When we look into the current trends in programming, few cornerstones dominate in modern programming languages:
• How fast they are
• How smart they are
• Few bugs
These three features were taken into consideration while preparing this article. Let’s see what programming languages share these features and are most likely to be trending in the year 2017.
Rust
Back in the year 2014 when Mozilla first launched Rust, it has never been on trending hiring suggests. It sounds confusing but Rust may put great influence on the programming itself. Let’s see why.
• Efficiency – Rust’s language goal is to enable fast, efficient programming
• Safety – with Rust, objects are managed without access to memory locations. It is impossible to reach the locations even accidentally.
Crystal
Crystal comes to mind when one thinks of an easy-to-learn and expressive programming language.
![]() | It is another Ruby-like language spotless from ambiguity because its code is easy to understand. It also boasts the speed of C-like languages. |
Crystal has some unique features:
• Fibers-special easy-to-create lightweight channels to achieve concurrency
• Macros to avoid boilerplate code
• Great deal of built-in tools for different purposes
The project is in alpha stage. Its releases occur fast and are interesting to follow. Whenever awaits Crystal in the year 2017, many developers see the language as a trendsetter.
Nim
Nim has an ambition to fill the niche of a multipurpose programming language. It has adopted distinctive features of established pros like Rust, Python and even Lisp.
![]() | Such multisource adoption of different features starts from creation of a solid standard library and excellent third-party modules. But Nim aims to succeed in both these enterprises. |
Though in its alpha-stage, Nim helps get the necessary results very quickly. This language complements the fast-changing software development.
Kotlin
JetBrains made its new programming language for JVM and Android and launched the 1.0 version in February, 2016. The company searched for ways to replace Java in programming of JetBrains’ tools and they created it. It is interesting to see what is to become of this pragmatic, Java-like language in 2017.
![]() | Kotlin is easy to learn because it is open-source and approachable. It wasn’t created in a lab; it came out from a certain need –to complete the goals, which Java fails to cover. |
Elixir
Seen by many as an alternative to Node.js, Elixir is likely to evolve in the next couple of years. Its ecosystem is used for building scalable and maintainable applications.
It is Ruby-like, so why not dig into it for the next year?
What are your top five promising programming languages? Do you agree or disagree with any of the choices for this list?

Yuliya Tolkach
Business Development Manager