We aggregated data from nine different rankings to produce the ZDNET Index of Programming Language Popularity. Here's which languages came out on top and what to make of this information.

Popularity consolidated in the top 20 programming languages in April, according to TIOBE Software CEO Paul Jansen. C overtook Java for the number three spot between March and April.

Python, C, and C++’s rising popularity may make it difficult for other languages to catch up. No language outside the top four achieves a rating increase of more than 1 per cent in the top 50.

Shell programming, which is a tool for programming sequences of programs, has been around since the dawn of time. It's one of the features that has given UNIX and then Linux such power.

With Tiobe’s February 2025 rankings, the publisher of the monthly index of programming language popularity notes that fast programming languages such as C++, Go, and Rust are gaining ground. But ...

The two ‘dinosaur’ languages are competing for a top 10 spot in the Tiobe index of programming language popularity. They’re still critical in legacy systems, Tiobe says.