The Most Popular Languages
The most popular programming languages are:
- Python
- C
- Java
- C++
- C#
Besides these five, we there are three jokers:
- SQL
- Rust
- Assembly
Yes, I know, programming language is just a tool to solve problems. In many cases, it can be better to choose a tool that developers know well than to choose the most popular language.
The languages at the top of the list are not necessarily the best (whatever that means).
Why is it good to know what the most popular languages are?
All languages on the list have been around for a long time and will likely be attractive for 10+ years. In other words, they are safe cards. Not the most exciting languages, but safe.
Python is the winner. Python has had a steady upward trend since 2014.
I’m surprised JavaScript wasn’t higher on the top five list, the language is only in 7th place.
Java seems to be on a somewhat downward trend if you look at the last 20 years. But the language is still very popular and it’s hard to draw conclusions from just staring at a graph.
Then we have the wildcards: SQL, Rust and Assembly
SQL is highly desirable. According to IEEE Spectrum, SQL is the best language to know if you are looking for a job. At the same time, few companies are looking for candidates who only know SQL. But it is very good to have SQL as a second language.
What about the hip languages? 😉
Kotlin, Dart, Julia, Rust haven’t been around that long. The risk of investing heavily in a new cool language is that they may die off. We don’t want to spend all our money on the wrong horse. This is where Rust stands out. Rust has recently had a strong rise and is already in place 20. The main reason for Rust’s rising popularity is its unique combination of speed and safety.
Assembly languages have recently become more popular (and are in 8th place) partly because competence in cyber warfare has increased. Both offensive and defensive.
Sources
TIOBE (“The Importance Of Being Earnest”) was founded in 2000 by Paul Jansen. The organization is specialized in assessing and tracking the quality of software. The TIOBE Programming Community index is an indicator of the popularity of programming languages and the list is updated every month. You can find the index here:
https://www.tiobe.com/tiobe-index/
Conclusions about SQL and cyber warfare comes from IEEE Spectrum:
https://spectrum.ieee.org/top-programming-languages-2022
