Apple's Swift Programming Language Surging in Popularity

[MacRumors]

The rapidly increasing take-up of Apple's Swift programming language was confirmed again yesterday with the publication of a survey that ranks the popularity of programming languages.

In the latest TIOBE Index, Swift was ranked 10th, up four places from March 2016. As CultofMac notes, the nine programming languages ranked above it are at least two decades old, so breaking into the top 10 is a feat more impressive than it sounds. Swift was only introduced by Apple in 2014, replacing Objective-C as an easier-to-learn language.

Apple has promoted Swift as ideal for kids who are keen to code, with its gentle learning curve demonstrated in Swift Playgrounds, an app that teaches children how to use the language. Apple has been updating and refining Swift since its debut, and is set to unveil Swift 3.1 this spring.

The TIOBE Index is calculated using search engine data to approximate the popularity of programming languages within online coding communities. Earlier this year, a quarterly study revealed that Swift had become one of the most sought-after freelance developer skills among employers.

Article Link: Apple's Swift Programming Language Surging in Popularity

 

[Nozuka]

Of course the one i hate the most is number 1.

 

[Toutou]

Of course the one i hate the most is number 1.

I'd say Java -- like that clean Java in your side project -- is a totally okay language. What makes the experience horrible is the enterprisey everengineered cluster**** where it mostly "shines".

 

[Northgrove]

I'm surprised how Ruby is below both Perl and Delphi. It's not that unpopular on the web and the web in turn is a huge platform.
[doublepost=1489138433][/doublepost]

Of course the one i hate the most is number 1.

But collapsing. Look at the change number.

 

[JGRE]

Of course the one i hate the most is number 1.

Hopefully not for long.

 

[CmdrLaForge]

And objective c is down. I guess developers move from one to another. So maybe not that great.

 

[Vorkeyjones]

I thought most iOS apps were made with Objective C. How can it be so far down on the list?

 

[gnasher729]

I thought most iOS apps were made with Objective C. How can it be so far down on the list?

This is not statistics about iOS development, it is about _all_ development. And it is completely unspecified how these percentages are measured and what they mean.

 

[mkeeley]

Of course the one i hate the most is number 1.

Me too. Does less than 1% change for most of these in a year mean that much, especially the way it's measured?

 

[djcerla]

Wow... Assembly is at #13.

I remember writing assembly routines for my BASIC games for the ZX Spectrum when I was 12. I wasn't even aware it's still used today.

 

[Stella]

For all the hype around Ruby - it still isn't performing as all the noise suggests!

 

[miknos]

I'm not a programmer but I know that every Java application I used were crap! Bloated hell!

I'm not virgin though.

 

[Stella]

Most Java applications are server side these days.

Blame the developers for the crap applications you've used, not the language.

OHTD, I've used some great Java applications on the desktop.

I'm not a programmer but I know that every Java application I used were crap! Bloated hell!

I'm not virgin though.

 

[smacrumon]

Swift is quite good. Not too difficult to learn but also quite powerful.

 

[Mehanig]

The rapidly increasing

0.68% ? So close to VisualBasic .NET... Are you serious?

Okay. 0.68 isn't in any way RAPIDLY.

 

[cerote]

0.68% ? So close to VisualBasic .NET... Are you serious?

Okay. 0.68 isn't in any way RAPIDLY.

Go is booming

 

[bartvk]

Swift is quite good. Not too difficult to learn but also quite powerful.

Yep, agreed. Since I went freelance around the end of 2014, I've been working in Swift. Although I have to say, I still have to battle prejudices. One C# developer commented that the exceptions make the language slow (no) and one Objective-C freelancer claimed last week that Swift is not worth it, since the language is still changing (not since version 3).

But compared to Objective-C, the code is so much cleaner.

 

[Mr. Dee]

I want to start learning Swift, since it seems like a clean slate (no coding experience all). Anybody know of a good step by step resource (not video based) I could follow?

 

[SvenSvenson]

Wow... Assembly is at #13.

I remember writing assembly routines for my BASIC games for the ZX Spectrum when I was 12. I wasn't even aware it's still used today.

Saying that Assembler knowledge is a desired skill is a bit meaningless without specifying for which architecture.

 

[mva68]

Especially since Swift is aimed at kids learning programming, why is it not multilingual?

 

[Stella]

0.68% ? So close to VisualBasic .NET... Are you serious?

Okay. 0.68 isn't in any way RAPIDLY.

For being a language only 4 or so years old, to get up to #10 is rapid, particularly when there is a lot of competition with long established languages.

 

[maflynn]

I've been wanting to learn it, but sadly my life is to busy at the moment. Looks like a fun language to pick up

 

[Toutou]

Especially since Swift is aimed at kids learning programming, why is it not multilingual?

Swift is supposed to be a serious language for serious work, not a kids toy. And since 95% of IT things happen in English (language keywords, documentation, variable names, web discussions), no one really needs it to be multilingual. Besides that, a multilingual source code would be kinda unnecessarily difficult to parse.

 

[Krevnik]

I'm surprised how Ruby is below both Perl and Delphi. It's not that unpopular on the web and the web in turn is a huge platform.

But it has to fight against a bunch of different languages, including Perl, PHP, Java and JavaScript in this ranking. That split hurts all the web language rankings, but Perl can be used for scripting outside of web uses, and is frequently used that way.

 

[whyamihere]

I want to start learning Swift, since it seems like a clean slate (no coding experience all). Anybody know of a good step by step resource (not video based) I could follow?

I recently started courses on Lynda.com. The best thing about it is my local library provides FREE access to all the videos/courses on the site. It can be expensive, so it's worth looking into.