Python has topped the list of most popular programming languages according to the rankings published by IEEE Spectrum recently.
The fourth interactive ranking has been prepared by a data journalist, Nick Diakopoulos, by combining 12 different metrics from 10 authentic online sources.
The following languages were placed among the top 10:
Python, which was placed at number 3 last year, has managed to jump two places this year to become the most popular language used worldwide. However, when it comes to the language which is in most demand by recruiters, it’s C, and that too by a fair margin.
Google’s Go and Apple’s Swift, both managed to enter the top 10 most popular languages. C# has taken back its number 5 spot from R, while Ruby has drifted down to the 12th place.
The decades-old languages like Fortran (ranked 28th), Lisp (ranked 35th) and Cobol (ranked 40th), are still being used by the people. However, no new programming language managed to break into the top 10 for the second successive year.
You can look at the complete list, or play with the ranking criteria, on IEEE Spectrum.
The best thing about these rankings is that you can play around with how good a language is, based on a set criteria.
For instance, you can personalize the rankings based on worldwide trends, job opportunities, open source and custom – where you can set the weighting criteria as per your needs.
You can choose the ‘popularity’ criteria and see what programming language suits you the most.
Here’s how it looks in action:
You can also choose to use the data from the last four years and make a comparison with the previous years. The 12 weighted data sources are as follows:
