# Comparison of multi-paradigm programming languages

Programming languages can be grouped by the number and types of paradigms supported.

## Paradigm summaries

A concise reference for the programming paradigms listed in this article.
* Concurrent programming – have language constructs for concurrency, these may involve multi-threading, support for distributed computing, message passing, shared resources (including shared memory), or futures
** Actor programming – concurrent computation with actors that make local decisions in response to the environment (capable of selfish or competitive behaviour)
* Constraint programming – relations between variables are expressed as constraints (or constraint networks), directing allowable solutions (uses constraint satisfaction or simplex algorithm)
* Dataflow programming – forced recalculation of formulas when data values change (e.g. spreadsheets)
* Declarative programming – describes what computation should perform, without specifying detailed state changes c.f. imperative programming (functional and logic programming are major subgroups of declarative programming)
* Distributed programming – have support for multiple autonomous computers that communicate via computer networks
* Functional programming – uses evaluation of mathematical functions and avoids state and mutable data
* Generic programming – uses algorithms written in terms of to-be-specified-later types that are then instantiated as needed for specific types provided as parameters
* Imperative programming – explicit statements that change a program state
* Logic programming – uses explicit mathematical logic for programming
* Metaprogramming – writing programs that write or manipulate other programs (or themselves) as their data, or that do part of the work at compile time that would otherwise be done at runtime
** Template metaprogramming – metaprogramming methods in which a compiler uses templates to generate temporary source code, which is merged by the compiler with the rest of the source code and then compiled
** Reflective programming – metaprogramming methods in which a program modifies or extends itself
* Object-oriented programming – uses data structures consisting of data fields and methods together with their interactions (objects) to design programs
** Class-based – object-oriented programming in which inheritance is achieved by defining classes of objects, versus the objects themselves
** Prototype-based – object-oriented programming that avoids classes and implements inheritance via cloning of instances
* Pipeline programming – a simple syntax change to add syntax to nest function calls to language originally designed with none
* Rule-based programming – a network of rules of thumb that comprise a knowledge base and can be used for expert systems and problem deduction & resolution
* Visual programming – manipulating program elements graphically rather than by specifying them textually (e.g. Simulink); also termed diagrammatic programming

## Language overview

List of multi-paradigm programming languages :
| Language | Paradigm count | Concurrent | Constraints | Dataflow | Declarative | Distributed | Functional | Metaprogramming | Generic | Imperative | Logic | Reflection | Object-oriented | Pipelines | Visual | Rule-based | Other |
| Ada | 5 | Yes | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| ALF | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AmigaE | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| APL | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | — | Array (multi-dimensional) |
| BETA | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| C++ | 7 (15) | Yes | Library | Library | Library | Library | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Library | Library | Yes | Yes | — | Library | Array (multi-dimensional; using STL) |
| C# | 6 (7) | Yes | — | Library | — | — | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | Reactive |
| ChucK | 3 | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| Claire | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| Clojure | 5 | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | Library | — | — | Yes | Editor | — | Multiple dispatch, Agents |
| Common Lisp | 7 (14) | Library | Library | Library | Yes | Library | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Library | Yes | Yes | Library | Library | Library | Multiple dispatch, meta-OOP system, Language is extensible via metaprogramming. |
| Curl | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| Curry | 4 | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| D (version 2.0) | 7 | Yes | — | — | — | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| Delphi | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| Dylan | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| E | 3 | Yes | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| ECMAScript (ActionScript, E4X, JavaScript, JScript) | 4 (5) | Partial | — | — | Library | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | Library | Editor | — | Reactive, event driven |
| Erlang | 3 | Yes | — | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| Elixir | 4 | Yes | — | — | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| Elm | 6 | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | Yes (pure) | — | Yes | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | Reactive |
| F# | 7 (8) | Yes | — | Library | Yes | — | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | Reactive |
| Fortran | 4 (5) | Yes | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | Array (multi-dimensional) |
| Go | 4 | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | — |
| Haskell | 8 (15) | Yes | Library | Library | Yes | Library | Yes (lazy) (pure) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Library | — | Partial | Yes | Yes | Library | Literate, reactive, dependent types (partial) |
| Io | 4 | Yes | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| J | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| Java | 6 | Yes | Library | Library | — | — | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| Julia | 9 (17) | Yes | Library | Library | Library | Yes | Yes (eager) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Library | Yes | Partial | Yes | — | Library | Multiple dispatch, Array (multi-dimensional); optionally lazy and reactive (with libraries) |
| Kotlin | 8 | Yes | — | — | — | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | — |
| LabVIEW | 4 | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | Yes | — | — |
| Lava | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | Yes | — | — |
| LispWorks (version 6.0 with support for symmetric multi-processing, rules, logic (Prolog), CORBA) | 9 | Yes | — | — | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | Yes | — |
| Lua | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| MATLAB | 6 (10) | Toolbox | Toolbox | Yes | — | Toolbox | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | — | Array (multi-dimensional) |
| Nemerle | 7 | Yes | — | — | — | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| Object Pascal | 4 | Yes | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| OCaml | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| Oz | 11 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | — |
| Perl | 8 (9) | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | — |
| PHP | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| Poplog | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Prograph | 3 | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | Yes | — | — |
| Python | 5 (10) | Library | Library | — | — | Library | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Library | Yes | Yes | — | Editor | — | Structured |
| R | 4 (6) | Library | — | — | — | Library | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | Array (multi-dimensional) |
| Racket | 10 | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | Lazy |
| Raku | 10 | Yes | Library | Yes | — | Library | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | Multiple dispatch, lazy lists, reactive. |
| ROOP | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — | Yes | — |
| Ruby | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| Rust (version 1.0.0-alpha) | 6 | Yes | — | — | — | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | Linear, affline, and ownership types |
| Sather | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| Scala | 9 | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| Simula | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| SISAL | 3 | Yes | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Spreadsheets | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — |
| Swift | 7 | Yes | — | — | — | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | Block-structured |
| Tcl with Snit extension | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | — | Yes | — | — | — | — |
| Visual Basic .NET | 6 (7) | Yes | — | Library | — | — | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | — | — | Reactive |
| Windows PowerShell | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | — | — |
| Wolfram Language & Mathematica | 13 (14) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | — | Yes | Knowledge Based |