The IEEE Spectrum 2023 Programming Language Rankings are now available . The list is published once a year, and this year is the tenth year. The rationale for the list is to integrate multiple popular metrics into a single ranking that reflects the different needs of different readers.
Python still maintains the first place in this year's "Spectrum" comprehensive ranking, and has expanded its lead; followed by Java, C++ and C respectively . According to the researchers, Python's increased dominance appears to have largely come at the expense of a smaller, more specialized language. Python has become a jack-of-all-trades language and has taken the top spot in some fields, such as AI. In the long run, Python's status continues to strengthen; the language has gradually become the first learning goal for many young children.
In the Jobs ranking , SQL still tops the list. Ironically, pure SQL programmers are hard to find a job, the study points out. Instead, employers are very attracted to people who combine SQL skills with other languages, such as Java or C++.
"But don't be fooled by the Python and SQL rankings: programming is far from a monoculture". In the list, the popularity of Java and various C-like languages has surpassed that of Python. Especially in high-performance or resource-sensitive tasks, Python's interpreter overhead is still too expensive, and there are some software ecosystems that are reluctant to be absorbed by Python for other reasons.
In addition, the R language, which has emerged with the rise of big data, is powerful but difficult to learn. Although there are Python libraries that provide similar analytical and graphical capabilities, the R language remains popular. The situation is similar with Fortran, "Today, you can still get a job as a Fortran programmer, but you may need to pass a security clearance first."
Cobol is another option besides Fortran, and there are still many large banks that need Cobol programmers. Based on a survey of hundreds of developer job adverts, the fintech developer field needs more Cobol technology than encryption technology.
IEEE Spectrum uses a variety of metrics to measure language popularity, including: Google searches, Stack Overflow, GitHub, and Discord servers, among others. The raw data is normalized and weighted according to the different rankings provided, e.g. Spectrum's default ranking heavily weights the interests of IEEE members, while Trending puts more weight on forum and social media metrics.
The complete ranking information can be viewed on the IEEE Spectrum official website .