Developers often dispute the merits of SQL as a legitimate programming language, but this misses the point. SQL is a powerful 4GL for accessing data.

While Python is IEEE's lead programming language, the spotlight is on SQL, which leads the organization's jobs rankings.

Maybe it's not the sexiest programming language, but SQL continues to be important--at least according to one measurement.

The Traditional Role of Python Just as open-source development revolutionized SQL, it also rejuvenated programming languages that work with data.

Open source logic programming language compiles to SQL and runs on Google BigQuery, with experimental support for PostgreSQL and SQLite.

According to Coding Dojo's annual Top Programming Languages report, PHP hit an all-time low. Python continues to dominate the top position.