Businesses are incorporating cloud technology into their operations to avail themselves of its myriad of benefits. It has the ability to handle and store large sets of data while aiding in analytics with optimized resource allocation and costs.
To stand out from their competitors and develop cloud infrastructure that can be easily automated while being efficient, the right programming language for cloud scripting must be selected.
The applications of today require a lot of computational power, and the language chosen determines its security, scalability, and overall performance.
These are the 4 best programming languages for cloud scripting.
On a side note, an employee looking to be hired as a cloud engineer can consider mastering two or more languages to have a competitive advantage.
Python as a Programming Language
Created in the early 1990s, Python has become the most commonly used language for cloud scripting. Today, millions of developers, novices and veterans alike, use it as per their requirements.
Because of its widespread community, there are an ample number of resources available for learning and development in programming.
Python boasts a wide array of libraries, such as ‘Flask’ for smaller applications and ‘boto3’ for Amazon Web Services (AWS). This makes it easier to write and manage software across the cloud developmental cycle with Python.
In terms of automation, Python can seamlessly deploy applications and execute repetitive tasks with ease. Although performance can be a bit slow compared to other languages.
Ruby for Cloud Scripting
Developed nearly four years after Python, Ruby is the go-to choice for beginners with an equitable mix of ease of use and functionality.
It is well known for its refined syntax, and it provides access to thousands of libraries and frameworks, simplifying application development.
The descriptive syntax of Ruby makes it a clear choice for coding automation scripts that can handle day-to-day tasks and manage resources with ease.
However, it is not ideal for high-performance tasks, which are critical to business operations.
Go as a Programming Language
Moving on to the languages developed in the 21st century, Go primarily offers support for completing concurrent tasks and server development.
It has a relatively standard library compared to other languages. However, as its primary focus is on providing support for concurrent programming, its threads (Goroutines) are more memory-efficient and lightweight compared to others.
Given that it has been less than two decades since its creation, it is less advanced and therefore less known compared to older languages.
JavaScript (with Node.js)
Coming to the final point in the list, JavaScript (the language) with Node.js (the runtime environment) can run both client-side web development and server-side execution.
Since it caters to both front-end and back-end developers, it has become popular among the masses. It is best used for I/O-intensive operations handling a large number of connections.
Conclusion
Selecting a programming language for cloud scripting depends on the industry, pre-existing cloud infrastructure, the experience and expertise of cloud engineers, and more. Each language presents its own set of benefits and drawbacks.
Making an informed decision while keeping in mind all the pertinent factors will be the deciding factor for a business. As technology evolves, so will new programming languages be developed, altering cloud infrastructures and their operations.
