Python, JavaScript, Java: ZDNet Calculates The Most Popular Programming Languages (zdnet.com) 39
Pundits aggregate results from multiple pollsters to minimize biases. So ZDNet tried the same approach, but aggregating rankings for the popularity of 19 top programming languages. Senior contributing editor David Gewirtz combined results from nine popularity rankings, including PYPL, the Tiobe index, GitHub's Usage 2023 summary report, and several rankings from Stack Overflow and from IEEE Spectrum.
The results? The top cluster contains Python, JavaScript, and Java. These are all very representative in the world of AI coding...
The next cluster contains the classic C-based languages [C++, C#, C], plus TypeScript (which is a more robust JavaScript variant) and SQL.
Below that are languages that were dominant a while ago, the web languages used to build and operate websites [HTML/CSS, PHP, Shell], followed by a range of other languages that are either growing in popularity (R, Dart) or dropping in popularity (Ruby). [Just above Ruby are Go, Rust, Kotlin, and Lua.]
Finally, at the bottom is Swift, Apple's language of choice. Objective-C, the previous language of Apple programming, has all but dropped off the list since Apple launched Swift. But while Apple boasts many developers, Swift is clearly not a standout in programmer interest... [T]here aren't a huge number of companies hiring Apple app developers, at least primarily. That's why Swift is relatively far down the chart. Objective-C is being replaced by Swift, and we can see it dropping right before our eyes.
"With the exception of Java, the C-family of languages still dominates," the article concludes, before adding that if you're only going to learn one language, "I'd recommend Python, Java, and JavaScript instead." But it also advises aspiring programmers to learn "multiple languages and multiple frameworks. Build things in the languages. Programming is not just an intellectual exercise. You have to actually make stuff....
"[L]earning how to learn languages is as important as learning a language — and the best way to do that is to learn more than one."
The results? The top cluster contains Python, JavaScript, and Java. These are all very representative in the world of AI coding...
The next cluster contains the classic C-based languages [C++, C#, C], plus TypeScript (which is a more robust JavaScript variant) and SQL.
Below that are languages that were dominant a while ago, the web languages used to build and operate websites [HTML/CSS, PHP, Shell], followed by a range of other languages that are either growing in popularity (R, Dart) or dropping in popularity (Ruby). [Just above Ruby are Go, Rust, Kotlin, and Lua.]
Finally, at the bottom is Swift, Apple's language of choice. Objective-C, the previous language of Apple programming, has all but dropped off the list since Apple launched Swift. But while Apple boasts many developers, Swift is clearly not a standout in programmer interest... [T]here aren't a huge number of companies hiring Apple app developers, at least primarily. That's why Swift is relatively far down the chart. Objective-C is being replaced by Swift, and we can see it dropping right before our eyes.
"With the exception of Java, the C-family of languages still dominates," the article concludes, before adding that if you're only going to learn one language, "I'd recommend Python, Java, and JavaScript instead." But it also advises aspiring programmers to learn "multiple languages and multiple frameworks. Build things in the languages. Programming is not just an intellectual exercise. You have to actually make stuff....
"[L]earning how to learn languages is as important as learning a language — and the best way to do that is to learn more than one."
This list ... (Score:5, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah this becomes boring after a while when those types of stats are reported to often here. A bunch of almost mission critical like stuff runs on perl indeed.
Re:This list ... (Score:5, Insightful)
this got old the second time around, maybe a decade ago.
first, popularity is probably the least interesting or relevant property of any language or tool.
second, all measures of popularity will be inevitably biased by media platform, sector and application
third, which explains why every different and inane poll gets wildly different results: they are nonsensical from the get go
then they aggregate all those different nonsensical biases across apples and oranges and just produce a completely meaningless ranking of averages no sensible coder or software engineer would give a shit about and whose sole purpose is to become filler promo copywriting for bullshit tech consultants and outlets to get attention and bait for aficionados to chant the virtues of their favorite pet language or bash the ones they despise, in a mass demostration of ignorance. it's just embarrassing.
Re: (Score:1)
> A bunch of almost mission critical stuff runs on perl
And clunky junk like Slashdot ;-)
the list excludes paying job statistics (Score:3)
It's odd to see how many over hyped languages, good in theory, fun to use, but not fun to find an actual paying job are in the list each year.
