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Top Programming Languages 2025

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71–80 of 467 posts

Re: Top Programming Languages 2025

#71

Java at #2? Is it really still being used much for new code in this day and age? Or is its popularity mostly due to so much legacy code out there to be maintained?

Yes. Companies with existing workforces are doing new software all the time. If you have a workforce with let us say 100 devs. Even if you hire 10 new ones temporarily or permanent, you for sure tell them: use what the other 100 do. It is not maintenance what drives this, it is the lack of momentum in your work force.

And that is very okay. (Modern) Java and .NET are excellent choices. There is nothing wrong with them.

Re: Top Programming Languages 2025

#72
post #51

Kinda surprising that I see nothing from Zig on all these lists.

How many people are waiting for it to hit 1.0? I am.

I am interested in Zig, but until they can guarantee a stable point for an extended period of time I have limited interest. Same way with Rust gamedev I'm keeping an eye on Bevy but want it to hit 1.0. Some things pre-1.0 is fine, but more core pieces of dev like the language often warrant requiring greater stability guarantees.

Re: Top Programming Languages 2025

#73

As a backend dev (mostly working in fintech) I feel weirdly unable to find a target language to move to. After working with Node and Ruby for a while I really miss a static type system. - Typescript was limited by its option to allow non strictness. Nothing catches my eye, as it’s either Java/.Net and its enterprisey companies or Go, which might not be old but feels like it is, by design. Rust sounds fun, but its use…

Swift! It actually has a pretty big server community, Vapor and Hummingbird are both great frameworks, Apple has been replacing some of their Java services with it, it's open source and cross platform and Apple seems serious about making it viable on Linux, which it is. No need for Xcode, it has an open source LSP and first class VSCode plugin. Plus it's a fun language to write. Some people say it's a nicer, higher l…

I do like Swift but it also suffers a bit from identity crisis. The compiler experience is quite disappointing too—I found myself helping the compiler more than the compiler helped me.

I've since moved to Rust and have not looked back. Importantly, rust-analyzer runs circles around the Swift VSCode plugin (or Xcode for that matter)

Re: Top Programming Languages 2025

#74
post #14
post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you’re working in a large team, and you’re not locked into the MS stack, and you’re not doing anything that needs to be super performant… Java is, by far, your best option. The tooling and ecosystem aren’t great compared to some of these languages, but Java itself can be pretty damn good. I used to be a hater many years ago but I’ve since grown to love it.

What is wrong with Java's tooling and ecosystem? Asking because it used to be the default a decade or so ago, with a vibrant ecosystem, so I find your remark surprising.

I used to use clojure, but one of the reasons I stopped was I personally found tools like Maven cumbersome to work with. I admit that was 8 years ago or so, so there's a chance it got better, but once people are driven away by tooling issues it takes a lot to convince them to give an ecosystem another chance.

An example of this ossification of understanding is how people still think dotnet is Windows only because they stopped caring before Core/Modern dotnet became a thing

Re: Top Programming Languages 2025

#75

I’m skeptical. There are more people writing PHP and Ruby than HTML? And HTML is a programming language? Those two very surprising results make me doubt the others. Elixir behind OCaml? Possible, I guess, but I know of several large Elixir shops and I haven’t heard much of OCaml in a while.

HTML is a declarative programming language.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declarative_programming#Domain...

Re: Top Programming Languages 2025

#76

I’m skeptical. There are more people writing PHP and Ruby than HTML? And HTML is a programming language? Those two very surprising results make me doubt the others. Elixir behind OCaml? Possible, I guess, but I know of several large Elixir shops and I haven’t heard much of OCaml in a while.

As mentioned, HTML is indeed a programming language. But it’s one that is rarely used on its own. So you could argue that having it as a thing of itself in these lists, makes little sense.

Re: Top Programming Languages 2025

#77
post #75

I’m skeptical. There are more people writing PHP and Ruby than HTML? And HTML is a programming language? Those two very surprising results make me doubt the others. Elixir behind OCaml? Possible, I guess, but I know of several large Elixir shops and I haven’t heard much of OCaml in a while.

HTML is a declarative programming language. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declarative_programming#Domain...

Nah. It’s a declarative language, but not a programming language.

To prove me wrong, show an HTML program that does any kind of computation whatsoever.

There’s not one. It’s not Turing complete. I doubt it’s even Turing partial. It’s a markup language, not a PL.

Re: Top Programming Languages 2025

#78

I totally expected JavaScript to get the 2nd spot but looks like TypeScript pulled the votes away. I personally consider JavaScript and TypeScript to be close enough for their numbers to be added up.

I agree, I think it makes most sense to add them up to be the true #2.

Then you should probably add kotlin and java together as well. They share the same purpose, use the same VM, usually live in the same project, have native compatibility, are used with the same frameworks, etc.

Re: Top Programming Languages 2025

#80

LLMs could also ease adoption of new languages by making hiring less of a barrier to using something more niche. It becomes easier for someone to hit the ground running and be productive even if they still need to put the time in to become an expert. Instead I find myself more concerned with which virtual machine or compiler tool chain the language operates against. Does it need to ship with a VM or does it compile t…

If you ask Claude or ChatGPT, they both say Python is their preferred building tool. It will push Python further.
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