Linux is fast becoming popular, especially with the declining use of Windows, (I stand to be corrected if that is not true) and to promote Linux and fight towards achieving the desired use of Linux on desktop, Linux programmers and software developers are putting in more effort and hard work in developing desktop applications that will match applications on Windows and Mac OS X desktops.
This is true, especially with countless number of Linux distributions that are focused on making it easy for new Linux users (previously using Windows or Mac OS X) to easily adapt to the operating system.
There are plenty of programming languages out there with new ones emerging every now and then, but as an upcoming Linux software developer focused on desktop applications, one needs to understand what it takes to build reliable, efficient, flexible, extensible, user-friendly and above all secure applications. And one of the first things one must know is to understand the appropriate language for the different software development.
Below, is a list of the best programming languages that one can use to develop desktop applications in Linux, the list is not based on the level of importance as all the languages here are good to go with and they are also cross-platform, meaning you can make the same applications work on other operating systems.
1. C/C++
These two languages though considered different programming languages, C++ is just an enhancement of the C language and it adds object-oriented features to C, therefore, they can be grouped together.
As you may already know, Linux is basically powered by the C language with parts of assembly. You can therefore use C and employ GTK+ cross-platform toolkit for GUI applications.
C++ is considered a better choice for developing software due to its high performance, but it may not be friendly to beginners because of its high demands for precision in areas such as memory management. It is also widely used for developing Windows software but has a sharp learning curve.
You can also use Qt which is a great cross-platform application development framework that is based on C++.
Qt is both commercial and open source and will help you a lot in developing desktop applications in combination with C and C++. It is much more simpler than C++ for application development.
2. Java
This is a powerful, full object-oriented and cross-platform programming language which offers extensive features for building network applications.
Java was originally intended for running applets in web browsers, but it has always had amazing capabilities to run desktop applications right from the start.
Java is one of best especially if you have intentions of developing applications that will run on practically any relevant operating system. Java is great when it comes to migrating from one operating system to another especially from Windows or Mac OS X to Linux, without the need to port your existing applications.
3. Python
Python is a high-level, general-purpose, dynamic and interpreted programming language that is slowly but surely becoming popular in the market. Many programmers are turning to Python because of its easy to read syntax and ability to enable programmers express concepts in few lines of code compared to other programming languages. It is easy to learn, and is a good option for beginners.
Python is one of the popular languages on Linux, with many applications developed using it and you can employ frameworks such as Qt and GTK along the way.
4. JavaScript/GitHub Electron
JavaScript is easy to learn and when used in conjunction with HTML and CSS, you can build amazing desktop applications on Linux.
Electron is a framework used for developing native, cross-platform applications using web technologies, and it is actively maintained on GitHub and a community of contributors.
It is likewise a good option for beginners intending to develop desktop applications for Linux and other operating systems.
5. Shell
The Shell does not only allow a system user to communicate with the kernel but is also a complete programming language, with the common programming language constructs with GNU Bash(Bourne Again Shell) being the most common.
It is compatible with the sh(Bourne Shell) and also incorporates many useful features from ksh(Korn Shell) and csh(C Shell). You can use it with tools such as Qt et ‘al which allows you to display GTK+ dialog boxes from the terminal using scripts.
As always, you also have your own views, so any criticism that will enlighten and help Linux users out there is welcome. If you are using programming languages and frameworks not added to this list, you can let us know about it and any other opinion concerning the topic by leaving a comment down below.
LOL.. 3 year old article. Can I give a shout out to Smalltalk?
You may use BaCon, it’s very easy. It is Basic-like language, but it can compile your code with C compilers.
A simple GUI example:
INCLUDE “hug.bac”
INIT
window = WINDOW(“Hello World!”, 200, 200)
DISPLAY
Once you remove Java from the list, it’ll be a pretty good list.
Seems that electron has a lot of APP’s and I was using some of them without knowing the background, for example SimpleNote and ATOM Editor. I’m quite impressed with the quality of apps… seems for me the future path !
“Java was originally intended for running applets in web browsers.” No it wasn’t.