How to Choose a Programming Language for Your Business

Choosing a programming language is a business decision with long-term implications for maintenance, staffing, integration, and cost. The right choice depends on your application’s requirements, existing technology, available expertise, and the support behind the language.

If you’ve been around the IT field much, you’ve likely been involved in debates about programming languages and technology stacks. These debates can be quite passionate, much like people’s enthusiasm for their favorite sports teams.

There are hats, T-shirts, conventions, and social groups. Though there are probably more laptop stickers for programming languages than sports teams. Maybe.

There’s nothing wrong with passion, and it makes for great discussion. But for a business, how does one look beyond passion to select a programming language or technology stack that supports business objectives?

Experienced software engineers and architects may surprise you. Their recommendation for a business, at that point in time, may differ from the technology where their passion lies.

Most businesses are interested in maturity, stability, productivity, support, and future viability. It’s a serious investment and a vehicle for delivering a competitive advantage.

Article overview: This guide explains how to evaluate programming language rankings, team capabilities, existing systems, developer availability, and ecosystem support before choosing a technology stack.

What Programming Language Rankings Can Tell You

How does one select the right programming language for their business? Passionate debate aside, it can still be challenging.

One place to look is at reports that rank programming language popularity. Some familiar examples include:

• The TIOBE Index
• The PYPL Popularity of Programming Language Index
• The Stack Overflow Developer Survey

You may already be familiar with these reports. If not, they use different information-gathering techniques, so their results vary.

Similar to searching for the best crème brûlée recipe, you learn a bit more by reviewing several sources. However, a popularity ranking does not tell you which language is best for your application.

For typical business applications, widely used languages can provide a useful starting point. Their adoption may indicate established tooling, community support, and a pool of experienced developers.

Specialized applications may have different requirements. A language further down a popularity list may still be appropriate for a particular use case.

Step one complete. You have a starting point, but you’re far from a final selection. Beyond the technology itself, several business factors come into play.

Five Factors That Should Guide Your Technology Choice

A programming language does not operate in isolation. Your team, existing applications, hiring needs, and supporting tools all influence whether it is a practical choice.

1. Your Team’s Front-End and Back-End Capabilities

Is a team of full-stack engineers important to your delivery approach?

Here, full stack means engineers who can work across the user interface, back-end services, and database portions of an application.

JavaScript and TypeScript are common choices for browser-based application development. TypeScript adds type syntax to JavaScript and converts to JavaScript for execution. Both can also be used in back-end development.

If having engineers work in vertical slices, from the user interface through the service layer to the database, is a priority, using a shared language across layers may simplify some aspects of development.

However, full-stack development does not require one language throughout the application. Teams can use JavaScript or TypeScript on the front end alongside C# and the .NET platform, Python, Java, or other back-end technologies.

The question is whether the team has the capabilities to work effectively across those layers. Evaluate your current skills, hiring options, and application requirements before deciding.

2. The Complexity of Using Multiple Languages

Individual microservices can be developed in different programming languages. When designed appropriately, services can communicate without sharing the same implementation technology.

In practice, developing microservices across several languages can create staffing and support challenges.

Suppose one team develops services in C#, another in Java, and another in TypeScript. What happens when a Java-based service becomes the focus of new features that could advance the business?

If other engineers need to help, how familiar are they with the language, frameworks, and supporting tools? They may be capable of contributing, but additional learning and coordination can affect timelines.

The guidance here is to keep the number of programming languages manageable. Standardization can make it easier to share knowledge, maintain applications, and shift work between teams.

There are exceptions. Some requirements justify specialized technology. The important question is whether the benefit outweighs the added complexity.

3. Your Existing Applications and Technology Stack

It may seem an obvious question, but what programming languages are currently in use?

It takes a lot to justify an application rewrite, and potentially more to replace its programming language and technology stack.

There may be plans to evolve an application. But is it worth investing in parallel teams with different skills, or would updating the existing technology better support the business?

For many organizations, the practical choice is to build on a supported technology already in use. Familiarity, existing integrations, and accumulated knowledge all have value.

