Top 14 Programming Languages That Built the Internet

The internet couldn’t possibly run without someone somewhere writing some code. But there are a few particular languages that provided the foundation upon which the Web we know today is built.

These fourteen languages have helped shape the modern internet.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. Top 14 Programming Languages Forming the Internet Basis
3. 10 Major Languages
4. 4 Honorable Mentions
5. The Bottom Line
6. FAQs

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. Top 14 Programming Languages Forming the Internet Basis
3. 10 Major Languages
Show Full Guide
4. 4 Honorable Mentions
5. The Bottom Line
6. FAQs

Top 14 Programming Languages Forming the Internet Basis

Although we might be guilty of taking the internet for granted, the following list is a timely reminder that without these programming languages, the internet wouldn’t exist.

10 Major Languages

1. Lisp: Enabling Early Internet & AI

This language is actually not widely used on the internet but is responsible for building the internet in many ways. Invented by John McCarthy in the late 1950s, Lisp tied together the research community that helped create the internet.

Spreading out of MIT, Lisp offered some modern features for the first time, such as conditionals. But what was really mind-blowing about Lisp was that it made no distinction between code and data. Lisp could treat code as data and data as code. Lisp makes it possible to extend the language in ways that its designers never intended, giving rise to the term “programmable programming language.”

Lisp became the lingua franca of the artificial intelligence community, the community that DARPA called on to build what eventually became the internet in the late 1960s. With the “AI Winter” in the late ’80s, Lisp’s fortunes sank somewhat, although it still had its fans.

One of them, Paul Graham, later to found the startup incubator Y Combinator, used it to build one of the first e-commerce companies, Viaweb, which was later purchased by Yahoo. Graham credited the ability to write powerful software by himself as one of the reasons for its success.

The first version of the popular social news website Reddit was also built in Common Lisp.

2. C: Forming Portable OSs & Modern Computing

The single most influential programming language today might be C. Invented at Bell Labs in the ’70s, it was one of the first high-level programming languages to have an operating system written in it. And that operating system just happens to be Unix. Because it was written in C, it was possible to move Unix to different platforms.

Rewriting Unix in C was a major breakthrough. Previously, operating systems were written in assembly language, as they had to be really close to the hardware. C, on the other hand, was a higher-level language but was still close enough to the hardware to write an operating system in.

This made Unix one of the first portable operating systems. A C program could be compiled to run on different operating systems, but since most of the early C programmers also happened to be Unix programmers, they tended to assume that their programs would be run under Unix and developed their code accordingly. Because it was relatively easy to port Unix to other computers, lots of people did so.

C has obviously had a lot of success outside of Unix. Windows is coded in C, as are many other applications.

As C creator Dennis Ritchie wrote, “C is quirky, flawed, and an enormous success. While accidents of history surely helped, it evidently satisfied a need for a system implementation language efficient enough to displace assembly language, yet sufficiently abstract and fluent to describe algorithms and interactions in a wide variety of environments.”

3. Perl: “Duct Tape” for Enabling Dynamic Web Content

Perl isn’t as talked-about as it was in the ’90s, but it is still a major part of the internet. In fact, it owes its popularity to the internet. Perl was invented in the late ’80s by Larry Wall when he was working for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, as recounted in a book called “Programming Perl.”

Wall needed a configuration management system to talk to several Unix computers on opposite coasts. None of the existing Unix tools could do the job, so he took the lazy route and invented a whole new programming language.

Wall, as recounted, released it in 1987 over Usenet and it attracted an instant community of developers across the growing internet, one of the first major open-source projects to gain traction before Linux.

When the web took off, Perl found a niche as one of the languages of choice for developing dynamic web pages. Syntactically, it resembled C but was implemented at an even higher level without the need to manually manage memory. This meant that developers could write, test, and debug programs quickly.

Perl is very flexible, leading to some ugly code. Its combination of ugliness and usefulness has given it the moniker of “the duct tape of the internet.”

Although Python and PHP have stolen a bit of Perl’s thunder, its importance to the spread of the internet is undeniable.

4. PHP: Powering Dynamic Web Pages & Modern Websites

Speaking of PHP, this language has dethroned Perl as one of the major building blocks of modern dynamic web pages. Like Perl, it has a reputation for letting people write ugly code, yet it still runs a lot of websites that people use every day, including Facebook. It was created in 1994 by Rasmus Lerdorf.

PHP might make computer scientists scoff, but if you want to be taken seriously as a web developer, it’s a skill you should have on your resume.

The reason that it’s become so popular is that PHP code can be embedded right into a web page. This means you don’t have to put your PHP script in a separate program and generate HTML code using Perl or C.

This makes it very easy for people who already know HTML to learn PHP and add interactivity to their pages. It’s also easy to integrate PHP with an SQL server such as MySQL.

5. SQL: Structuring Data Across the Web

SQL stands for Structured Query Language. It’s a way to form queries for relational databases. It’s also relatively easy to learn, as it uses English-like commands. There are plenty of implementations, such as MySQL and PostgreSQL, which are popular open-source relational database servers.

SQLite is a smaller variant that is used in many applications, such as Apple’s iTunes.

Although invented by Edgar F. Codd in the 1970s, SQL and the relational database took a while to become popular. Oracle first popularized relational databases, then MySQL made it a must-have technology for building websites. The relational model provided a simple and efficient way to manage large amounts of data.