A large amount of newbie questions on the hot language of the year does not equate to paying jobs. That's been the case for at least a decade.
Re:the list excludes paying job statistics (Score:5, Insightful)
More to the point a lot of "new" stuff does this stupid "rapid release cycle" hell that no "Development" software should be doing.
Perl, PHP, Python, Ruby have all fallen into this trap along with Javascript, C# and Rust.
"Version 1.0" should always compile and never be depreciated, even if security vulnerabilities are found, and should never be refactored. Every "P" language above fails this. If something is inherently "unsafe" introduce a new function eg printf to printf_2, that takes new parameters, and the internally, if the old function is called "fix it" to run on the new function. The fact that these languages go out of their way to refactor things needlessly (how many times has regex being refactored in these? How many times have "optional" arguments become required?) and then break the backwards compatibility just shows that these languages should have never become as popular as they did or once were.
Perl is literal hell to keep updated
PHP's only "saving grace" is that there is no "PIP", most software you use does not require a third party library because it's hell to support.
Python takes the worst of Perl's package management, and so does node.js where large programs are written using hundreds of libraries and thus creating this super dependency hell that doesn't even work version to version.
Ruby's downfall was it's syntax. Python's downfall will also be it's whitespace handling, because it's completely obtuse where a function ends unlike the tried and true C-style function(){} and if(variable){}, all the languages that make the most sense, look the most C-like, because C is as close to you can get to the native CPU instructions without programming directly in CPU-specific assembly.
Where as Java even looks C++ like, nobody is using Java because it's just the wrong language for just about everything. The fanfare for Java in 1999 is the same for Rust in 2019. We have not learned that the problem is not "the language" the problem is developers hit a ceiling on their ability to understand, or even care, about the language features. If you want threading, memory safety, and "machine agnostic" hardware abstraction (Eg 2D (from 8-bit palettes and sprite, to HDR 12-bit flat memory pixel buffers,) 3D (Vulkan,) UI, Sound (software or hardware codecs,) Video (software or hardware codecs,) Music(Midi or software/hardware codecs), Input (keyboard/mouse/game controller/touch/stylus)) then at some point you have to put that INTO the language itself and not rely on the OS to supply those. This is why companies like Adobe write their own trash middleware that then have to be dragged kicking and screaming into 64-bit and into other CPU types. Had that been a feature of the programming language, and the OS only had to provide a portable runtime, this would never be a problem.
But alas, people just want to invent new programming languages because they hate how C looks and operates. Memory safety isn't part of the C spec, because it's assumed (And C makes a lot of assumptions) that the programmer knows what the hell they are doing and thus you can create whole programs and games in 1MB of space where the equivalent in "node.js" is like 500MB.
MVP language movement (Score:3)
The development community could just by following the 'simple life' process for systems with less than 100,000 lines of code
reduce the usage of external libraries,
NuGet packages,
fringe/edge cloud features,
dead zombie products and
reject software architectures ill fitted for small systems (CQRS,, etc.).
We're going to have to do this, because managers/executives need to ride the the technology wave every year to get that next promotion and career advancement.
Vendors are pushing forced upgrades by 3 year or les
Re: (Score:2)
Correction:
Meant to say use only the most basic of software architecture if the system is less than 100,000 lines of code.
Too many "the system has 10 microservices, 24 active users, nearly no transactions per second load, and 24 database tables" systems where a microservice is needed for 5 WebAPI endpoints, 5 database queries and 99% of the time being idle for a 24 hour window.
It reminds me of the fresh out of college developers obsessing over saving 1 line of code in a 50,000 line application instead of lo
Re: (Score:3)
And these languages are "popular" like the plague was "popular" in the 1300s.
I use Javascript for sure - but 90% of what I do with it is heavily abstracted away from the language because the language and "environment" it runs in are so utterly contemptible. Only juniors or weirdos actually "write Javascript", everyone else writes Vue/React/JQuery or whatever.
I also use Python - it's quick for getting an API together. But my goodness, there are some horrible aspects to it (whitespace being one, and the endle
Learn how to WRITE (Score:3)
Aside from some particular paradigms like procedural, oop, close to the iron, etc. most of the test is syntax.
