The Most Popular 2018 IT Trends
Software development is an extremely dynamic field. New and in-demand programming languages, frameworks and technologies can emerge, rise to fame, and fade away in the course of a few years. This is the main reason all business owners need to keep in touch with the latest trends and innovations. There are a great number of things to consider in web development, such as the visual appearance of the website, the right programming language, the database configuration/mapping, the web APIs, the caching, and the website services. Plus, there are various web development frameworks allowing significantly simple web development processes.
Since our modern and innovative world grows with incredible speed and brings many new things to programming, developers need to constantly learn new skills to stay relevant and be at the top of their games.
Based on several different researches, we have prepared a list of the most popular programming languages, various technologies, databases and frameworks now occupying the top positions. Let’s get started!
What popular programming languages should you use in 2018?
Based on redmonk.com research, here are the numerical rankings:
1. JavaScript
2. Java
3. Python
4. PHP
5. C#
6. C++
7. CSS
8. Ruby
9. C
10. Swift
11. Objective-C
12. Shell
12. R
14. TypeScript
15. Scala
16. Go
17. PowerShell
18. Perl
19. Haskell
20. Lua
The first top ten languages, more or less, are both surprising and expected. Their static nature is interesting in a technology landscape best characterized not by the high level of change but by the increasing pace of its evolution. However, it should be noted the numbers measured are accretive as with financial metrics.
In the Top Ten, there is nothing of note. But, outside the top tier, there are several changes that need to be discussed.
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- Go appeared on the stage a little less than a decade ago. It became one of the fastest growing languages outside of Swift. Not all languages can so quickly jump into the Top 20 as this language did. It is a testament to its rock solid reputation as a back-end systems language. The trajectory doesn’t give much hope Go will resume its rapid upward climb anytime soon. Nor does the language itself. While its reputation as a back-end language is unquestioned, it lacks the versatility of comparable languages like Java granting it access to new markets and new growth.
- Kotlin is ranked second as the most loved programming language and this past year received official support from Google and Android Studio. Many Android teams are converting their code bases from Java. Kotlin is now the second fastest growing language after Apple’s successor to Objective-C. Swift was able to get its rankings because it outperformed and occupied a high place on the Stack Overflow rankings. Nowadays, Kotlin is one of the fastest growing languages in the world, and with good reason. What will be particularly interesting to watch is whether Kotlin can achieve a foothold in mainstream enterprise applications. This would give it an avenue for growth Swift lacks at present.
- Powershell. Of all the programming vendors, Microsoft has, by a fair margin, the most to crow about. Its ops-oriented language, Powershell, continues its steady growth. From a macro perspective, it’s worth noting Microsoft is seeing growth across three distinct categories in operations, analytics/data science and application development. However, it’s a strong indication Microsoft’s multi-language approach to the broader market is paying dividends.
- Rust is a systems programming language sponsored by Mozilla. It is not essential every engineer learn it given its use cases, but if you want to do systems coding, you should check out Rust. Rust was voted the most loved language in the Stack Overflow survey for 3 years in 2016, 2017, and 2018. What Rust adds to the mix is an emphasis on speed and security. Rust specializes in writing “safe code” by preventing naughty programs from accessing parts of memory they shouldn’t, which can cause unexpected behavior and system crashes. The question for Rust, much like for Go, is what its broader appeal will be. That will determine whether it peaks in the back end of the top twenty or continues to grow.
- Swift. Finally, the apprentice is now the master. Technically, this isn’t entirely accurate as Swift merely tied the language it effectively replaced, Objective C, rather than passing it. Apple’s support for Objective C and the consequent opportunities it created via the iOS platform have kept the language in a high profile role. Swift is a relatively new programming language used to develop iOS and macOS applications. In a world in which it’s incredibly difficult to break into the Top 25 language rankings, let alone the Top 10, Swift has managed the chore in less than four years. It remains a growth phenomenon, even if its ability to penetrate the server side has not met expectations.
According to another research conducted by PYPL, it’s possible to see Python continued to lead while other languages such as PHP, C#, and Ruby have decreased in popularity. And here we can see this clearly.
Based on stackoverflow data 2018, for the sixth year in a row, JavaScript is the most commonly used programming language. Python has risen in the ranks, surpassing C# this year, much like it surpassed PHP last year. Python has a solid claim to being the fastest-growing major programming language.
This list also includes HTML and CSS which are used for website creation, and SQL database and Bash command processor.
What about frameworks in 2018?
Choosing the right framework for development is one of the most important steps that can influence on the quality of the future website. Here is what we have in 2018.
A survey of 28 thousand developers around the world about JavaScript covered almost all topics from interface libraries up to the basic frameworks. It showed the JavaScript ecosystem is richer than ever. But, the most experienced developer can hesitate considering the many options available at each stage. In this regard, the result is the most complete picture of the state of JavaScript currently available.
The stateofjs.com shows React remains the dominant player.However, Vue is making big gains on the back of Angular’s diminishing popularity. New framework favorites can appear on the market, like local frameworks ( Vue js. in China). But, Vue.js can eventually replace React. Angular 2 and later versions on TypeScript can gradually replace Angular 1.
In addition, there is the world wide usage showing quite incredible results:
As for mobile frameworks, PhoneGap/Cordova has a high usage score, but a very low satisfaction ratio, which is never a good sign. React Native might end up upsetting the current order of things soon, although it looks like Native Apps will always remain the most reliable solution.
What are the most popular databases in 2018?
Back again to stackoverflow.com research. The survey of 63 299 developers in 2018 asked, “Which database do you use?” and shows us a small number of developers work with Hive and Google BigQuery indicating a niche and the need for Big Data specialists.
It’s possible to see in these two tables comparing the results of the 2017 survey (pic on the left). Like last year, MySQL and SQL Server are the most commonly used databases.
It’s time to code!
When deciding which programming language to learn, or what the right technology to choose it’s important not to get caught up in hot trends and popularity contests. The best programming languages to learn in 2018 are likely the same ones best to learn in 2016 and 2017. That will continue to be true for next several years as well.
Although the field of computer programming changes rapidly, the languages we’ve discussed above have a great deal of staying power. By learning one or more of these languages, you’ll be in an excellent position not only for this year but also in the years to come. The good news is there’s no single way to learn to code, and it gets progressively easier as you go. Like learning English will help you with German grammar and vocabulary, learning one programming language helps you build a foundation making it easier to learn the next.
