Most popular programming languages on Stack Overflow since Sept 2008 [video] | Hacker News Reader

Most popular programming languages on Stack Overflow since Sept 2008 [video]

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18 pointscryptofits19 comments

Questions on StackOverflow might occur in bursts, after a release or a major project goes public. So statistics on the number of questions doesn't quite relate to 'interest' or 'industry usage', but more like 'churn'?

Also SQL lost traction, but a dedicated SE took off in the meantime (https://dba.stackexchange.com).

Stats should be aggregated at the whole SE level not only SO.

I wouldn't consider SQL a general purpose programming language

Hold my beer....

Back in the early 2000's I worked with a SQL specialist who managed to cram the functionality of a whole web app into a SQL database...UI rendering, business logic, the whole shebang. It sat behind a rudimentary Classic ASP app that just made calls to stored procedures.

i remember using Informix web blade in late 90s, but it wasn't pure SQL

PL-SQL, Transact-SQL, or ANSI SQL?

T-SQL on MS SQL Server 2000.

I'd really prefer stuff like this be in more of a slideshow format so I can easily go between time points and compare without having to scrub around the video and press pause/play, memorize what i'm looking at, then scrub around for another time point, etc., but I guess a video is sexier.

It's even terrible for what it is.

If you look at the scale bars background, the scale shifts to preserve the length of the largest bar. This makes sense if you're just looking at one image but when going time to time it means the motion of each bar is distorted.

A bar could shrink while gaining in percentage if the maximal bar is growing at a faster rate... What? Why?!?

Interesting but important to keep in mind that as languages mature fewer questions need to be asked.

Very true. There comes a point where most of the problems/algorithms have already been asked and figured out (or deemed not possible).

That is assuming this only is a measurement of new questions posted for a language. I have no idea, is it?

JavaScript is trending up because it is more confusing than ever. Even angular before version 2 is so different from version after that

Please stop, rehasing tired memes belongs on Reddit.

Serious question as the previous comment seems serious. How is one supposed to know what's being constantly written about something if you don't read HN on a daily basis? Seems like we should assume that the commentator is making an effort to leave a "novel" comment but this time it wasn't, but it might not be the commentators fault.

My own takeaways from this:

1. Old techs is been replaced by the newer and finer ones

2. Profitability effects the tend of languages

3. Easy (to use) is important

4. One single simple idea (Nodejs for example) can change the landscape so much

1) Aren't python and java "old" now? 20-25 years? C is... what, 40 years old?

2) Python ??? profit? Maybe if Ruby on Rails was up there...

3) Define easy to use...

4) Nodejs and the rapidly changing quicksand of JS, IMO is not easy to use, thus my confusion on point #3.

Let my explain:

> Aren't python and java "old" now? 20-25 years? C is... what, 40 years old?

"Modern" (Even though it's 25 years old) languages usually forced on productivity more: The language is easier to understand and use, the programmer can focus on the logic of their program instead of battling the system etc.

And, since we already in a well-developed industry, productivity can translate to profitability, and usually it does.

Simplify my opinion here: Productivity (or profitability maybe) drives tech tend.

Python is hot today because it can be used in many fields which is hot today. Back-end dev, script, and maybe some machine learning + data research etc. And Python makes doing those things easy (in terms of easy to use) because both of the language itself (not a bad language) and it's ecosystem (Many of things you wanted are just one pip away).

Also, even I do not think JavaScript is a good language, but I must say it's a easy language to get started: 1) You don't need to learn a lot to write "Hello World" (`alert("Hello World")`) and later other simple functions. 2) Web browser is the playground which you already have. 3) The ecosystem is huge (Many things are just one npm away). 4) Let's don't forget that you can make money from it.

Now imagine if one day you have to understand compiler, linker and manual memory management to write webpage scripts. Much harder, right? :)

Does this include questions that were quickly downvoted? You get a lot of people asking things they could have found with a search, and those get downvoted quite fast.

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