6. Python: Redefining Development, Data Science & Automation

Python is the creation of Guido van Rossum and is most commonly used for developing websites and software. It was initially designed as a general-purpose language that focused on readability and simplicity. The ripple effect of its impact can be found in everything from task automation and data analysis to data visualization. These are just a few reasons why Python remains a top choice for developers.

The language has continued to evolve through several major versions, with Python 3 released in 2008, marking a notable update that would improve consistency and remove legacy features. Today, it can be found in the backend services and processes of everything from Facebook to Netflix.

One of the biggest reasons the language remains so popular today is that Python programs can run on different operating systems, such as Windows, macOS, and Linux, without requiring changes to the code.

Being open-source, Python encourages a collaborative approach to development driven by a passionate community that contributes to libraries and frameworks while also supporting each other.

7. JavaScript: Standardizing Interactivity Across the Web

One of the unsung heroes of shaping open-source web standards on the web is Brendan Eich, who many will know for his time at Mozilla, Firefox, and the Brave Browser. But if we go back to May 1995, Eich created JavaScript during his time at Netscape Communications.

This moment would spark a pivotal role in the development of the internet, even though its quirks were often blamed for JavaScript fatigue.

Despite challenges during the infamous browser wars, where incompatible versions like Microsoft’s JScript emerged, JavaScript’s adaptability has been marked by significant updates in ECMAScript versions over the years.

Today, JavaScript remains one of the most popular programming languages in the world, thanks to its versatility and ubiquity across all major web browsers.

8. Ruby: Transforming Web Applications With Rails

Yukihiro “Matz” Matsumoto famously created Ruby in 1993. His unique emphasis on making coding enjoyable and productive would lay the groundwork for what would become a pivotal language in web development.

Matsumoto’s inspiration from programming paradigms in Perl, Smalltalk, Eiffel, Ada, and Lisp infused Ruby with a design philosophy focused on developer satisfaction and expressiveness.

This philosophy was further propelled into the global spotlight with the release of the Ruby on Rails framework in 2005, which revolutionized the building of web applications by enabling rapid development cycles and enhancing code maintainability.

The language’s readability simplifies the coding process, making it more accessible and reducing barriers to entry for new programmers. Today, the developer-friendly syntax has helped Ruby on Rails to remain popular in web application projects.

9. Go (Golang): Building Scalable Applications

Conceived by Robert Griesemer, Rob Pike, and Ken Thompson, Go was designed to streamline the flaws of other languages while preserving their best attributes. Go was publicly released as an open-source project in November 2009, with its first stable version launching in March 2012. But it quickly became known as Golang, due to its original domain name, golang.org.

Go was designed to improve programming productivity in the era of multicore, network machines, and large codebases to address criticisms of other languages utilized by Google at the time.

Today, Go’s presence can be found in building and maintaining internet infrastructure, particularly in developing microservices, cloud services, and other network applications.

Its built-in support for concurrent programming with goroutines and channels, fast compilation times, and the ability to operate across multiple platforms have made it a go-to language for developers looking to build high-performance and scalable web applications.

10. TypeScript: Bridging the Gap in Large-Scale JavaScript Development

Microsoft developed TypeScript with Anders Hejlsberg as the lead architect. It was released on October 1, 2012. The language was designed to overcome the challenges of managing large and complex codebases in JavaScript.

Today, TypeScript’s integration of static typing into JavaScript enhances code quality and maintainability, which is crucial for large-scale application development. The language offers superior tooling support with features like IntelliSense and advanced refactoring. All of which has helped streamline the development process.

Additionally, TypeScript ensures compatibility with the latest ECMAScript features while supporting transpilation to standards-based JavaScript. This ensures that code can run in any browser or JavaScript engine.

The open-source nature of TypeScript, coupled with support from Microsoft, has fueled ongoing development and community-driven improvements, making it even more popular with developers.

4 Honorable Mentions

11. C#: Limited Yet Powerful Appeal in Web Development

C# is extensively used in web development, especially in environments that leverage Microsoft’s .NET framework, such as ASP.NET, for building dynamic web pages and services.

It could arguably feature higher in the list for web development due to its popularity in corporate environments that heavily rely on Microsoft technologies. But it’s not as widely used outside of this niche.

12. Swift: Niche Server-Side Use Beyond iOS & MacOS Development

Swift is used to develop iOS and macOS applications. Swift has gained adoption in server-side programming with frameworks like Vapor.

However, it’s less commonly used for web development when compared to languages like JavaScript or Python.

13. Kotlin: Popular for Android, Less So for Web Development

While Kotlin is a popular choice for Android app development, its use in web development outside of this niche is less dominant.

It’s often used on the server side with frameworks like Ktor, but it has a different ecosystem and community support level for web development than Java or JavaScript.

14. Rust: High Performance With a Niche Web Development Presence

Rust is gaining traction for its performance and safety features, particularly in system programming and areas where memory safety is crucial. It’s also used in web assembly projects requiring high web browser performance.

But Rust is not typically used for general web development tasks like building web applications or backend services where languages like JavaScript or Python are the most common standard.

The Bottom Line

When rapidly clicking through tabs on their browsers, many are blissfully unaware of the foundational role that these programming languages have played in shaping the internet we all take for granted.

Although software development trends are evolving, with new tools emerging every day, many of these languages continue to shape the future of the web.

FAQs