JavaScript, GitHub, AWS crowned winners in massive survey of 32,000 developers A survey of nearly 32,000 developers has confirmed the dominance of JavaScript, showing a remarkable 91 per cent using GitHub, and growth in use of AWS despite the efforts of Microsoft and Google. The survey was huge, with sections on 13 different programming languages, big data, databases, DevOps, developer demographics, …
[1] The sample size is less impressive than it seems at first sight. 31,743 accepted responses, 183 "countries or regions", so an average of 173 developers from each. Seven alternative working disciplines, so an average of 25 developers per country/region and discipline. We're now dealing with very small sets here from which to develop statistical arguments.
[2] Respondents were self selected and attracted via Twitter ads, Facebook ads, Instagram, Quora, VK, and JetBrains’ and "links to some user groups and tech community channels". Consequently it primarily represents a particular culture within the developer community (one that spends time on social media and possibly even one where javascript is preferred).
[3] The raw results were then "weighted", first using some quite arbitrary assumptions and then applying a mathematical "third stage" of "30+ [undisclosed] linear equations and inequalities" using "the dual method of Goldfarb and Idnani (1982, 1983)" which it's up to the reader to go and investigate.
This is not how reliable research is reported (even supposing the results are valid).
As of the 2008 standard, ANSI SQL (ANSI/ISO/IEC 9075:2008) is Turing-complete.
HTML + CSS is Turing-complete.
In any case, this canard is tired and not a useful distinction. HTML and CSS are not natural languages, and expressing intent in them requires some1 understanding of their specification and a fairly complex mental model that has some correspondence to the actual model defined by the specification and implemented (to some degree of fidelity) by major browsers.
The fact that HTML + CSS can't easily be coaxed into evaluating arbitrary computable functions doesn't in itself support the claim that the type of labor involved in creating an entity using them isn't essentially of a kind with programming.
The argument is stronger for SQL, which is clearly a declarative programming language by broad consensus.
1Often, alas, not enough. But some.
Because you're not a "partner".
These surveys essentially pick what they want as an outcome for promotion, and they don't have to try very hard to do it. Lets say you make "Super-Fresh-White-Blast" teeth cleaner, we'll they would then go around and open the front lobby door to every dentist office and yell "Who wants their teeth cleaned!", then on to the next door. Sometimes bribing the dentist comes into play, *if* the partners paid enough
For plausible deniability, these surveys always keep C at a flat line. To further that, they always state that the majority of developers are young, which is always the truth in anything creative (ie. there's more younger blacksmiths, painters, carpenters, etc.). The whole survey is a statement of the obvious with a toggle to the top for whoever paid, but make no mistake, the only "survey" undertaken was in editing.
P.S. HTML is a programming language... sure.
... how much of Javascript's "popularity" is due to each of the following:
1) Development of new systems or additional functionality in existing Javascript or well-established frameworks
2) Exploring the latest "framework-of-the-month"
3) Maintaining/repairing the shit code in production that has come about as a result of 1 & 2?
I'm certainly no statistician but I note there's a general downward trend in the use of all the languages with few exceptions. So where did all that dev talent go?
It's all a pissing a contest in the end anyway. "Oooh, you're still using C++! *pffft* Dinosaur!". At the end of the day we work to serve the needs of our companies and supply the products they need. So long as we're good at the agreed languages and the agreed languages are up to the task of serving the needs of the businesses we work for, who gives a rat's arse what language you use so long as the code works, is stable, app tests run fine and biz people are happy!
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