Top 6 Best Object-Oriented Programming Languages That Covers Over 60% of the Market

The IT industry is constantly evolving, so developers and engineers must improve their skills and learn new technologies to stay relevant and competitive. In this sense, learning object-oriented programming (OOP) is a great step for beginner and pro developers. There are many programing paradigms out there today:

• Procedural Programming Languages
• Functional Programming Languages
• Object-Oriented Programming Languages
• Scripting Programming Languages
• Logic Programming Languages
  

Object-oriented is one of the most used, if not the most used, paradigm in the industry that allows developers to write autonomous and quality code. Most of the time the type of project makes requirements for developers, especially which programming language to use. However, when there are no constraints, the question of choosing the best language for object oriented programming arises. This decision should be taken carefully, because the wrong choice will make it difficult for you to achieve your goals.
In this article we will explore the concept of object-oriented programming and take a look at 6 different OOP languages that currently represent over 60% of the market. We will look at the benefits and drawbacks of each language and tell you what is the best object oriented programming language for some kinds of product.

What is OOP?

Before we start exploring the best languages for object oriented programming, let's review the basic principles and concepts of the OOP paradigm. Developers create object-oriented programs and focus on creating its autonomous parts that will later interact with each other, which are called objects. Parameters and functions that represent some properties and actions of objects in the real world are laid in them.

OOP basic concepts

All OOP languages are built on four concepts:

• Classes specify the structure of the program and objects, define the types and methods of these objects and how objects interact with each other. So classes allow you to create multiple instances of similar items if you need them to interact.
• Objects are instances of some class that have data values and methods defined that allow them to interact with other objects.
• Methods are functions or a set of rules that describe the actions of an object to interact with other objects and retrieve data from structures. Methods are useful for grouping similar tasks together, which simplifies code.
• Attributes are the data of some object or class.
  

OOP principles

What is more important, OOP is built on four basic principles:

Let's look at each of them in more detail.

Encapsulation

This is probably the main principle of OOP, which binds the code and data that developers interact with. Encapsulation means that an object's data should be stored only in structures associated with it, and external access to it should be through public attributes and methods. This ensures the security of internal data and closes the possibility of breaking it from the outside.
For example, when developing an online store application, the method for entering product data should be added to the «Product Card» class, and from other classes there should be no access to this method and even more so to parameters and values.

Abstraction

Abstraction became a separate principle quite recently, because before it was considered as a part of encapsulation. Objects in OOP are models of concepts from the surrounding world and only necessary properties are allocated to work with them.
A prime example of abstraction is a computer or a phone. You need to press a button to turn them on, and you don't need to know what's going on inside to fully use the device.

Inheritance

Inheritance allows you to create a hierarchy of classes and objects, i.e. a child class acquires or inherits the properties of its parent class. In this way, you can quickly and easily extend the capabilities of new classes without changing the old ones or copying code.
An illustrative example of inheritance can be formulated as follows: if «dog», «cat» and «parrot» were object classes, they would be children of the «pets» class.

Polymorphism

Polymorphism means «many forms», meaning that a single object can be used in different ways in different situations. A language with polymorphism allows you to interact with objects and their parameters through the same functions and methods.
In real life, every person is an example of polymorphism. He or she can simultaneously have the characteristics of, for example, an IT developer, a family man, an athlete and a musician. The same person will behave differently in each specific situation.

Benefits and drawbacks of OOP languages

Like any programming paradigm, OOP has its benefits and drawbacks. Let's consider the benefits of OOP:

• Software is developed using standard modules and libraries that makes the code easy to read and maintain, saves developers from writing code from scratch and reduces developer and client resource usage.
• Object-oriented programming is flexible. OOP principles allow developers to reuse code, get rid of redundancy in code, inherit features from different classes, copy data, and create safe programs.
• Creating an OOP program is divided into simpler subtasks where developers only have to create objects, classes and the logic of interaction between them.
• Object-oriented programming ensures high developer productivity, better quality products and low maintenance cost.
  

