TIOBE Software has released its top 10 list of most popular programming languages for January, as well as stating that C# is the language of the year for 2023. C# gained the most popularity in 2023 (+1.43%) according to TIOBE’s proprietary points system, which takes into account which programming languages are most popular according to a variety of large search engines. C# has achieved this popularity by being an effective tool for web application back ends and game design, especially with the game engine Unity. C# also benefits from being free to use and being consistently updated.
Top 10 programming languages in January 2024
The top 10 programming languages in January 2024 (Figure A) according to the TIOBE Programming Community index are:
- Python
- C
- C++
- Java
- C#
- JavaScript
- PHP
- Visual Basic
- SQL
- Scratch
Figure A
Other major moves in the TIOBE Index month-over-month are that Scratch joined the top 10, COBOL returned to the top 20, and Assembly’s popularity fell, TIOBE Software CEO Paul Jansen told TechRepublic.
A look back at 2023
Jansen noted that two languages became prominent in the index top 20 this year: Kotlin, an easy-to-use rival to Java; and Fortran, the venerable language that is still often used in university research. Jansen predicts that Dart, which is often used with Flutter apps, and TypeScript may enter the top 20 in 2024.
Top 10 programming languages in December 2023
In December, the top 10 programming languages remained the same as they were in November, according to TIOBE Software’s monthly list. TIOBE Software CEO Paul Jansen noted that most of the top 20 programming languages lost popularity according to the TIOBE Software points system, as smaller languages became more popular and gradually moved up the rankings.
The top 10 programming languages on TIOBE’s proprietary ranking system in December (Figure B) were as follows:
- Python
- C
- C++
- Java
- C#
- JavaScript
- PHP
- Visual Basic
- SQL
- Assembly Language
Figure B
Top 10 programming languages in November 2023
TIOBE Software has released its monthly list of the top programming languages for November. There hasn’t been much movement in the top 10 list; Python, C, C++ and Java retained their crowns in the top four. TIOBE Software CEO Paul Jansen is keeping an eye on Kotlin, which made a dramatic jump from #18 to #15 in the index.
Below is the list of the top 10 programming languages in November 2023, per the TIOBE Index rankings.
The top 10 programming languages on TIOBE’s proprietary ranking system (Figure C) mostly held steady in November. PHP and Visual Basic swapped spots. Python and C both saw declines of 3.02% and 3.31% respectively. C++ declined by 0.39%. C# rose in popularity by 3.40%.
- Python
- C
- C++
- Java
- C#
- JavaScript
- PHP
- Visual Basic
- SQL
- Assembly Language
Figure C
The TIOBE Index’s 10 most popular programming languages for November 2023. The change column indicates shifts month-over-month. The points system used in the ratings column is determined by the number of skilled engineers worldwide, courses and third-party vendors engaging with each language on a range of popular search engines.
Top 10 programming languages in October 2023
The top three programming languages on TIOBE’s list — Python, C and C++ — remain in their positions in October, as does the rest of the list. The competition between Java and C#, and the recent shift between the two programming languages, can be seen in Java’s large decline of -3.92% points in the proprietary TIOBE system (Figure D). C# gained 3.29% in TIOBE’s points system, the largest gain of all programming languages annually.
- Python
- C
- C++
- Java
- C#
- JavaScript
- Visual Basic
- PHP
- SQL
- Assembly Language
Figure D
Top 10 programming languages in September 2023
In August, TIOBE CEO Paul Jansen suggested the next shift in the top three programming languages might be C++ overtaking C. Between August and September, C lost 2.70% in the proprietary ranking system, but that wasn’t enough to budge it from second place (Figure E).
- Python
- C
- C++
- Java
- C#
- JavaScript
- Visual Basic
- PHP
- Assembly language
- SQL
Figure E
Top 10 programming languages in August 2023
The top three programming languages on the index stayed steady between July and August, with Python, C and C++ maintaining the prime spots, respectively. One notable change in August’s index is that Julia reached #20, marking the first time the relatively new programming language has entered the upper echelons of popularity in these rankings.
- Python
- C
- C++
- Java
- C#
- JavaScript
- Visual Basic
- SQL
- Assembly language
- PHP
SEE: Python Crash Course (TechRepublic Academy)
What is the TIOBE Index?
The TIOBE Index is an indicator of which programming languages are most popular within a given month. Its proprietor, TIOBE Software CEO Paul Jansen, notes that the index is not a prize for the “best” language or a list of in which programming language the most code has been written; instead, he uses popular search engines to determine which languages are most used among professional programmers, programming courses and third-party vendors.
SEE: Intermediate & Advanced C++ Tutorial (TechRepublic Academy)
