Not 2018 winner Python, but, surprisingly, good old C has been named programming language of 2019 by Tiobe. Last year, the popularity of C grew with 2.4 percent. Runners-up C#, Python and Swift showed an increase of 2.1, 1.4 and 0.6 percent, respectively. Java remained more or less stable on top of the list, followed by C and Python.
| Jan 2020 | Jan 2019 | Language | Rating | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Java | 16.9 % | ±0.0 % |
| 2 | 2 | C | 15.8 % | +2.4 % |
| 3 | 3 | Python | 9.7 % | +1.4 % |
| 4 | 4 | C++ | 5.6 % | -2.6 % |
| 5 | 7 | C# | 5.3 % | +2.1 % |
| 6 | 5 | Visual Basic.Net | 5.3 % | -1.2 % |
| 7 | 6 | Javascript | 2.5 % | -0.9 % |
| 8 | 8 | PHP | 2.4 % | -0.3 % |
| 9 | 15 | Swift | 1.8 % | +0.6 % |
| 10 | 9 | SQL | 1.5 % | -0.8 % |
The Tiobe Programming Community index is an indicator of the popularity of programming languages. Updated once a month, the list is based on the number of skilled engineers worldwide, courses and third-party vendors. The ratings are calculated using popular search engines such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, Wikipedia, Amazon, Youtube and Baidu.
According to Tiobe, the major drivers behind the popularity of C are the Internet of Things and the vast amount of small intelligent devices that are being released. C excels when it’s applied to small devices that are performance critical. It’s easy to learn and there’s a C compiler available for every processor.
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