make a mistake that will lead to the program’s incorrect operation or its fall.
• Ineffective. The C++ exception mechanism is extremely inefficient.
• Bloating. C++ is a bloated language unless, of course, you are working on low-level things.
• Disorder. For this reason, it is no longer used often.

JavaScript

Number of users

14 585 900, or 63.61%

Hourly developers rate

Pros

• GitHub favorite. JavaScript is the favorite programming language on GitHub.
• Web and back-end. The continued popularity of JavaScript in web and back-end applications has remained the same over the years.
• Bonus. Those who know React (a JavaScript library used to develop web and it is one of the most common mobile programming languages) are eligible for a $2,000 – $3,000 salary addition.
• WYSIWYG. This language has a WYSIWYG editor that allows you to create machine-learning models by dragging and dropping objects. In addition, JavaScript benefited from the ml5.js project which aims to make machine learning usable by artists and non-technical students by offering access to models in the browser and machine learning algorithms.

Cons

• Non-triviality. This language is compiled at the time of code execution.
• No data typing. It is a problem with all scripting languages.
• Exotic. It uses an object model that is unusual for many programmers.

Java

Number of users

7 005 176, or 30.55%

Hourly developers rate

Pros

• Versatility. Employers consider Java developers to be versatile professionals who can perform diverse tasks when companies decide to outsource programming projects.
• Multiplatform. Java is an object-oriented language. It allows you to create modular programs whose source code can be reused. The Java language is platform-independent. The main plus of Java is the ability to port applications from one system to another.
• Originality. A vital feature of the Java language when companies outsource Java programming is that its code is first translated into a special platform-independent bytecode. This bytecode is executed by the Java Virtual Machine.
• Safety. Starting with Java 7 Update 51, the language prevents users from running unsigned, self-signed, or missing permission attributes.

Cons

• Poor performance and verbosity. Compared to C and C++, it is a slow language caused by compilation and virtual machine abstraction.
• Payment. As of 2019, the owner charges for commercial use of Java.
• One-sidedness and complexity. There is no native design provided, and Java developers must write complex code.

SQL

Number of users

11 157 835, or 48.66%

Hourly developers rate

Pros

• Importance. It is a language for managing and querying relational databases, making it the backbone of essential data operations in many organizations.
• Low entry threshold. About 89% of jobs requiring SQL skills require a bachelor’s degree.
• Uniqueness. The SQL language is the basis of many DBMSs. It is responsible for physically structuring and writing data to disk and reading data from there. It lets you receive SQL queries from other DBMS components and user applications.
• Standard. International organizations standardize the use of the language. It is the first and only standard language for working with databases, which has become widespread.
• Simplicity. The tabular structure of a relational database is well understood, and therefore the SQL language is easy to learn.
• Support for client-server architecture. SQL is one of the best tools for implementing client-server applications. SQL is a link between the client system interacting with the user and the server system managing the database, allowing each to focus on performing its functions.

Cons

• Technical imperfection. Duplicate rows, null values, explicit left-to-right column ordering, unnamed columns and duplicate column names, lack of support for the “=” property, use of pointers, high redundancy, etc.

Visual Basic

Number of users

933 259, or 4.07%

Hourly developers rate

Pros

• Growing popularity. Visual Basic .Net, which Microsoft released in 2001, is getting increasingly popular every month. It continues to revive, even though in 2017, the corporation announced the termination of the joint development of Visual Basic and C#.
• Simplicity. The simple syntax of the language will allow you to master the language very quickly. It is possible to compile both machine code and P-code.
• Protection against errors associated with the use of pointers and memory access. This aspect makes Visual Basic applications more stable but is also criticized.
• Versatility. It is possible to use most of the WinAPI functions to extend the functionality of an application.

Cons

• Bad forecasts. Visual Basic .Net will die sooner or later, but it is still famous for building custom office applications for small and medium businesses.
• Difficulties with installation. The language requires msvbvmXX.dll to be installed for the program to work.
• Slow operating speed. The reason is that almost all the built-in functions of the language are implemented through the runtime library, which, in turn, does a lot of “unnecessary” work on checking or type conversion.

PHP

Number of users

4 260 431, or 18.58%

Hourly developers rate

Pros

• Leadership. PHP is a part of the “web markup languages” list. The language is a leader in its niche – it is the primary tool that runs on the side of the web server and is used to add dynamism and interactivity to websites.
• Own niche. It is one of the most popular web languages to outsource PHP programming services. It is used in more than 40% of all sites worldwide. It operates in both small areas and in world-famous companies. CMS WordPress, Joomla, and MODX also like it.
• High performance, flexibility, and freedom. The features of the language are ease of learning and reasonably high performance. This language is powerful, flexible, and accessible.
• Simplicity. To catch the logic of its work and understand the basic syntax, 2-3 weeks of training will be enough.
• Price. A PHP developer is not uncommon, so their work is inexpensive.

