Polyglot Programming

This refers to the use of multiple programming languages for an application. The idea is to use the language that best fits for developing the functionality.

The concept of polyglot programming has been around for quite some time now. Any dynamic web application includes coding in HTML, Javascript apart from a main language. Any app that requires database for storing data uses SQL to store, update and query data apart from a main language.

Single language for the whole app was in main stream during the 80’s and early 90’s when a language like C, COBOL, … is used for everything done by the app, right from delivering the UI to persisting the data in the database.

Increasingly there is a move to the adoption of multiple languages, even for the main language used the app development. 

Threading intensive functionality can use a language that support easy and efficient management of threads. 

Similarly IO intensive functionality can use a language that good at handling IO.

With the arrival of micro-services and containerization, the adoption of polyglot programming is expected to increase.

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