Now let's see what drawbacks are highlighted in object-oriented programming:

• Object-oriented programs are more time-consuming than procedural programs, for example, because there are many instructions and commands to execute, which can make an OOP project slower than a procedural one.
• OOP is not a universal software development tool, so it can’t be applied to a large class of problems.
• Object-oriented software development is a complex process, so the developer must have good skills and a lot of experience to create quality products. Also you need to think in terms of objects in OOP development, which is also not easy.

6 best object-oriented programming languages in 2023

We have studied the basics of object-oriented programming, as well as its pros and cons. Now we can look at a few popular OOP languages that can be considered as the best languages for object oriented programming to learn in 2023. This selection does not cover the entire software development industry, we will cover the most commonly used languages according to Statista estimates, where they can be used, as well as their benefits and drawbacks.

Java

«Write once, run everywhere» - this motto, invented by Oracle, describes the Java language, which is used by 65% of developers, as accurately as possible. It is stable, reliable and compatible with many development platforms. Android applications are developed in Java, it is used by major companies such as Google, Netflix, Meta, Uber, Amazon and Spotify. One billion copies of Java are downloaded every year, which shows its immense popularity.
Robust development tools are made for the Java language, making it easy to read, run and test code, something few programming languages can offer. The developer writes the code under a Java Virtual Machine (JVM), which adapts the code to each specific system.

Where is Java used?

• Desktop applications
• Mobile applications, especially on the Android platform
• Back-end of web applications
• DevOps
• VR/AR applications
• Big data products
  

Benefits of Java:

• The principle of Java language is «Write once, run everywhere», i.e. a Java application is created once and run on any platform that supports it.
• Java has a simple syntax, so it is quite easy to learn.
• Java supports parallel data streams, making it an ideal language for developing multithreaded applications.
• You can create a different security policy for each Java application, which allows you to eliminate common vulnerabilities.
  

Drawbacks of Java:

• Java is a high-level compiled language, which means applications created in this language will be slow. Moreover, Java has its own peculiarities that affect performance even more.
• Moreover, Java is a heavyweight language, and as a result, applications created in this language can take up a lot of memory.
  

Python

Python is an object-oriented, high-level, open-source language that is used by developers for a wide variety of tasks, from simple scripts and instructions to complex artificial intelligence applications. That's why Python can be considered one of the best object oriented programming languages to study and use in 2023 that is used by almost 50% of developers.
Python has many built-in packages, libraries and plugins that help programmers in the development or analysis process. There are also a huge number of tools for working with machine learning tasks. TensorFlow is one example of such a tool, an open source machine learning software created by Google and compatible with Python.

Where is Python used?

• Machine learning and data science
• Data analysis
• Web applications, especially the server side of the application
• Testing
  

Benefits of Python:

• Python has a simple syntax and is suitable for learning even for beginners, as it requires much less code to create a program than development in, for example, Java, making it easier to understand.
• Python programs can run on any platform that supports it.
• Python programs are faster to create because of the compact language syntax.
• The language has a variety of tools. Python's standard libraries can even solve complex problems from a wide variety of fields.
• Python has integration with other OOP languages like C++ and Java.
  

Drawbacks of Python:

• The language is not suitable for full-fledged development of mobile applications and games. For the latter, Python is sometimes used as an auxiliary tool for creating game logic, internal scripts and testing.
• Python is a slow language because it works with an interpreter, which deprives developers of the ability to create high-performance projects in it alone. For this, integration with other languages can come in handy.
• Python is not suitable for memory-intensive projects.
  

C++

C++ is a flexible extension of the popular low-level C language and combines its speed and basic OOP concepts, for which many developers call it one of the best languages for object oriented programming.
C++ is popular for many reasons:

• Most operating systems are written in C/C++.
• Other language compilers and interpreters are written in C/C++.
• C++ is also used for other programming paradigms such as procedural and functional programming.
  

Where is C++ used?

• Operating Systems
• Scientific research in mathematics, physics and chemistry
• Compilers and interpreters
• Game engine development (Unreal Engine and Unity)
• Firmware for most devices.
  

Benefits of C++:

• C++ has high performance as it does not impose any excessive load on the program which does not use any extra features. This makes it fast.
• C++ is a flexible language, with support for procedural, functional, object-oriented programming paradigm, so the developer has a lot of options to create software.
• There are a lot of open source programs written in C++, which means you can find answers to any question related to solving this or that task.
  

