TECHNOLOGY

For the first time in 20-years, Python surpasses Java, JavaScript as the most used programming language

Published

3 years ago

October 10, 2021

What’s just happened? The Python programming language has become the most popular in 20 years. The October update rankings revealed this achievement via Tiobe (an index that calculates the results based on web search).

Tiobe is a company that specializes in tracking and assessing the quality of software. It has been following the rise of programming languages for over 20 years. To build its index, it uses queries from popular search engines and websites such as Google, Yahoo!, Wikipedia, and Yahoo! The process examines 25 search engines and websites.

The index is not about which programming language is the most popular or how many lines of code have been created. It’s only about how many languages are searched on search engines. Although some people may not consider the Python feat a significant accomplishment based on the method used, it is still significant because it marks the first time Python has topped the search engine rankings in 20 years.

“Python started out as a simple scripting language and was meant to be an alternative to Perl. It has since matured. Its simplicity of learning, large number of libraries, and widespread use in all domains have made it the most widely used programming language of today,” stated Paul Jansen, Tiobe CEO.

Tiobe’s “Programming Language of the Year” list recognizes Python for its highest rise in ratings over a single year. Since 2007, Python has won four times.

However, the increase in searches didn’t make Python top the index. However, Python’s 11.27 percent share on the index was sufficient to overtake other languages that were falling in search results. C dropped 5.79 percent in October 2020 compared with October 2020, for an 11.16% share on the index. Java fell 2.11 to 10.46 percent.

C++, C# and Visual Basic were also included in the October index.

Based on 17,000 developer responses, a survey in 2020 showed that JavaScript continues to be the most popular programming language. This was mainly due to the rise in machine learning and data science. The report also showed that Python had 2.2 million more developers.

First seen at Techspot