C++, having already overtaken Java in the Tiobe index of programming language popularity, soon could overtake the C language, too. Also rising in the index were JavaScript and Cobol.

In the Tiobe index for July 2023, C++ finished third, just .76% behind second-place C. Python ranked first and Java fourth. Tiobe cited the demand for performance as driving C++ usage. “C dominated this area for a very long time, but it is not scalable. Now that systems tend to become larger, C++ is the way to go for fields such as automotive, financial markets (trading), medical, and semiconductors,” said Paul Jansen, CEO of software quality services provider Tiobe, in an email this week.

JavaScript reached sixth place in the July report, an all-time high for the popular language for web development. ”The reason why JavaScript is rising is unclear to me,” Jansen said. “I think it is mainly due to the fact that Visual Basic is gradually going out of fashion.” Also this month, Cobol re-entered the top 20 after a long time outside of it, ranking 20th. Cobol ranked 26th a year ago.

Tiobe’s monthly index is based on a formula that assesses the number of skilled engineers, courses, and third-party vendors related to each programming language worldwide, calculated by examining popular search engines such as Google, Bing, Yahoo, and Wikipedia.

The Tiobe index top 10 for July 2023 was as follows:

1. Python, with a 13.42% rating
2. C (11.56%)
3. C++ (10.8%)
4. Java (10.5%)
5. C# (6.87%)
6. JavaScript (3.11%)
7. Visual Basic (2.9%)
8. SQL (1.48%)
9. PHP (1.41%
10. MATLAB (1.26%)

In the alternative Pypl Popularity of Programming Language index, which analyzes how often language tutorials are searched on in Google, the top 10 for July 2023 was as follows:

1. Python, with a 27.43 share
2. Java (16.19%)
3. JavaScript (9.4%)
4. C# (6.77%)
5. C/C++ (6.44%)
6. PHP (5.03%)
7. R language (4.45%)
8. TypeScript (3.02%)
9. Swift (2.42%)
10. Rust (2.15%)