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The big languages are popular for a reason: They offer a huge foundation of open source code, libraries, and frameworks that make finishing the job easier. This is the result of years of momentum in which they are chosen time and again for new projects, and expertise in their nuances grow worthwhile and plentiful.
Sometimes the vast resources of the popular, mainstream programming languages aren’t enough to solve your particular problem. Sometimes you have to look beyond the obvious to find the right language, where the right structure makes the difference while offering that extra feature to help your code run significantly faster without endless tweaking and optimizing. This language produces vastly more stable and accurate code because it prevents you from programming sloppy or wrong code.
[ Also on InfoWorld: Tap the power of Google's Go language. | The best Go language IDEs and editors. | Keep up with hot topics in programming with InfoWorld's App Dev Report newsletter. ]
The world is filled with thousands of clever languages that aren’t C#, Java, or JavaScript. Some are treasured by only a few, but many have flourishing communities connected by a common love for the language’s facility in solving certain problems. There may not be tens of millions of programmers who know the syntax, but sometimes there is value in doing things a little different, as experimenting with any new language can pay significant dividends on future projects.
The following nine languages should be on every programmer’s radar. They may not be the best for every job-many are aimed at specialized tasks. But they all offer upsides that are worth investigating and investing in. There may be a day when one of these languages proves to be exactly what your project - or boss - needs.
Kotkin: Java reconsidered
Java is a great language that supports some of the most popular platforms ever, but it’s getting a bit old and the pain points are becoming a bit too well-known. Kotlin is the brain-child of the JetBrains team in Russia, the ones who have brought us wonderful IDEs like IntelliJ. Kotlin is meant to compile quickly, co-exist with Java, and fix some of the worst issues that occupy the time of Java developers.
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