Comparison of programming languages

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The following table compares general and technical information for the most popular programming languages as determined by the TIOBE Programming Community index. Less popular programming languages may be added as well. PHP, Javascript, SAS, PL/SQL, Visual FoxPro, Lisp/Scheme, and VB.NET are among the most popular and will be added as soon as possible. Please see the individual products' articles for further information.

Language General model of execution Influences Principal paradigm Typing discipline Introduced Popularity[1] Usage trend[2]


Ada Compilation Algol, Pascal, C++ (Ada 95), Smalltalk (Ada 95) multi-paradigm: concurrent, distributed, generic-programming, imperative, object-oriented static, strong, safe, nominative 1983 18 0
Visual Basic ? QuickBASIC ? ? 1991 5 +1
C Compilation Algol, BCPL Structured, Procedural, Flow-driven Static, weak Early 1970 2 -1
C++ Compilation C, Simula, Algol 68 Principly Object-oriented, multiple paradigms Static, weak 1979 3 +1
C# Compilation Java, C++ structured, imperative dynamic, strong, both safe and unsafe, nominative 2001 7 0
COBOL Compilation ? ? ? 1959 15 -1
ColdFusion Compilation ? ? ? 1995 16 +9
D Compilation C++ ? ? 2000 19 +8
Delphi/Kylix ? ? ? ? 1995 10 -1
Java Interpretation/JIT compilation/Dynamic compilation C++, Objective-C Object-oriented Static, strong 1996 1 +1
Perl ? C, shell, awk, sed, lisp ? Dynamic 1987 6 -3
Python Interpretation ABC, Perl Object-oriented Dynamic, strong 1990 8 0
Ruby Interpretation Smalltalk, Perl Object-oriented ? 1995 20 +10


  1. ^ From the first column of the May, 2006 TIOBE Programming Community Index. Languages are ranked sequentially from most popular to least popular based on the world-wide availability of skilled engineers, courses, and third party vendors. Google, MSN, and Yahoo are used to calculate the rank. In determining popularity for a language, the language may include or exclude other languages or derivatives. See what languages are included or excluded in the Groupings and exceptions chart below or here.
  2. ^ From the Delta in Position column of the May, 2006 TIOBE Programming Community Index. This number indicates the language's change in popularity over the last year. In determining the usage trend for a language, the language may include or exclude other languages or derivatives. See what languages are included or excluded in the Groupings and exceptions chart below or here.
Exceptions and inclusions used in determining popularity and usage trend
Language Exceptions/Inclusions
Awk Included: awk, gawk, mawk, nawk
C# Included: C#, C-Sharp, C Sharp
ColdFusion Included: ColdFusion, Cold Fusion, CFMX, CFML
D Exception: "3-D Programming"
Delphi/Kylix Included: Delphi, Kylix
IDL Exception: "corba"
Lisp/Scheme Included: Lisp, Scheme
Python Included: Python, Jython, IronPython (Jan Persson)
T-SQL Included: T-SQL, Transact-SQL
Tcl/Tk Included: Tcl/Tk, Tcl, Tk
VB.NET Included: VB.NET, Visual Basic.NET, Visual Basic .NET, Visual Basic 2005, VB 2005
Visual FoxPro Included: FoxPro, Fox Pro, VFP