If you’re considering learning a programming language, Python is probably high on your list. It makes sense: This language has become the most popular language in recent years, with the help of artificial intelligence, where it is used extensively.

The prestigious IEEE Spectrum’s new list of the world’s most important programming languages ​​confirms this. This organization has been structuring this particular ranking for years and yet Python tops the overall rankingsBe careful, because there are surprise heroes like SQL or the old rockers Fortran and COBOL, which retain a notable role even half a century after their creation.

The IEEE Spectrum ranking took into account a classification according to general popularity (Spectrum), another aimed to indicate the most prominent languages ​​in the professional field (Jobs), and the third includes the languages ​​that have become the most fashionable in recent months. .

Python comes in first in two of the three rankings, and it’s a bit surprising to see how the database management language fares. SQL is the most relevant in the professional field. As explained in IEEE Spectrum, this data is actually misleading because SQL is highly appreciated in professional environments if the candidate also has experience in one of the popular languages ​​such as Java or C++, which continue to lead the way in these environments. JavaScript.

Variants of the legendary C language have a greater combined relevance than Python, especially in high-performance domains and scenarios where efficiency is sought. It makes sense to think like this: Python is an interpreted language that needs this extra component during execution, making it not ideal for certain domains.

There are also surprises The modest but still notable role of long-lived languages ​​such as Fortran or COBOL. Both continue to be used at scientific institutions such as the prestigious Oak Ridge National Laboratory or in public and government agencies where they do not need to be replaced.

This list in some cases contradicts the list they publish each year on Stack Overflow. A few months ago they had already pointed out how SQL was growing in relevance, but Javascript and HTML/CSS were being used much more than that and Python. The strange thing is that Rust is the most loved language according to this classification, but in the IEEE Spectrum it has a hidden position in three rankings, like Elixir (almost irrelevant) or Clojure, which is also a “dialect” of the legendary Lisp.

What seems clear is that in both cases the relevance of Python, SQL, Java, JavaScript, and both C and its descendants (C++, C#) remains spectacular compared to the much less widely used alternatives. This, be careful, does not mean that these should be thrown away: normally the highest salaries go to programmers of unpopular languages ​​like the one mentioned above. Clojure, Zig (sort of C 2.0), ErlangF#, Lisp, Ruby or Elixir.

Image | Caspar Camille Rubin

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