Traditional programming languages still preferred by engineers

Despite the plethora of programming languages in modern electronics today, C and C++, first developed in the 70s and 80s, are still viewed as the most important starting points for electronics engineers, a poll conducted among the element14 Community has revealed.

More than 110 responses from the community for electronics engineers deemed C/C++ the most important starting point, with 54% of the votes. The second most popular choice was the more recently developed Python, gaining 18% of the vote, with Java, Assembly and Basic following respectively.

Debate was nonetheless heated with many users advising against learning C or C++. element14 Community member John Beetem said: “Personally, I think C and C++ are terrible first programming languages. C is a great language for writing compact code that maps directly into machine language, but for teaching programming concepts in my opinion you’re much better off with a less compact language that clarifies the concepts you’re trying to teach.”

Meanwhile, element14 Community member Guy Grotke argued the case for C, saying: “EEs should learn C first, but not bother with C++ so much. C compilers are available for every processor made and by learning C you will be able to write code that runs on all of them. Learn to depend on C++ and you are not going to be happy when you need to program a PIC or some other tiny microprocessor. Your second language depends on your area of interest.”

“Learning code is fast becoming a hot topic, and many countries are now including it as a key part of their educational curriculums,” said Global Head of Community Dianne Kibbey. “With this in mind, we wanted to hear from engineers what language they thought people should be learning, and it’s clearly a topic that divided opinion. Devices like the Raspberry Pi, Beaglebone Black and RIoTboard have piqued interest in many different coding languages, yet it’s clear the traditional C-based languages are still important for engineers to learn.”

The poll was the first in a series to take place on the element14 Community, highlighting the real views of electronics engineers. The next poll is currently live and asks which technology will be most important over the next two years. Choices include graphene, the Internet of Things and sensors, nanotechnology, 3D printing and scanning, wearable technology and virtual reality eyewear