Re: Learn how to WRITE (Score:2)
rest, dammit. Most of the rest.
Re: (Score:2)
Java is in its own class compared to the two other ones and letting the reader figure out how :)
Re:Well, of Course (Score:4, Funny)
It's really more of an interface than a class...
ObjectPascal (Score:2)
Using the right TOOL. (Score:1)
A programming language is a tool. So are LLMs, search engines, CoPilot, and hammers.
If you need to drive a nail, most people use hammers. Some use DeWalt 18V cordless electric screwdriver battery butt to hit the nail. So you can pound a nail with a screwdriver!
Most "popular" tool is as meaningless as "prettiest horse in the stable" or "luckiest dog in the yard." The important thing is when there is a programming task that needs doing, pick the tool that BEST WORKS FOR YOU to accomplish that task within
Bah (Score:2)
If you can't do it with a zsh (or bash) script, it's not worth doing.
Calculate the most popular article on Slashdot (Score:2)
My language can beat up your language!
Seriously, do we have to have a Most Popular Language article practically every week?
Re: (Score:2)
Missing from the list (Score:2)
I thought English was now the most popular programming language, since everyone designs, writes, and debugs all their code with an LLM now.
An LLM probably wrote this article, too!
Re: (Score:1)
I use a text editor and interpeter. I don't know how these people get the Lunar Landing Module to code for them
Stop this nonsense! (Score:2)
family of C? (Score:2)
TO my undertanding C# is to C what Javascript is to Java.... the syntax is a little similar, the application scope and the performance is very different. Is it fair to collapse C# with C?
Re: (Score:1)
eh,Javascript and Java are both object oriented languages. C isn't. C++ is.
Re: (Score:2)
It's like how C and C++ are always grouped together while they're just as different.
If only Strousup had chosen a different name back then, the C++ might not have to deny the still present C roots in the language.
Re: (Score:2)
TO my knowledge C code is also valid C++ code. I do not think C# is valid C code or vice versa. So saying they are equally different seems incorrect to me
Re: (Score:2)
Nope. Basic core is written the same, but compiled differently through the standard libraries, and C++ can't compile pure C because it isn't a complete subset of C++.
Take the latest struct initialisation options for C, which are not available in ++.
It looks the same, but there are enough difference in handling which cause errors.
A while ago I wanted to add simple C based vector functions to C++ code, and GCC complained it was wrong.
Re: (Score:2)
Wrong Ancestor (Score:3)
With the exception of Java, the C-family of languages still dominates
This neglects the original ancestor, namely ALGOL.
Re: (Score:1)
not used , just a collection of ideas about structured procedural programming that needed much filling out that a usable language would have. Especially useless since no IO at all. More accurate to say C and Java are somewhat algol-like.
And that is just Algol-60, the later 'Algols' were just dead on arrival and an utter waste of academia resources.
Popularity surveys not really useful... (Score:2)
The "popularity" of languages isn't hugely useful. Just as an example, a survey of Python users found that most of them had very little programming experience at all - it's a language that lots of people dabble in, but outside of specific areas (e.g., natural language), it is not used for serious projects. But the large number of dabblers, plus schools teaching it as a first language, make it "popular".
If you have a project, you want to select a language appropriate to that project. Will you be using exte
ZDNET Linled article (Score:2)
I found this linked article in the ZDNET link more interesting:
https://www.zdnet.com/article/business-leaders-are-losing-faith-in-it-according-to-this-ibm-study-heres-why/
So my take on TL:DR: IT salaries started increasing, we need to figure out a way to decrease salaries. And: We need to up our lobbying efforts (ie: bribes) before the US Congress gets serious about Cyber Break-ins.
Re: (Score:1)
> If someone came to me with just scripting language skills, they'd never be hired.
I wouldn't hire anyone who makes hiring decisions based on single factors ;-)
Doesn't it depend on the shop? If projects are large and split by technology layers: front-end, app/biz, data, etc. then the chance they'll have to be moved to server-side someday is small enough to not make that a show-stopper. Ding them some points, but if they are a front-end whiz, then that should override lack of compiled language experience.
Haxe helps in a multi-language world (Score:1)
TypeScript? (Score:1)
I'm surprised TypeScript is so common. What's it typically used for?