Imagine running a massive train station where dozens of trains (applications) are coming and going every minute. Each train needs to be fueled, cleaned, redirected, and kept on schedule. Now imagine doing all this manually. Chaos, right? That’s exactly how tech infrastructure would look without DevOps.
DevOps is the art of automating, orchestrating, and monitoring the digital train station—where coding languages act as the control panels and robotic arms managing every task behind the scenes. And if you’re wondering about the best programming language to learn to become a DevOps magician, buckle up for a unique ride through the DevOps toolyard.
Python – The Swiss Army Robot
In the automation universe, Python is like an all-purpose robot with hundreds of arms. Need to automate server configurations? Python. Want to write a script for AWS Lambda? Python. Need to integrate monitoring tools, write CI/CD pipelines, or analyze log files? Python again.
That’s why many call Python the best programming language to learn for DevOps beginners and pros alike—it balances simplicity with powerful capabilities.
Bash – The Command-Line Wizard
Imagine a language that talks directly to your servers like a whisper in their ear. That’s Bash scripting. It’s not flashy, but in the world of DevOps, Bash is a legend. Want to write startup scripts, automate backups, configure systems, or schedule cron jobs? Bash gets it done with minimal overhead.
While Bash isn’t ideal for complex logic or large-scale apps, it’s unbeatable for quick server-level automation. Most DevOps engineers master Bash alongside other languages because it’s the foundation for interacting with Unix/Linux systems.
So, if you’re thinking about mastering the DevOps realm, Bash is definitely among the best programming languages to learn, especially for those working in Linux-heavy environments.
Go (Golang) – The Scalable Wrench
Go is the language of performance, speed, and concurrency—like a wrench that tightens thousands of bolts at once. It was developed at Google for system-level programming and has become increasingly popular in cloud-native environments.
Many modern DevOps tools like Docker, Kubernetes, and Terraform are built with Go. Its statically typed nature, fast compilation, and powerful concurrency handling make it ideal for building infrastructure tools that need to scale.
If you’re aiming to work with or contribute to cloud-native infrastructure, Go could be the best programming language to learn to build performant, reliable, and scalable DevOps tools.
Ruby – The Automation Butler
Once the darling of DevOps, Ruby still commands respect thanks to Chef and Puppet—two popular infrastructure-as-code tools. Ruby offers clean, expressive syntax and rapid development, making it useful in configuration management and scripted deployments.
Though not as dominant today, Ruby still serves as a graceful automation butler in legacy DevOps systems.
For those dealing with legacy stacks or specialized DevOps platforms, Ruby can still be considered a valuable programming language to learn.
YAML & JSON – The Silent Coordinators
Not programming languages in the traditional sense, but YAML and JSON deserve mention. These data serialization formats act as blueprints and configuration maps in DevOps pipelines. Tools like Kubernetes, GitHub Actions, and Docker Compose rely heavily on YAML/JSON.
You don’t need to “learn” them like Python or Go, but understanding them is absolutely vital.
What Should You Learn First?
If you’re stepping into the DevOps world and asking, what’s the best programming language to learn?—here’s your roadmap:
- Start with Python – for its automation power and versatility.
- Learn Bash – for command-line scripting and server control.
- Master Go – if you want to work on or with tools like Kubernetes and Docker.
- Pick up YAML/JSON – for infrastructure configuration fluency.
In the world of DevOps, you are both the engineer and the conductor. The right programming language won’t just get your trains moving—it’ll keep them running on time, through tunnels, over mountains, and straight to the future. So choose wisely, and choose the best programming language to learn that aligns with your DevOps dreams.