That does not mean staying with a technology indefinitely. Support limitations, security concerns, or requirements the current stack cannot reasonably meet may justify a change.

As already mentioned, it’s rarely about the shiny new technology. It’s about value to the business.

4. Developer Availability and Hiring Needs

The economic laws of supply and demand are relevant in the IT industry.

Widely used programming languages often have larger developer communities. For a business, that can mean more options when hiring, expanding a team, or finding outside support.

Can the business ramp up quickly to meet a particular demand? That is the question.

Popularity alone does not determine hiring difficulty or cost. Availability also depends on the frameworks involved, experience level, location, and specialized knowledge the application requires.

A large pool of developers does not necessarily mean a large pool of people with the precise capabilities you need.

Evaluate the talent available for your application’s requirements, alongside the skills already present in your organization.

5. Ecosystem Maturity and Long-Term Support

The ecosystem surrounding a programming language can be difficult to navigate, but it is an important part of the selection.

Here, ecosystem means the industry and community support around a language and its related technologies. That includes more than the organization responsible for a platform, such as Microsoft with .NET.

It also includes the developers, maintainers, and organizations contributing libraries, frameworks, documentation, and tools.

When evaluating an ecosystem, consider:

• Maintained libraries and frameworks.
• Documentation and community support.
• Security updates and support policies.
• Compatibility with your infrastructure.
• Availability of experienced developers.

Community activity is valuable, but activity alone does not guarantee that a particular library or framework will remain supported.

Look at the components your application would depend on. Are they maintained? Are support expectations clear? Could your team reasonably update or replace them if necessary?

Investment from established organizations can be a useful signal. However, the business still needs to assess the technologies it will actually use.

Choose Technology That Supports Your Business

Selecting a programming language or tech stack can be challenging. The selection is most often about business objectives, as it should be.

Debating the right choice is a worthwhile exercise. That debate should focus on what’s best for your specific business case, rather than which language is moving up the hype curve.

With all the passion surrounding technology preferences, the practical choice may be a familiar language with mature tools, reliable support, and an established ecosystem.

It may feel like an anticlimactic, boring choice. But stability in supporting systems is an important part of running a business.

Choose a language your team can support, your application can grow with, and your business has a clear reason to invest in.

If you need help evaluating technology options for your application, schedule a free consultation with SOLTECH.

Frequently Asked Questions About Choosing a Programming Language

How should a business choose a programming language?

Start with your application’s requirements and business goals. Then evaluate your team’s skills, existing systems, developer availability, and ecosystem support. The right choice should support reliable delivery and long-term maintenance.

Should you choose the most popular programming language?

Popularity is a useful starting point, but it does not establish whether a language fits your application. Rankings use different methods and measure different signals. Consider them alongside technical requirements, support, and the expertise available to your business.

Should you change the programming language used by an existing application?

A change needs a clear business justification. First, assess whether updating the existing technology can meet your needs. Replacing a language or technology stack may be appropriate when support limitations, security concerns, or application requirements justify the investment.

Is it better to use one programming language across an application?

Using one language across the front end and back end can simplify knowledge sharing and tooling. However, different application layers may benefit from different technologies. Choose a manageable combination that fits your requirements and your team’s capabilities.

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Ray Elenteny

Solution Architect

Ray Elenteny is a seasoned Solution Architect with an impressive career spanning over 35 years in the IT industry. He finds great fulfillment in leveraging his vast experience to guide organizations in delivering top-notch applications that generate substantial business value. Ray’s enthusiasm for software engineering has been a driving force throughout his career, and over the past 10 years or so, Ray has taken a keen interest in the cultural and technical dynamics of efficiently delivering applications.

Drawing from his extensive experience as a Solution Architect, Ray shares his expertise through insightful writings that cover various aspects of software engineering, Kubernetes, application development, and the essential cultural and technical factors that contribute to the successful and streamlined delivery of high-quality applications. His writings provide valuable guidance to individuals and organizations seeking to optimize their application development processes and maximize business impact.