Python overtakes Java to become second-most popular language on GitHub after JavaScript

GitHub's annual "State of the Octoverse" report shows that Python has overtaken Java as the second-most popular language after JavaScript, based on the primary language of repository contributors. Python is not the fastest growing language though, that honour belongs to Dart, up 532 per cent, probably thanks to the growth of …

[Adrian 4]

Popular ?

But what does popular mean ?

Used by lots of people ? Loved by lots of people ? Has more fixes than anything else ? More bugs than anything else ?

One day I'll find some python that works. Mostly it just seems to be a mess of incompatible dependencies and roll-your-own package managers.

[diodesign]

Re: Popular ?

From the first sentence in the article:

Python has overtaken Java as the second-most popular language after JavaScript, *based on the primary language of repository contributors*

C.

[sorry, what?]

I wonder...

Could this be being driven by educational use of the language for teaching purposes?

[Will Godfrey]

Javascript

Are we still calling that a language?

I think I'd prefer Klingon

[Bite my finger]

Re: Javascript

I still prefer calling it "Javascript," but whatever.

[Rich 2]

Hardly representitive!!

The problem with these stats is that they are based on github data. So only stuff uploaded to gitgub will feature.

This is why there's loads of JS and Python. Because these are hacky scripty languages that everyone writes throwaway stuff in.

What ISN'T in the stats, of course, is stuff that ISN'T open source and uploaded to github. If it included all this stuff as well, then the result would be very different - for one, I would put money on it that C is at the top of the list because there are many millions of lines of C written every day. It's just that most of it isn't and never will be open source. Same goes for C++.

[OldSoCalCoder]

Re: Hardly representitive!!

What gets reported as 'the most popular language' = what shows up in 'wanted, experience in ...' = what gets reported as 'the most popular language = what shows up in ... wait, am I repeating myself here?

I like languages that have been used for years to do really hard things well. I like languages that have tools that work, a development environment that's not cobbled together bits and pieces and that will let me find out what's wrong fast.

[Richard Plinston]

Re: Hardly representitive!!

> 'the most popular language' = what shows up in 'wanted, experience in ...'

Ahh, the 'empty desk count'. That has been used to claim 'popularity' in some form, as if the lack of people willing to fill the desk that requires working in that language represents it being popular.

[Anonymous Coward]

Me too

Hey - did they count my contribution? Just yesterday I created a github account and uploaded my javascript/php project. It's loaded with html5 css3, bootstrap-4, jquery, json data'd javascript to php shite I can possibly throw in there. The standalone browser / server application does absolutely nothing. It serves no purpose other than as a learning base for me, posted to github because I've read in job postings 'git experience is a must'. Obviously I should have thrown in some ruby, rust, node.js etc. files just to attract attention. Give me a few days, it'll be up there asap!

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Me too

And I'll upload some Smalltalk

[Will Godfrey]

Re: Me too

C/C++ here, but I expect the little project I work on is far below their radar.

[Blackjack]

Finally!

print("Hello, Java, you suck")

[simonb_london]

Re: Finally!

Not

print("Hello, Java, you suck"),

it's

print "Hello, Java, you suck"

Sorry. I'm a bit old fashioned for this new-fangled Python 3 thing!

[Baldrickk]

Re: Finally!

print("Hello, Java, you suck") - this is perfectly valid python2

$ python --version

Python 2.7.10

$ python -c 'print("Hello, Java, you suck")'

Hello, Java, you suck