JavaScript, Python, Java and PHP they are a safe choice as programming languages for those who are expanding their knowledge of development or taking their first steps in it. At least according to the consulting firm RedMonk, whose latest language popularity ratings are headed by themin this order.
These indices are an approximation of the popularity of programming languages, intended to help developers spot emerging trends in languages. But for the past two years, the top 20 list has changed virtually nothing. Nor does it seem likely that it will change in the near future, according to the consultancy, which bases its list on the languages of GitHub projects, as well as discussions on the StackOverflow developer forum.
For some years now, languages like Swift, from Apple; and then TypeScript, a JavaScript superset developed by Microsoft, made the list as the fastest-growing languages of the past decade. Rust and Go, popular in systems programming, also entered it; Dart, a Google language that provides a solution to the limitations of JavaScript; and Kotlin, compatible with Java and considered by Google as the first development language for Android apps.
A rare exception to the dearth of emerging languages is ballerina, which is five years old, and is intended for developers with experience in the C family of languages. Specifically, with C, C++, Java, JavaScript, C#. and TypeScript. However, it is not excessively high in the RedMonk index: it ranks 87th.
The relative stagnation of the top 20 languages on this list is not, in itself, a bad thing. It can indicate that the developers are satisfied with those who dominate. Of course, it could also be an indicator of a temporary pause in innovation in the sector. TypeScript is one of the most advanced programming languages. It occupies the eighth position, very close in popularity to C++. Go occupies position 16.
Rust carries several indexes in the 19th, and has become the preferred alternative to writing new code in projects with C and C++ code bases. Among them Android and the Linux kernel. Kotlin ranks 18th, after being supported by Meta. The company has spent months moving the code bases of all its Android apps from Java to Kotlin.
In addition to the first four places on the list, the places occupied by the most popular programming languages, up to 20, are the following: C# (5), CSS (6), C++ (7), TypeScript (8), Ruby (9), C (10), Swift (11), R (12), Objective-C (13), Shell (14 ), Scala (15), Go (16), PowerShell (17), Kotlin (18), Rust (19), and Dart (20).
