If you need a short answer to the question what programming language will run the show in 2020, there are three of them: Java, JavaScript, and SQL. However, this is the “answer 42”, which takes into account only current demand, popularity in business sector and average wages across the market.
Despite the high rates of tech development, the adoption of new programming languages in business is rather a conservative process. Large enterprises, focused on B2B market, tend to stick to the proven technology stacks. There are two reasons for that: it’s cheaper to adapt and it can run on any platform among their customers.
Therefore, Java’s motto: “Write once, run anywhere,” completely explains its popularity. Java held the top since early-00s and is not going anywhere anytime soon. It is true that in recently Java may be eclipsed by SQL and JavaScript. But Java is still #1 among Android developers, which gives it a significant boost in popularity.
Nevertheless, the world is constantly changing and so does programming. The Titans are moved away by the uprising stars. The fresh example is Kotlin. When it only appeared in 2011, no one could predict that it would become the second official programming language for Android development just in 6 years! Kotlin, undoubtfully, has its own advantages and is designed in a manner to replace Java with time. The Java-based nature of this language allows companies to gradually migrate to Kotlin without interfering the development process.
On the other hand, young entrepreneurs, with an incline to B2C and web, opt for JavaScript. But those are driven by profitability and flexibility and adhere to general trends. In fact, it is easier to replace a JavaScript specialist than to look for a new employee with a less common Clojure skill.
SQL Win-Win Situation
Despite the fact that SQL is not a multi-purpose language (unlike Java), it is still in high demand across the market. SQL’s main function lies in managing the data and as long as users generate new information, its popularity will rise as well.
Here are TOP 10 programming languages by popularity according to Stack Overflow survey:
JavaScript
SQL
Java
C#
PHP
Python
C++
C
Ruby
Objective-C
Why so – you may ask?
It is necessary to understand what stands behind trends and popularity in order to make assumptions for 2020. Those two key factors are complexity and area of application.
The complexity of a programming language determines its adoption speed among programming community. This trait stands for love and fun. Here is why those super easy to learn languages, Rust, Swift and Go take the top of love charts for the second year in a row.
Despite the fact that many programming languages are designed to be multifunctional, their field of application greatly determines the popularity. This is where corporations join the game and put their money on the table. This factor affects the demand for certain specialists and their salaries. After all, demand creates its own supply whether for skills or goods. That is how Swift made its way to the top.
And again sometimes it’s easier to create a new programming language (e.g. Go and Rust) than to adapt the existing one.
However, the industry is experiencing a strong proliferation of young but still popular programming languages. There are about 300 different languages out there right now.
Which gets us to the list of Trending Programming Languages of 2021:
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