Every programming language needs its killer app to succeed

Every successful product has a clear purpose, a reason to exist, a unique value proposition that addresses an important pain point.

A programming language is no different: it needs a killer app that drives adoption and overcomes resistance to change.

Testing the theory

To test this theory, I put together a short list of popular and emerging programming languages and tried to summarize their raison d’être in a few words. Interestingly, most are backed by major companies with a vested interest in the language’s success. The others are supported by highly active and committed user communities.

Here is the list:

• Statically typed languages:
  • C → Replace assembly in Unix (Bell Labs)
  • C++ → C with OOP (Bell Labs)
  • Java → Portable, garbage collected alternative to C++ (Sun)
  • C# → Microsoft’s own Java (Microsoft)
  • Go → Write servers and tools at Google scale (Google)
  • Rust → Memory safety with zero overhead (Mozilla)
  • Dart → Multi-platform apps with Flutter (Google)
  • Kotlin → Modern Java for Android (JetBrains)
  • Swift → Modern Objective-C for iOS and macOS (Apple)
  • Zig → Replace C with a modern and safer language
• Dynamically typed languages:
  • Python → Scripting language for web apps, tools, scientific computing and ML (CWI, CNRI)
  • JavaScript → Scripting language for the web browser (Netscape)
  • TypeScript → JavaScript with type safety (Microsoft)
  • Ruby → “True object-oriented” scripting language, popularized by Rails
  • PHP → Web pages
  • Lua → Embeddable scripting language (PUC-Rio)
  • R → Statistics (University of Auckland)

Note: This list should ideally include other great languages such as OCaml, F#, Haskell, Scala, Lisp, Clojure, Julia, D, Nim, Erlang, Elixir, Gleam, Fortran, Ada, Perl, and more. But I ran out of time — so I’ll leave that as an exercise for the reader. 🙂

Takeaway

These languages all have something in common: a clear and compelling reason to exist. They weren’t invented in a vacuum. Each one solves a real problem, serves a distinct niche, or enables something that wasn’t practical before.

So the next time a new language shows up on your radar, ask yourself: what’s its killer app?

Further reading:

• Discussion on Lobsters
• Every programming language has its ‘killer’ domain, a follow-up post by Rik Huijzer