Programming languages: evolution, trends, communities and use

JavaScript, solid leader of the 20 most popular programming languages ​​since 2012. © RedMonk

Do you want to become a developer or retrain for this profession that is particularly sought after by companies, but you don't know which programming language(s) to train on? Find here an inventory of the most used programming languages, the most popular, but also those that are most popular with recruiters.

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The evolution of programming languages ​​since 2012, according to RedMonk

RedMonk, an American firm of development analysts, has been tracking programming language trends for over 10 years. The firm regularly updates its top 20 languages ​​most used by developers, based on data collected from the GitHub and Stack Overflow platforms. Its ranking, entitled RedMonk Language Rankings Over Time, makes it possible to visualize the evolution of the use of these languages ​​by development professionals, over a period extending from September 2012 to January 2021.

JavaScript leads, growing popularity of Python and R, Perl plummets

Despite a relative drop between 1st and 2nd place between 2013 and 2015, JavaScript remains at the top of the ranking of the 20 most used languages ​​according to RedMonk, in the 1st quarter of 2021. Behind, Python, Java and PHP constitute the continuation of this top 4 But their order has evolved over the past decade, notably with the growing popularity of Python, which has been ranked 2nd for more than a year, just behind JavaScript (4th in 2012).

Among the other lessons of this evolution of the top 20 of RedMonk, we can also notice that Ruby tumbles to 9th place (5th in 2012), C goes from 8th to 10th place, Objective-C from 9th to 13th position. While R is making a significant comeback, rising from 17th to 12th place, Perl, which was 11th in 2012, is close to leaving this ranking (19th in 2021).

© RedMonk

The new languages ​​that appeared in the RedMonk ranking, and those that came out of it

CSS, whose presence as a programming language can be debated, integrated this classification in 2014 and is positioned in 5th place in 2021, tied with C++. Other languages ​​have followed a similar trajectory, such as TypeScript, which entered in 2017 and is now 8th, but also Swift, the programming language created by Apple to develop iOS and macOS apps, introduced in 2015. and currently 11th. Other languages ​​that have emerged over the past decade: Go (2015), PowerShell (2017), Kotlin (2019), and more recently, Rust (19th, tied with Perl).

Conversely, several languages, which were part of RedMonk's ranking in September 2012, are no longer referenced in this top 20 in January 2021: Haskell, ASP, Assembly, ActionScript, VisualBasic, CoffeeScript and Groovy. Some did not even remain referenced for very long, such as Matlab (2013-2018), Clojure (2014-2017) or Lua (2017-2018).

The top 20 most used programming languages ​​in Q1 2021 according to RedMonk:

JavaScript

Python

Java

PHP

VS#

C++

CSS

TypeScript

Ruby

VS

Swift

R

Objective C

Shell

Scala

GB

PowerShell

Kotlin

perl

Rust (tied).

Read alsoThe most popular computer languages ​​in the 1st quarter of 2021

JavaScript, Python and Java: the 3 most used languages ​​on GitHub

In its latest Octoverse annual report, which analyzes the data collected on its platform between October 2019 and September 2020, GitHub establishes a ranking whose top 4 is similar to that of RedMonk.

In detail, JavaScript has remained firmly in first place since 2014, ahead of Python, which overtook Java in 2018. rank in 2014 at 6th position 6 years later, and Ruby (10th), which lost 5 places during this same period.

The top 10 most used programming languages ​​on GitHub:

JavaScript

Python

Java

TypeScript

VS#

PHP

C++

VS

Shell

Ruby

© GitHub

Read alsoGitHub study: popular languages, Covid-19 effect, rise in open source, software security...

The most popular programming languages, according to the TIOBE index

Unlike RedMonk or GitHub, TIOBE publishes a programming language popularity index, based on the analysis of the queries of the 100 most searched languages ​​on search engines (Google, Bing, Baidu, Amazon, YouTube, Wikipedia... ). The principle: it assigns a score to each of them according to their use by the developers, which allows it to establish a monthly ranking of the 100 most popular programming languages ​​on the web. Criticized by some, it is nevertheless part of the reference rankings, in the same way as RedMonk, to follow the evolution of programming trends with the community of developers.

© TIOBE

C, a leader in decline, threatened by Python, Java on the prowl

Although many elements differ from the analysis carried out by RedMonk, such as the 1st place occupied by C, TIOBE nevertheless joins the firm of American analysts on a major point: the growing popularity of Python, the language favored by data professionals. science and machine learning.

After first overtaking Java in November 2020 to climb to 2nd place in the TIOBE index top 20, Python temporarily fell back to 3rd place in April 2021. But that was short-lived as it then returned to the 2nd step of the podium a month later. The language sees a 2.75% rise in search trends in May 2021, or +0.13% over Java, which completes the top 3. In 2020, Python was voted programming language of the year by TIOBE, after recording the strongest audience growth in one year.

