Programming languages for 2024

These are the programming languages I would like to learn or improve my knowledge this year.

• Kotlin
• Rust
• Python

Kotlin is a more recent language that runs on the JVM and has been gaining traction over the years.

Rust is noteworthy for its innovative memory borrow model, which seems interesting to learn and work with. The language offers impressive performance, and it’s supported by Apple for iOS app development. It also incorporates functional constructs such as iterators and closures. Overall, Rust appears to be a valuable language to learn.

Python is the last one on the list because I’m not particularly interested in learning it. However, its prevalence in the data analysis world, with tools like PySpark and Pandas, makes it seem almost unavoidable. Furthermore, with the emergence of new compilers and frameworks like Numba or PyTorch (assuming “Mojo” refers to PyTorch), Python could become even more useful—especially in the burgeoning field of Large Language Models (LLMs), where performance is paramount.

I started with Kotlin, implementing a Checkers game using the MinMax algorithm (with alpha-beta pruning), and applied some adaptations of Samuel’s Checkers for heuristics. Am still working on a minimalistic UI to enable normal gameplay. Keeping in the gaming scene, I also plan to create a Sudoku solver using a constraint engine. It’s fun stuff. I might open the repository for public viewing later on.