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RedMonk released its most recent list of the most popular programming languages, and for the first time since 2012, Java is not in the top two places. Python Programming language has instead taken the number two position trailing behind the reigning champion JavaScript.

The fuss about Python is that a few years ago, no one thought it would become so prominent. In RedMonk’s March list, JavaScript led the pack with Python and Java tying in second place, closely followed by JavaScript.

Other ranking publications tell a similar story with IEEE’s popularity rankings from last week, placing Python in the top spot, followed by Java, C, C++, and JavaScript. Tiobe’s rankings slightly differ with C at the top, followed by Java, Python, C++, and C#.

Code and discussion combined

RedMonk’s rankings are based on data from Stack Overflow and GitHub. According to RedMonk’s analyst, Steve O’Grady, the aim is to tell a story that takes into account both code data from GitHub and discussion from Stack Overflow.

Python also becomes the first non-Java scripting language to rank in the top two all by itself. It’s a great achievement that would have been considered far-fetched, not too long ago. O’Grady thinks that, even though Java is dropping in the rankings, it should not be dismissed.

Rust breaks the top 20

Meanwhile, the Mozilla-developed language Rust has finally broken into the top 20 rankings after five years since its introduction. It peaked at number 18 on Tiobe’s version of the rankings.

Other languages that are increasingly gaining popularity include;

  • Kotlin, the Google-endorsed script for android apps.
  • R statistical programming language
  • TypeScript (backed by Microsoft)
  • Swift (backed by Apple)

The new languages are performing well due to their safety features. For example, a language like TypeScript combines optional safety features, ubiquity similar to JavaScript, and is used in respectable projects like VS Code.

The complete list:

  1. JavaScript
  2. Python
  3. Java
  4. PHP
  5. C++
  6. C#
  7. Ruby
  8. CSS
  9. TypeScript
  10. C
  11. Swift
  12. Objective-C
  13. R
  14. Scala
  15. Go
  16. Shell
  17. PowerShell
  18. Perl
  19. Kotlin
  20. Rust

Who will rank higher next time? We’ll let you know as soon as the reports come out.