Developing Blockchain Apps? Choose one of these 11 Programming Languages
Are you going to develop a blockchain application? And are confused about what programming language to pick?
If you’re an experienced developer you may be able to choose a language based on your experience. But, if you’re a fresher you will have to choose one that makes your dive into blockchain application development manageable and productive.
We have come up with a list of 11 top programming languages that developers around the world are considering for blockchain development. We will be discussing the core functionalities of the respective blockchain programming languages as well.
Best Programming Languages for Blockchain Applications
Let us take you through all the major programming languages behind blockchain development. Here’s a list of the top 11 programming languages for developing Blockchain Applications:
- C++
- C#
- PHP
- Python
- Solidity
- Rust
- Golang
- Ruby
- Javascript
- Simplicity
- Java
C++
Discovered in 1985 by Bjarne Stroustrup, C++ is one of the most recognised languages. Even a non-technical person would have heard about it. Just like its popularity, C++ has proven its scalability in every field of development with its multiple capabilities. A few of its technical abilities include advanced multi-threading, move semantics, primitive control over memory, runtime polymorphism, etc.
EOS, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Stellar, and Ripple are some of the prominent cryptocurrencies that have been developed with C++ and its OOPs methodology.
Brief Look at C++ Core Functionalities
- Structured Programming Language: Easier to code than any other binary coding language.
- Developer Friendly: It is powerful, fast, and offers a rich library to developers.
- Data Hiding: Usage of global functions and data makes it secure.
- Powerful & Prompt: A multi-paradigm language that offers compile-time polymorphism for enhanced performance.
C#
Initially launched as Microsoft language, syntactically similar language to C++ and Java, C# has been widely adopted as a blockchain programming language.
Since it is an open-source syntactical language, developers find it easy to write portable code that can run across all devices and operating systems such as Linux, iOS, Android, Windows, etc. Roots of C# are from Object-Oriented Programming language, allowing blockchain developers to attain maximum performance while developing a project. Also, C# includes a blockchain-as-a-service provider, Stratis, which allows developers to smoothly create applications on blockchain platforms.
NEO, IOTA, and Stratis are a few popular examples of blockchain programming.
Brief Look at C# Core Functionalities
- Open Source Language: Makes it efficient and extremely flexible; driving it to be less resource-intensive.
- Easy Understanding: C# syntax is very easy to learn due to its identicality with C# and blockchain coding Java.
- Faster Development Time: Features like easy-to-write portable codes and a standard library allow developers to code faster.
- High Scalability: Static coding nature of the language helps in making easy tweaks.
PHP
Created in 1994 by Rasmus Lerdorf, PHP is one of the most reputed app development languages and has become a much-recommended language for blockchain development as well.
Powered by the Zend Engine, PHP is an open-source and platform-independent language that can be easily developed on multiple operating systems. In its source distribution, PHP offers an extensible library, which simplifies the work of blockchain developers.
Brief Look at PHP’s Core Functionalities
- Simple & Straightforward: Takes less time to learn for developers and development on it becomes easy.
- Built-in Database: Available modules eases the process and reduce the development time.
- Platform-Independent: It can be used with any operating system.
- Open-source: Can be readily installed and put to service.
Python
Since its introduction in 1991, Python has not only ruled the realm of application development, network server development, IoT app development, and Machine Learning but has proven to be a functional asset in the blockchain-as-a-service arena. Today, with its exceptional features, it is being widely used for creating dApps and smart contracts.
Apart from letting developers prototype their ideas fast, Python developers garner huge open-source support. You can literally find answers to almost every problem online in form of plugins, libraries and other resources,
Steem, NEO, and Hyperledger Fabric are Python-based projects.
Brief Look at Python’s Core Functionalities
- OOP Language: Makes the language simple and eases framing syntax.
- Quick Error Detection: Executes the code lines one by one, easier to debug and detect errors.
- Effortless Coding: Proffers dynamic architecture with comparatively short codings.
- Extensive support: Huge open-source support and extensive library.
Solidity
Another benchmarking introduction by Vitalik Buterin, the mastermind behind Ethereum is Solidity. The language is influenced by C++, Java, and Powershell. Over time, it has become the most used and stable programming language for blockchain development.
Solidity is a statically-typed curly-braces programming language designed to develop dApps and smart contracts to run on the Ethereum Virtual Network (EVM). It is easy to get a hold on, whether you are a fresher or an experienced professional.
Brief Look at Solidity’s Core Functionalities
- User-friendliness: Entails flexibility with its ease-to-use features.
- Stable & Flexible Coding Pattern: It delivers a stable and more flexible coding pattern for smart contracts.
- Application Binary Interface: Solidity uses multiple type-safe functions.
- Provides High Accuracy Rate: It delivers a reliable, secure and accurate medium to build smart contracts.
Rust
Introduced by Graydon Hoare from Mozilla Research, Rust is a multiparadigm general-purpose programming language. It is C/C++ compliant with a memory-efficient architecture. It is currently a newbie in the blockchain ecosystem with tremendous development potential.
Rust is focused on performance, stability, and safety and hence it is considered for building immutable, innovative, secure solutions. The developers can easily create effective frameworks to deploy applications on blockchain platforms.
Brief Look at Rust’s Core Functionalities
- Authentic Coding Practices: Rust enforces strict memory allocations, which leads to secure coding practices.
- Performance-Oriented: With memory-efficient architecture, it runs with zero garbage collection or runtime.
- Immense Capability: Rust can effortlessly manage mutable states and other highly complex mechanisms.
- Ease of Coding: Offers amazing code optimization with better memory choices.
GoLang
Also referred to as Go, the language was designed by Google. It was announced in 2009 and was made open source in 2012. It garnered decent developer support because of its readability, simplicity, concurrent nature, and efficiency.
GoLang is much appreciated by freshers as well as by expert developers. It is all because the language is not just easy to understand, but also delivers the best features of Python and JavaScript. Speed, user-friendliness, flexibility, and scalability are just a few offerings that make it the right pick for developing blockchain solutions.
Hyperledger Fabric and Go-Ethereum are two of the most prevalent Go-based blockchain solutions currently active in the industry.
Brief Look at GoLang’s Core Functionalities
- Garbage Collection: It aims at developers to wrap up their tasks quickly; delivering an effective development cycle.
- Smooth Application Development: Being static in nature, helps in avoiding syntax errors.
- Run-time Efficiency: Outperforms other languages in terms of performance.
- Practicality: Easy to learn, read, and deploy along with concurrency.
Ruby
Developed in the mid-1990s by Yukihiro ‘Martz’, Ruby has simplicity and productivity as its core features. It successfully makes a sensible buffer between developers and the underlying computing coding. Over time it has emerged as one of the most developer-friendly languages which support cross-platform operations as well.
Ruby offers a scripting language much similar to Python and PERL. With open-source third-party APIs and plugins, blockchain developers can effortlessly create a prototype of their vision. For your information, Ruby has been highly utilised by Asian developers for building blockchain-based software and platforms.
Brief Look at Ruby’s Core Functionalities
- Multi-paradigm Language: Developers can easily use cross platforms for blockchain programming.
- Elegant Syntax: The programming language is natural and is easy to read and write.
- Dynamic in Nature: It has no tough rules for built-in features and is very close to spoken languages.
JavaScript
All thanks to NodeJs, a JavaScript runtime environment for making this programming language so popular within the blockchain ecosystem. Its availability on almost all systems makes it easy for developers to design highly-functional and innovative blockchain applications. Most developers’ comfortableness with JavaScript and Node.js can make it easy for them to start a career in blockchain development.
Although for Web3 development, it becomes necessary for developers to learn how to use the Web.js, if they have any prior working experience inWeb2 development and JavaScript, then they’ll be able to master the Web3 library with ease.
Brief Look at JavaScript’s Core Functionalities
- Cross-Platforms: It can be used or operated on any browser for both frontend and backend.
- Enhances Scalability: Javascript is an extremely flexible, multi-paradigm and object-oriented programming language.
- Interpreted Language: JavaScript is a prototype-based language which supports functional programming.
Simplicity
Introduced by Russel O’Connor, Simplicity has emerged as an answer to bring expressiveness and greater flexibility to building smart contracts. Before Simplicity was introduced, developers had to make tradeoffs between two major functionality; reliability and expressiveness. Developers were either building a complex but unreliable smart contract or a simple but reliable one. It has now become a go-to programming language to design sophisticated smart contracts.
Simplicity offers a Haskell-like syntax, which makes it effective and easier to code. Moreover, it’s been utilized by developers to design smart contracts and develop solutions for both bitcoin and EVMs because of its human-readable code line.
You must note that Simplicity was developed as a language to bypass problems faced with crypto-currency languages, Bitcoin Script and Ethereum’s EVM to design crypto-currencies and blockchain applications.
Brief Look at Simplicity’s Core Functionalities
- Simplistic: Offers formal semantics, merklized scripting, and type checking.
- Low-level programming language Delivers greater flexibility and expressiveness than Bitcoin Script.
- Offers Reliability: Simplicity offers a secure and reliable environment for blockchain programming.
Java
James Gosling discovered the Java programming language in 1995. The language supports heavy Application Programming Interface (API) and includes class-based object-oriented programming.
Java is derived from C-syntax and is widely chosen for developing dApps and smart contracts. It only offers robust support for object-oriented programming methodology along with ease of memory cleaning. Along with the availability of expansive libraries, Java has become one of the most popular programming languages in the blockchain development community.
Java has been used to create applications on Hyperledger Fabric, NEO, IOTA, and Ethereum, a few of the prominent blockchain programming platforms.
Brief Look at Java’s Core Functionalities
- Multithreaded: Delivers optimum utilization of CPU by running more than one thread at a time.
- Independent Platform: Offers Write Once Run Anywhere (WORA) feature.
- Ease of Coding: Java makes it easier for developers to use work with non-rigidity.
- Secure Interface: No usage of explicit pointers reduces security threads. Developers can also define access rules for a class.
Conclusion
In our understanding, the above list of programming languages possesses the potential to help developers in delivering innovative blockchain solutions. The languages that we have mentioned above are suited for both experts and freshers in the blockchain development industry.
However, while selecting any programming language for development you must consider what are you going to develop? And what level of expertise and scalability does the project require? Are the developers involved in the project freshers or experts?
Answering such questions might land you with a blockchain programming language, which will go skillfully with your project.
In case you need any assistance in deciding what programming language would go best for your blockchain project, connect with us!
