150 Essential Programming Languages, Compilers, and Development Tools

Introduction

From compiled languages to scripting, here are 150 essential programming languages, compilers, and development tools.

📑 Table of Contents

Compiled Languages

1. GCC

GNU Compiler Collection for C/C++/Fortran.

Download GCC

2. Clang/LLVM

C language family frontend for LLVM.

Download LLVM

3. Rust

Memory-safe systems programming language.

Download Rust

4. Go

Simple, reliable, efficient language by Google.

Download Go

5. Zig

Low-level programming language.

Download Zig

6. D

Systems programming language.

Download D

7. Nim

Efficient, expressive compiled language.

Download Nim

8. Crystal

Ruby-like syntax, compiled to native code.

Download Crystal

9. V

Simple, fast compiled language.

Download V

10. Odin

Data-oriented programming language.

Download Odin

JVM Languages

11. Java (OpenJDK)

Platform-independent programming language.

Download OpenJDK

12. Kotlin

Modern JVM language by JetBrains.

Download Kotlin

13. Scala

Functional and object-oriented language.

Download Scala

14. Groovy

Dynamic language for the JVM.

Download Groovy

15. Clojure

Functional Lisp dialect for JVM.

Download Clojure

16. GraalVM

High-performance polyglot VM.

Download GraalVM

Scripting Languages

17. Python

Versatile high-level programming language.

Download Python

18. Ruby

Dynamic, object-oriented language.

Download Ruby

19. Perl

High-level, general-purpose language.

Download Perl

20. PHP

Server-side scripting language.

Download PHP

21. Lua

Lightweight embeddable scripting language.

Download Lua

22. Tcl

Tool Command Language.

Download Tcl

23. AWK

Pattern scanning and processing.

Download GAWK

JavaScript/TypeScript

24. Node.js

JavaScript runtime.

Download Node.js

25. Deno

Secure JavaScript/TypeScript runtime.

Download Deno

26. Bun

Fast JavaScript runtime.

Download Bun

27. TypeScript

Typed superset of JavaScript.

Download TypeScript

28. esbuild

Extremely fast JS bundler.

Download esbuild

29. swc

Rust-based JS/TS compiler.

Download swc

30. Babel

JavaScript compiler.

Download Babel

Functional Languages

31. Haskell (GHC)

Purely functional programming language.

Download Haskell

32. OCaml

Functional language with type inference.

Download OCaml

33. F#

Functional-first .NET language.

Download F#

34. Erlang

Concurrent functional language.

Download Erlang

35. Elixir

Dynamic functional language on Erlang VM.

Download Elixir

36. Gleam

Type-safe language for Erlang VM.

Download Gleam

37. Elm

Functional language for web frontend.

Download Elm

38. PureScript

Strongly-typed functional language for JS.

Download PureScript

39. Racket

General-purpose Lisp dialect.

Download Racket

40. Common Lisp (SBCL)

High-performance Common Lisp compiler.

Download SBCL

.NET Languages

41. .NET SDK

Cross-platform development platform.

Download .NET

42. C#

Modern object-oriented language.

Get C#

43. Mono

Open-source .NET implementation.

Download Mono

Shell and Scripting

44. Bash

GNU Bourne Again Shell.

Download Bash

45. Zsh

Extended Bourne shell.

Download Zsh

46. Fish

Friendly interactive shell.

Download Fish

47. PowerShell

Cross-platform task automation.

Download PowerShell

48. Nushell

Modern shell with structured data.

Download Nushell

Web Frameworks

49. Django

Python web framework.

Download Django

50. Flask

Lightweight Python web framework.

Download Flask

51. FastAPI

Modern Python API framework.

Download FastAPI

52. Ruby on Rails

Full-stack Ruby framework.

Download Rails

53. Laravel

PHP web application framework.

Download Laravel

54. Symfony

PHP framework for web projects.

Download Symfony

55. Spring Boot

Java application framework.

Download Spring Boot

56. Express.js

Minimal Node.js web framework.

Download Express

57. NestJS

Progressive Node.js framework.

Download NestJS

58. Next.js

React framework for production.

Download Next.js

59. Nuxt.js

Vue.js application framework.

Download Nuxt

60. SvelteKit

Svelte application framework.

Download SvelteKit

Frontend Libraries

61. React

JavaScript library for building UIs.

Download React

62. Vue.js

Progressive JavaScript framework.

Download Vue

63. Angular

Platform for building web apps.

Download Angular

64. Svelte

Compile-time frontend framework.

Download Svelte

65. Solid.js

Reactive JavaScript library.

Download Solid

66. Preact

Fast 3kB alternative to React.

Download Preact

67. htmx

High-power tools for HTML.

Download htmx

68. Alpine.js

Lightweight JavaScript framework.

Download Alpine

Build Tools

69. Make

Build automation tool.

Download Make

70. CMake

Cross-platform build system.

Download CMake

71. Meson

Fast build system.

Download Meson

72. Ninja

Small build system.

Download Ninja

73. Bazel

Build and test tool by Google.

Download Bazel

74. Buck2

Build system by Meta.

Download Buck2

75. Gradle

Build automation for JVM.

