What programming language is hitting popularity ratings right now? Which one will be the most sought in the next year? If you are a newbie in software development, then these questions should be especially relevant for you.
The easiest way to choose the best programming language for 2019 is to listen to what the market says and understand where tech trends are going.
It is crucial to not only understand how things are today but also to monitor potential trends. It’s quite logical as soon the entire picture will probably change. This brief post forecasts which languages will conquer the programming world in 2020 and shows the ones that have already gone to the past.
The post covers what is trendy among developers today. It does not intend to explain why this or that technology will be necessary for the market in the future, as this requires a more detailed analysis. We rely on authoritative ratings based on search queries, which can still be inaccurate to some extent as they contain the requests entered by non-programmers as well. However, statistics are statistics.
Programming Languages That Are Popular Right Now: Python & Java
Let’s start with traditionally popular languages. As you know, any language requires at least 10 years to remain in demand in the market.
According to the ratings of the PYPL, based on the popularity of Google search queries in different countries, the most popular language nowadays is Python. It got around and won over Java last summer. The number of requests has increased by 4.5% since then.
Python is rather easy to learn. You may be new to programming but work on it.
For a long time, most of the contingent in this area were mathematicians and physicists, but not professional programmers. As a result, the most popular libraries for working with big data are created with Python. The only thing that can limit this language is the low speed of programs, especially if we compare it with C/C ++.
Still, some researches demonstrate that Java has been confidently holding first place for a long time (for example, the TIOBE index study that considers not only Google but search engines in general).
Less Popular Programming Languages: Kotlin & Rust
Evaluating the PYPL rating, we can also see that Kotlin received an undoubted rise in popularity: plus four positions per year. Here two core reasons can be highlighted:
- The language was updated at the end of summer. Many challenges were fixed and functionality was significantly expanded.
- Last year, Kotlin received the status of the preferred language for developing Android apps.
It is not surprising that now developers with the help of Kotlin write all the new codes, libraries, and updates. The legal leaving from Java and the complete interchangeability of languages , in this case, have played an important role.
Kotlin looks suitable not only for mobile applications but also for the server-side, desktops, etc. It is developing rapidly, the developers take into account criticism and monitor trends. Therefore, the popularity of Kotlin will be continually growing.
Among the other notable languages, Rust looks great as well. It is also often mentioned in popular rankings. Rust is taking very slow but confident steps to replace C/C++ in client and server web applications. In addition, it supports Go, the language that is also worth paying attention to.
Not So Popular Programming Languages. Elixir, Dart & Ballerina
It is not so easy to evaluate the potential of programming languages that are not included in the top ratings. The number of search queries, as a rule, poorly reflects reality – due to low numbers, the specifics of the region and local companies interfere with statistics.
Among those worth paying attention to are Elixir, Dart, and Ballerina. If you have probably heard and read something about the first two, then the latter may seem unknown.
Ballerina is a young and interesting programming language. Its syntax is a combination of Java, Python, JavaScript, and Go, with static typing. Basic operations have a familiar appearance, so training will not take much time.
But another thing that looks much more interesting in Ballerina is its focus on integration. On the modern web, where hundreds of servers and services constantly interact, the value of languages with modules that easily provide this is extremely high.
However, despite all the prospects of these languages, beginners should not take up their study – only representatives of the first and partly second sections should be considered as the foundation for a modern programmer. Knowing Elixir, Dart, Ballerina, or Pulumi will help you understand that any task has many solutions.
Predictions Differ
What about the popularity of programming languages predictions for 2020? One of the available places, where you can find detailed predictions and open opinions, is Quora. Here we’ve selected some interesting predictions composed by Quora’s authors:
Tim Mensch, a software architect, proposes his prediction:
“JavaScript is taking over almost everything.
TypeScript is catching up as the best way to use JavaScript.
Python is nailing machine learning but losing momentum on servers.
Java is pretty well embedded in the enterprise space, but there are cracks around the edge of its dominance.
Kotlin could displace Java.
Rust seems to have a strictly better type system, which provides better compile-time code verification with equivalent or better performance.
Go might survive due to strong Google backing.
Swift is likely to stick around as the Apple platform language for the near future. But it doesn’t seem likely to make the jump to anywhere else”.
Here’re the thoughts by Tosin Seyi, a software engineer:
“The most popular programming language for developing a game engine will tell you that C# and C/C++ will lead the way in the next decade, and therefore, will be the most useful for it. Python and Java may come after. JavaScript also has its place and role to play in this.
It will take time for other programming languages to phase out JavaScript from the web environment if at all that is going to happen one day”.
Here are the extracts from the post by Apil Tamang, the University worker:
“The importance of a language is also determined by the general business domain you are in. If you are into data science, Python will be the most important language. If you’re into server technology, Java is probably the king of it all. It is unlikely that any language will overtake Java in the corporate world in the foreseeable future”.
Prahlad Yeri, a full-stack developer:
“If you have time to learn only one language, then learn JavaScript. JS is going to be the rock-star in upcoming years as it has slowly and gradually crept all over the digital realm in the last few decades.
The JS ecosystem of apps, libraries and frameworks has reached to such an extent that JavaScript has become a sort of lingua-franca at this point. The benefit of learning JS is that with just one language, you get access to all areas including desktop, mobile, and web development”.
Conclusion
Trying to define the most trendy programming language, do not forget to consider the latest trending technologies in the market. You may be a real Python guru, but if you do not know how to create a website on Python, you’ll have difficulties with finding a good job.
For example, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence are widely known today primarily thanks to startups in the fintech space that are deploying enterprise AI systems.
In the ML/AI environment, Python has domination. Almost all the startups in the ML/AI domain use Python as the backend programming language just because of the fact that there are excellent Machine Learning libraries in Python.
Have a good choice, anyway!