Cons

• A fall. PHP and Ruby, which were at the top programming languages list in 2015, now continue to lose popularity.
• Uniformity and Insecurity. Creating a desktop application or any system component on it is impossible.
• Staff deficit. An excellent PHP programmer is rare.

Swift

Number of users

1 066 254, or 4.65%

Hourly developers rate

Pros

• iPhone’s language. Swift is a tool developed by Apple that is used primarily for creating applications for iOS and macOS (which is especially applicable when companies outsource programming services).
• Modernism. The language uses modern syntactic constructs such as generics, tuples, and closures.
• Increased security. Optionals need no longer fear of null, overflow protection, and so on.
• Definition. Experts note the excellent readability of the code of this language.

Cons

• Growing pains. Most libraries and frameworks are designed for older language versions and are utterly useless in new ones.
• Compatibility issues. It is believed that Swift needs to be more compatible with third-party tools and IDEs, which limits its functionality and scope.
• Lack of tools. Since Swift is a relatively young and developing language, there are not as many native frameworks and libraries as for more “mature” languages.

Go

Number of users

3 035 958, or 13.24%

Hourly developers rate

Pros

• Google language. Go is an open-source programming language that appeared on Google and has been specifically optimized for writing large-scale software. It is similar to the C language, often used to build operating systems. Wunderkind. Now Go has every chance to become number one in web development, the financial sector, or cloud platforms.
• Simplicity. Go has a straightforward syntax: no classes, support for inheritance, exceptions, annotations, etc. That is why this language has become the standard for DevOps engineers.
• Speed. Go is designed to prioritize delay and avoid long pauses. And through generics, you can do various complex things.
• Multithreaded programming. It is another feature of the language. Thanks to the primitives underlying it, you can easily create multithreaded programs.
• Static typing. Thanks to this feature, the risk of making a mistake is reduced.

Cons

• Little documentation. There needs to be more literature on Go, and the official documentation lists methods without descriptions.
• Strong competitor. Go must partially replace the C language. This is why C developers switch to Golang less often than Python or Rust. Go is now more of a web development language.

How to find the best outsourced development team

When looking for a team to outsource programming services, you must prepare to face many challenges.

• Firstly, you need to be ready for significant expenses on salaries. Of course, it is sometimes cheaper to hire an in-house specialist, but this is rare.
• Secondly, the situation in the labor market is such that the demand for vacancies is high, and it is challenging to choose developers with an excellent price-quality balance.
• Thirdly, you may need a qualified specialist to assess applicants’ skills for your vacancies.

It is best to turn to an outsource application programming company for help. Such organizations value their reputation therefore, they will not leave you for no reason. They also have people on staff with the right skill stack, so their work will be cheaper than finding and hiring developers.

Related readings:

• In-House vs. Outsourcing Software Development Teams in 2023
• Who Does What? Understanding Roles in a Software Development Startup
• Hire PHP Developers Full-Time or Part-Time: Hints from Experts
• Hire Python Developers Full-Time or Part-Time: Hints from Experts

How to evaluate an outsourced development team?

Check companies’ portfolios and experience in your domain

This is the first step in securing your potential investment. Pay special attention to the availability and quality of use of new tools in the technology stack you need.

Interview the vendor

During negotiations, pay special attention to already completed projects and workload, as well as clarify all deadlines and other legal subtleties.

Share your product vision (visually)

The more clearly your vision of the product being developed is shown, the better the result will be. Pay special attention to new additional developments in the environment of the programming language to be used.

Choose a company that will see you as a partner

Carry out the above steps with several companies, which will later allow you to choose the best company to outsource programming. On the one hand, the more potential candidates, the better. At the same time, clearly defined terms of reference will exclude irrelevant proposals.

Outsourcing software development with IntelliSoft

QA and testing, product design, web development, data analytics, DevOps, mobile development services, machine learning, support, cloud development, solutions for start-ups. For all of these, Intellisoft has proven and modern software solutions.

The developers have created these tools in the most suitable programming languages for each individual case. You can be sure that all of them have passed the test of time and real-life conditions.

This is why we can guarantee our customers the best service and attention to their needs.

Conclusion

Outsourcing of programming languages will undoubtedly increase the savings of resources directed to hiring. It will also save on the transaction costs associated with the functioning of the corresponding staff units.

Once you’ve chosen the correct development language for your project and a reputable contractor, it’s up to you to establish an effective quality control system. After that, listen carefully to suggestions from experts in “your” programming language, and wait for new opportunities which will appear regularly thanks to outsource programming gurus.

And then your project will quickly get a new life.

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