Download Gradle

76. Maven

Java project management.

Download Maven

77. Cargo

Rust package manager and build tool.

Get Cargo

Package Managers

78. npm

Node.js package manager.

Get npm

79. yarn

Fast, reliable JavaScript package manager.

Download Yarn

80. pnpm

Fast, disk space efficient package manager.

Download pnpm

81. pip

Python package installer.

Get pip

82. poetry

Python dependency management.

Download Poetry

83. uv

Fast Python package installer.

Download uv

84. Bundler

Ruby dependency manager.

Download Bundler

85. Composer

PHP dependency manager.

Download Composer

86. Hex

Elixir package manager.

Get Hex

87. opam

OCaml package manager.

Download opam

88. Cabal

Haskell build tool.

Download Cabal

89. Stack

Haskell build tool.

Download Stack

Bundlers

90. Webpack

JavaScript module bundler.

Download Webpack

91. Vite

Next-gen frontend tooling.

Download Vite

92. Rollup

JavaScript module bundler.

Download Rollup

93. Parcel

Zero-configuration bundler.

Download Parcel

94. Turbopack

Rust-powered successor to Webpack.

Download Turbopack

95. Rspack

Rust-based web bundler.

Download Rspack

Testing

96. Jest

JavaScript testing framework.

Download Jest

97. Vitest

Vite-native testing framework.

Download Vitest

98. pytest

Python testing framework.

Download pytest

99. RSpec

Ruby testing tool.

Download RSpec

100. JUnit

Java unit testing framework.

Download JUnit

Debugging

101. GDB

GNU Debugger.

Download GDB

102. LLDB

LLVM debugger.

Download LLDB

103. Valgrind

Memory debugging tool.

Download Valgrind

104. strace

System call tracer.

Download strace

105. ltrace

Library call tracer.

Download ltrace

Version Managers

106. asdf

Universal version manager.

Download asdf

107. mise

Dev environment setup tool.

Download mise

108. nvm

Node Version Manager.

Download nvm

109. pyenv

Python version management.

Download pyenv

110. rbenv

Ruby version manager.

Download rbenv

111. rustup

Rust toolchain installer.

Download rustup

112. gvm

Go version manager.

Download gvm

113. sdkman

SDK manager for JVM.

Download SDKMAN

Data Science

114. R

Statistical computing language.

Download R

115. Julia

High-performance scientific computing.

Download Julia

116. NumPy

Python numerical computing.

Download NumPy

117. Pandas

Python data analysis library.

Download Pandas

118. SciPy

Scientific computing for Python.

Download SciPy

119. TensorFlow

Machine learning framework.

Download TensorFlow

120. PyTorch

Deep learning framework.

Download PyTorch

Mobile Development

121. Flutter

Cross-platform UI toolkit.

Download Flutter

122. React Native

Mobile apps with React.

Download React Native

123. Kotlin Multiplatform

Cross-platform development.

Get Kotlin MP

124. Capacitor

Native runtime for web apps.

Download Capacitor

125. Ionic

Cross-platform app development.

Download Ionic

Game Development

126. Godot

Open-source game engine.

Download Godot

127. SDL2

Cross-platform multimedia library.

Download SDL2

128. SFML

Simple multimedia library.

Download SFML

129. Raylib

Simple game programming library.

Download Raylib

130. Love2D

Lua game framework.

Download Love2D

Embedded

131. Arduino CLI

Arduino command-line tool.

Download Arduino CLI

132. PlatformIO

Embedded development platform.

Download PlatformIO

133. ESP-IDF

Espressif IoT Development Framework.

Download ESP-IDF

134. MicroPython

Python for microcontrollers.

Download MicroPython

135. CircuitPython

Beginner-friendly microcontroller Python.

Download CircuitPython

Documentation

136. Doxygen

Documentation generator.

Download Doxygen

137. Sphinx

Python documentation generator.

Download Sphinx

138. JSDoc

JavaScript documentation generator.

Download JSDoc

139. rustdoc

Rust documentation tool.

Get rustdoc

140. godoc

Go documentation tool.

Get godoc

Static Analysis

141. SonarQube

Code quality and security.

Download SonarQube

142. Semgrep

Static analysis tool.

Download Semgrep

143. Cppcheck

C/C++ static analysis.

Download Cppcheck

144. clang-tidy

Clang-based C++ linter.

Get clang-tidy

145. mypy

Python static type checker.

Download mypy

Profiling

146. perf

Linux profiling with performance counters.

Get perf

147. Flamegraph

Stack trace visualizer.

Download Flamegraph

148. gperftools

Google performance tools.

Download gperftools

149. Heaptrack

Heap memory profiler.

Download Heaptrack

150. py-spy

Python sampling profiler.

Download py-spy

Conclusion

These 150 programming languages and development tools provide a comprehensive foundation for software development across all domains.

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About Ramesh Sundararamaiah

Red Hat Certified Architect

Expert in Linux system administration, DevOps automation, and cloud infrastructure. Specializing in Red Hat Enterprise Linux, CentOS, Ubuntu, Docker, Ansible, and enterprise IT solutions.

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