C is #1 used language again

[Admin]

So for those who ask what the best programming language is, you now have another reason to learn C

(Java is still a very close second, but almost no one uses Java on microcontrollers)

http://www.tiobe.com/index.php/content/paperinfo/tpci/index.html

[dunk]

what a strange index.
by their own admission it appears to graph how vocal the languages users are rather than how much the code is used:

"""The ratings are based on the number of skilled engineers world-wide, courses and third party vendors. The popular search engines Google, MSN, Yahoo!, Wikipedia and YouTube are used to calculate the ratings. Observe that the TIOBE index is not about the best programming language or the language in which most lines of code have been written."""

i would be very surprised if there was more *used* code written in Java and C combined than C++.

Java for example is used as a teaching tool in academic institutions but used far far less in industry.
a quick glance at any recruitment site will show SW engineers are using C++ followed by C, C# and a few other derivatives.
sys admins are using a mixture or Perl, Python and a few others.
the web developers appear to be holding on to PHP although most of the big internet sites use something else (which means 90% of the web pages you visit).

the thing to remember about programming languages is there is no *right* choice. use whatever you find most economical to implement the task at hand.
there are lots of zealots who insist their choice is the right choice.
thankfully on the microcontroller platforms most of us use C is the logical choice so we can avoid the arguments.

what is very interesting in the graph is the spikes in the year 2004-2005 in the run up to Google's first Summer of Code created an artificially high spike in Python and PHP at the expense of Java and as it attracted large numbers of student programmers writing web-apps.

anyway,
rant, ramble, etc.
here's a link that shows a similar study with different results:
http://langpop.com/


for the record, i think it is easy enough to switch programming languages while still at a hobbyist's level.
the important thing is to learn a programming language.
C is a good choice for us though as you can find a C compiler for any platform. PC or microcontroller.


dunk.

[Razor Concepts]

Next study - which kind of programmer gets paid more 

[richiereynolds]

That's a very strange index.
I'm recruiting at the minute for senior C++ developers and new graduates. About 80% of the CVs I get through are from people programming totally in java technologies e.g. J2EE, spring, struts etc.
I also get quite a few dot net/windows only people.
It's pretty difficult to get people with decent C or C++ experience. Mainly they appear to come from telecoms backgrounds but even there java and dot net are becoming much more prevalent.

Happily though, for me at least, there is still a mountain of C++ out there and fewer and fewer people able to maintain it. Plus there are a lot of areas where C or C++ are the only sensible choice. Hence C++ unix devlopers do get paid more  Long live supply and demand (when I'm in short supply!)

[dunk]

I'm recruiting at the minute for senior C++ developers and new graduates. About 80% of the CVs I get through are from people programming totally in java technologies e.g. J2EE, spring, struts etc.
I also get quite a few dot net/windows only people.
It's pretty difficult to get people with decent C or C++ experience. Mainly they appear to come from telecoms backgrounds but even there java and dot net are becoming much more prevalent.

interesting.
do you think there is actually that much software written in Java out there or just a disproportionate number of people out there being trained in Java related languages?
i've always presumed it was the latter.


dunk.

[paulstreats]

do you think there is actually that much software written in Java out there or just a disproportionate number of people out there being trained in Java related languages?
i've always presumed it was the latter.

I think there are a lot more people being trained in just java and other higher level languages. Low level languages seem to be something kept purely for computer sciences students these days.

It can be difficult to know if there are a lot of applications made with java as some people use native compilers(against the Java principle I know) so they run as direct executables rather than through the Java Runtime Environment.


 Java Servlets are also quite popular these days even though you dont realise it as other web languages can use and instantiate servlets while keeping the browser window as its own output console.


(I do believe that a certain amount of Object Orientated programming could benefit robotics though..)

[richiereynolds]

do you think there is actually that much software written in Java out there or just a disproportionate number of people out there being trained in Java related languages?

All the comp sci grads we get have only done java. Occasionally an electronic engineering grad will have some c but they're pretty scarce.
I think that most large companies in most sectors e.g. bespoke software houses, telecoms, insurance, banks  (I've worked in all those) are all using java technologies or .net in general now as they're much faster to market and they find it much easier to find experienced people in those technologies.
I only see C/C++ where there's a genuine need for it i.e. resource or performance concerns.

If java was fast enough for what I do I'd be using it to be honest. In fact, we do use it for components where high performance isn't essential. As a language I much prefer it to C++. ( Personal preference, please don't start a war  )