Read alsoTIOBE ranking: Python takes second place and overtakes Java

Strong growth for Assembly language, Groovy and Fortran, Swift down sharply

The ranking of the 20 most wanted languages ​​by developers according to TIOBE also tells us that Swift (18th) continues its fall, losing a total of 7 places between May 2020, when it was ranked 11th, and May 2021. Go fell 4 places to point to the 16th position of the index (1.22%). For their part, Assembly language (8th, +6 places over the last 12 months), Ruby (11th, +4 places), Classic Visual Basic (12th, +5 places), Groovy (14th, +24 places), Delphi/ Object Pascal (17th, +6 places) and Fortran (20th, +14 places) recorded the strongest increases. Beyond the top 20, we can also note the 29th place of COBOL, Kotlin which is in 35th place or TypeScript 40th (8th in the RedMonk ranking).

The top 20 most searched programming languages ​​in May 2021 according to TIOBE:

VS

Python

Java

C++

VS#

VisualBasic

JavaScript

Assembly language

PHP

SQL

Ruby

Classic Visual Basic

R

Groovy

MATLAB

GB

Delphi/Object Pascal

Swift

perl

Fortran

© TIOBE

14 million JavaScript users worldwide, according to SlashData

In its 20th semi-annual report entitled State of the developer nation, SlashData draws up an inventory of the most popular programming languages, and also reveals the uses as well as the areas of interest of 30,000 developers located in 160 countries. While the popularity of JavaScript continues to grow according to this study, it concerns no less than 13.8 million developers worldwide in the 1st quarter of 2021. This figure is clearly increasing: in October 2020, SlashData identified 12.7 million language users. In 3 years, the JavaScript community has gained 4.5 million additional members, the most significant growth among all programming languages, notes the report.

© SlashData

Still according to the SlashData report, Python consolidates its 2nd place with 10.1 million users. It is ahead of Java, which has 9.4 million users. For its part, Kotlin (8th), the official language of Google, recorded strong growth, rising from 1.1 million users in the 4th quarter of 2017, to 2.6 million in the 1st quarter of 2021. This increase is explained in particular by the decision of the American firm to make it the official programming language for the development of its Android applications. Just behind him, we find Swift (9th), Apple's language, which is used by 2.5 million developers.

© SlashData

The top 10 developer communities according to the languages ​​used, at 1

er

quarter 2021:

JavaScript: 13.8 million users

Python: 10.1 million users

Java: 9.4 million users

C/C++: 7.3 million users

C#: 6.5 million users

PHP: 6.3 million users

Visual development tools: 3.3 million users

Kotlin: 2.6 million users

Swift: 2.5 million users

Go: 2.1 million users

Also ReadStudy: Developer Preferred Languages ​​and Emerging Technologies

Python, the programming language most sought after by companies, according to the IEEE Spectrum

The methodology followed by the IEEE Spectrum, the professional organization dedicated to engineering and applied sciences, is one of the most complete to follow the evolution, use and trends of programming languages. It is based on 11 variables and 8 sources (CareerBuilder, GitHub, Google, Hacker News, the IEEE, Reddit, Stack Overflow and Twitter), in order to offer different rankings, from the most used languages ​​to the most sought after.

A ranking on the use and trends of languages ​​used by developers

Thanks to its numerous sources, the IEEE Spectrum thus makes it possible to obtain a more in-depth and more precise vision of the use of programming languages ​​by developers, trends, those which are most sought after online (according to the 8 sources), and by companies, depending on job offers.

4 filters are available: web, mobile, business (desktop and scientific applications) and embedded (programs made to control devices other than computers).

Python overtakes C and Java at the top of the languages ​​most sought after by companies

Present at the top of the general ranking published by the IEEE Spectrum, Python is here at the top of the languages ​​most sought after by recruiters, while C and Java complete the podium. JavaScript is 6th, ahead of R (7th). In the rest of the ranking, Swift is in 9th place, far ahead of PHP (16th) or Kotlin (22nd).

The top 10 programming languages ​​most sought after by companies:

© IEEE Spectrum

The top 10 most popular programming languages ​​(overall ranking):

Python

Java

VS

C++

JavaScript

R

Arduino

GB

Swift

Matlab

Also readThe 20 most popular development languages ​​of 2020: Python beats out Java and C

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Christian B /

June 3, 2021 at 12:59 a.m.

CSS clearly has no place in this list. You can't program in CSS, and it's not a language either.

Karlatt /

June 5, 2021 at 2:35 p.m.

If we refer to the current market, with NET Core, the fact that C# is not located in a table where we also find Swift, R and Arduino (a WTF prog language?) totally invalidates the other results ...Even only in ESN, we tear up C# and NET profiles, even inexperienced...I don't know where the IEE Spectrum went to fish for its results, but it's clearly not in the pool of job offers in Europe

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