Drawbacks of C++:

• C++ is a difficult language to learn, because for full-fledged programming in it you need to understand a lot of low-level nuances, programming in C language, the structure of «hardware» and operating systems.
• You should control memory usage while working with C++ language. Although now there are new tools that help to keep these nuances under control, there is still a chance of making a mistake.
  

C#

C# is an OOP language from Microsoft that was originally created in 2000 to create desktop applications for Windows. C# is now supported by many platforms, and the language shares some similarities with Java, C, and C++. C# is ideal for Windows applications, but C# applications can also be run on other platforms like Linux, Mac OS X, iOS and Android.

Where is C# used?

• Gaming Industry
• Windows applications
• Machine learning, which ML.NET package is designed for
  

Benefits of C#:

• C# applications are built for the .NET virtual machine, which autonomously adapts the code for the desired platform.
• C# is still supported by Microsoft and a large community, and recently C# has become open-source.
• C# has automatic garbage-cleaning tools, so developers don't have to spend time dealing with issues of memory consumption, fixing memory leaks, or removing «dead» pieces of code.
• C# is a strictly typed language, which makes it less likely to make mistakes when creating or testing code.
  

Drawbacks of C#:

• C# programs run slowly because the .NET virtual machine first adapts the code to the specific hardware and then only executes it.
• Code written in C# is easy to decompile, or, simply, translate into human language, so attackers can easily read the program and write malicious software.
• C# is a high-level language, so it is rarely used to develop programs that involve full interaction with hardware.
  

PHP

PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is an open source language that, according to WS Tech, is used in 77.4% of all websites. In 2004, PHP added support for the OOP paradigm.
For several years now, many developers have considered PHP to be the best object-oriented programming language for web application development. PHP is easily integrated with HTML, which enables developers to improve software for user interaction. PHP also simplifies session tracking and database connectivity.

What is PHP used for?

• Sending form
• Working with databases
• Creating dynamic web applications
• Using sessions and cookies
• Uploading and processing files
• Creating images
• Parsing or collecting information from other sites.
  

Benefits of PHP:

• PHP is a powerful and flexible open-source language that can serve both a small website and a web application with large resources, such as an online store, social media, and more.
• PHP has a simple syntax and it is easy to learn.
• Many extensions and libraries have been developed for PHP to increase its functionality.
• PHP applications can be created in any text editor.
  

Drawbacks of PHP:

• PHP is only applicable to server side web development.
• PHP applications have lower security than other languages.
• There may be problems with global exceptions.
  

JavaScript

JavaScript allows developers to create web pages with interactive components, which is probably why over 95% of all websites utilize its functionality. Major organizations like Netflix, Uber, and PayPal use this language. JavaScript is supported by various engines such as Chromium and WebKit, which run Google Chrome and Safari respectively, but JavaScript only works in browsers.
Since building websites never gets outdated, JavaScript is one of the useful skills in today's market.

Where is JavaScript used?

• Dynamic websites and web applications
• Browser extensions
• Mobile applications
• Server side web sites and programs
  

Benefits of JavaScript:

• Some information can be processed on the user's computers using JavaScript without making requests to the server, which speeds up web pages.
• JavaScript solves simple problems in a very short time, while complex problems are solved using frameworks.
• JavaScript is handy for developing interfaces.
  

Drawbacks of JavaScript:

• JavaScript cannot handle documents due to security concerns.
• It is easy to embed a piece of malicious code in a free scripting language like JavaScript that can harm the user.
  

Conclusion

Learning the basics of object-oriented programming opens up many new possibilities. It teaches you to break complex problems into smaller parts, create a better program structure and avoid code reuse.
What is the best object oriented programming language in 2023? There is no simple answer to this question as each language has its own benefits and drawbacks. So before choosing the right development tools, it is important to decide on the goals and objectives you want to accomplish, understand as well as what kind of software you need and what kind of development experience you have. So if you are new to development, you can start with something simple with a clear syntax.
We worked with a large number of projects that were created in a wide variety of programming languages and frameworks. So if you have a problem choosing a programming language and other technologies for your project, you can contact us and we will consult you and answer all your questions.