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It’s a well-known fact to those who frequent this blog (all three of you) that I’m rather fond of pounding out a bit of code — that’s computer programming, for you non-geeks — every so often. My experience goes back to when I was a wee lad…
I’ve grown up with computers for as long as I can remember, using them often both for fun and work. My first computer programming experience was on an old TI-99 computer using TI BASIC, in the late ’80’s or so. I continued on with various versions of BASIC, dabbled in other languages, and later taught myself HTML in college (which I know isn’t technically programming). From there I went to JavaScript, and PHP, and a few other Web programming languages. I’ve done freelance Web design and been a Webmaster for a radio station and a couple stores, too. Right now I’m taking a college class in Visual Basic. That said, I’m certainly interested in which languages are the most marketable, versatile, and nifty overall for my personal and professional endeavors.
Which languages are truly the most popular? With that critical question in mind, I began a quest to discover the most-used languages among programming gurus, code monkeys, and the companies that feed them.
I’ve adopted a rigorous research method that requires each source to (1) appear relatively scientific and/or (2) contain pretty graphs.
LangPop: The first one I checked on my epic (Google) search, this site included an impressive array of charts from a variety of places. It’s interesting to see how the big picture graph compares to searches from niche sources such as Delicious and Slashdot.
- Image via Wikipedia
TIOBE Index: This software company publishes a monthly Billboard-style chart that lists which languages are currently popular and which have gained or lost popularity, and by how much. Their methods are quite thorough, but make sure you’re prepared with a big caffeinated beverage if you want to try reading the heady explanation they provide.
Honorable Mention: Though they don’t specifically list languages by popularity, here are some related websites:
- [Big] List of Programming Languages (Buzzle)
- 7 Programming Languages on the Rise – summary (ReadWriteWeb)
- 7 Programming Languages on the Rise – full article (InfoWorld)
- 10 Most Marketable Web Development Skills
Related articles
- Going into Business? Learn a Programming Language (charleshooper.net)
- The 3 Programming Languages you need to Know (mathgladiator.com)
- InfoWorld: R a programming language “on the rise” (r-bloggers.com)
