Why are there so many different programming languages?

When we strip away all the jargon and tech-speak, we find that programming can be distilled down to a handful of core activities: computation, decision-making, searching, storing, retrieving, and rendering. Problem-solving, for short.

All programming languages achieve this. And yet, new languages keep popping up with their own unique quirks and philosophies. (There are over 700 documented programming languages in existence—though thankfully, you won't need to learn most of them.) So why do we need Python and PHP and Java and JavaScript and Rust and Go and Kotlin? Why couldn't the computing gods just agree on one?

Simple: not all problems are created equal.

Every programming language has its strengths and weaknesses. Python, for instance, trades raw speed for readability—it's often 10 to 100 times slower than C, but you can write functional code in a fraction of the time. Rust offers memory safety without a garbage collector, which is why it's been voted "most loved language" on Stack Overflow for seven years running. JavaScript was famously designed in just 10 days, and honestly, sometimes it shows. (We love you anyway, JS.)

If you understand what each language excels at, you can pick the best tool for your specific problem. Sure, you could solve everything by mastering a single language—but you'd quickly run into trade-offs: compile times, runtime performance, memory management, library ecosystems, and the small matter of your own sanity.