The table below will help you determine which language is most suitable to a particular task. Follow the links for more information.
| Mobile phone apps and games | Java (specifically J2ME), some PDAs support C++ |
| Complex animations and games embedded in web pages | Actionscript |
| Windows only application development | C# |
| Cross platform application development | Java |
| Embedded software (software for appliances and machines) | C, C++ |
| Server-side programming | C# (specifically asp.net), PHP, Perl, Java |
| Computer games | C++ |
| Network communications | Java |
| Special effects on web pages | Javascript, DHTML |
| Resource intensive tasks e.g. audio, graphics, video | C++ (and to a lesser extent these days, Assembly Language) |
| Learning to program | Basic used to be recommended |
| Desktop user interfaces | C++ |
| Kernel or device driver development | C (C++ considered fanciful) |
| Web 2.0 | Ajax (a term that covers a multitude of sins, for an expression that does too) |