If you like your programming languages to have a whiff of coffee or reptile you’re in good company, according to RedMonk’s latest ranking.
JavaScript, Java and Python were again the top three programming languages according to the analyst house’s latest ranking, which is based on data from GitHub and Stack Overflow.
Overall, the entire top tier of languages was relatively unchanged, they said: “While the landscape remains fantastically diverse in terms of technologies and approaches employed, including the variety of programming languages in common circulation, code written and discussion are counting metrics, and thus accretive.”
This means that growth for new programming languages is “tougher to come by the higher they ascend the rankings – which makes any rapid growth that much more noticeable.”
So it’s no surprise that PHP and C# round out the top five, with C++ at number 6. CSS is number 7, Ruby at 8, with C and Objective-C closing out the top ten.
Things get more interesting in the next few places, with TypeScript moving up four places to number 12, which, taking into account its burst into the top 20 a year ago, makes it “the fastest growing language in the history of these rankings.
“The language certainly benefits from its JavaScript proximity, as well as safety features such as the optional static type-checking,” say RedMonk. “But features alone are never enough by themselves to propel a language this far this quickly – it must be leveraged by a wide base of growing projects – all of which explains why TypeScript’s trajectory is significant and sustainable.”
TypeScript’s rise pushed both Go and R down into the number 15 spot. For R, “Given the domain specific nature and comparatively narrow focus of R, its prospects probably do not include a Top 10 placement.”
As for Go, “It is highly regarded technically, and enjoys popularity across a wide variety of infrastructure projects. To date, however, it has not demonstrated an ability or inclination to follow in the footsteps of languages such as Java and expand its core use cases.”
Looking even further down the rankings, Rust comes in at number 23. “This may be disappointing for its more ardent fans, which include some high profile and highly accomplished technologists, but Rust’s glacial ascent is relatively unsurprising,” the analysts say.
In comparison to Go, which now appears to have plateaued in the rankings, “Rust’s ascent has been much more workmanlike, winning its serious fans over one at a time.”