The battle for the most popular programming language continues to rage as new languages such as Kotlin, Go, and Swift enter the arena, ready for battle. While these new codebases are gaining traction, the old standbys not only hold their place at the top of the mountain but continue to rise in popularity as well. Two of these languages – Java and Python – are in a constant war for second and third place, swapping positions every other month.
What makes these two languages a favorite amongst developers? Which one is better, and how do they continue to be so widely used decades after arriving on the programming scene? What are the benefits of Python over Java and vice versa? We look at these very topics and showcase some code examples of each in today’s programming tutorial.
What Are the Most Popular Programming Languages in 2021?
While it is impossible to say which programming languages are the most popular in 2021 definitively, we can use certain indicators to give us an idea about which languages are used the most. Taking a look at Google Insights to see trends on keyword search for programming languages is one method. Another is to view the monthly Tiobe Index, which looks at the number of software engineers worldwide, courses offered in different languages, and other metrics to determine language popularity. Other sources, such as viewing GitHub repositories based on the language used and other state-of-the-Developer studies, provide additional insight.
According to the Tiobe Index, the top ten programming languages of 2021 are:
C
Python
Java
C++
C#
Visual Basic
JavaScript
PHP
Assembly Language
SQL
If you look at the historical data, you will note that Java has managed to dethrone C several times over the course of the past two decades, as illustrated in the chart below. Again, however, it should be noted that this data is not absolute. There are many other accounts that claim JavaScript and Python, as an example, are the most known languages in the world.
Read More: https://hitechnoloy.ca/python-vs-java-compare-programming-languages-in-2021/
Top comments (3)
One thing that can be misleading about these stats is that Tiobe doesn't distinguish popularity based on actual use in industry vs instruction.
Python has naturally become super popular for instruction, which may make you think that it's the most popular for work. But that is not necessarily the case. Especially in the web programming space.
That's why I prefer to use job postings as an indication of popularity (though that only reflects "growing" jobs, not necessarily established ones).
Nice!
I have heard Julia is a good upcoming programming language too!
yes me too