$$ % Typography and symbols \newcommand{\msf}[1]{\mathsf{#1}} \newcommand{\ctx}{\Gamma} \newcommand{\qamp}{&\quad} \newcommand{\qqamp}{&&\quad} \newcommand{\Coloneqq}{::=} \newcommand{\proves}{\vdash} \newcommand{\star}[1]{#1^{*}} \newcommand{\eps}{\varepsilon} \newcommand{\nul}{\varnothing} \newcommand{\brc}[1]{\{{#1}\}} \newcommand{\binopm}[2]{#1~\bar{\oplus}~#2} \newcommand{\mag}[1]{|{#1}|} \newcommand{\aequiv}{\equiv_\alpha} \newcommand{\semi}[2]{{#1};~{#2}} % Untyped lambda calculus \newcommand{\fun}[2]{\lambda ~ {#1} ~ . ~ {#2}} \newcommand{\app}[2]{#1 ~ #2} \newcommand{\fix}[3]{\msf{fix}~({#1} : {#2}) ~ . ~ #3 } \newcommand{\truet}{\msf{true}} \newcommand{\falset}{\msf{false}} \newcommand{\define}[2]{{#1} \triangleq {#2}} % Typed lambda calculus - expressions \newcommand{\funt}[3]{\lambda ~ \left(#1 : #2\right) ~ . ~ #3} \newcommand{\lett}[4]{\msf{let} ~ \hasType{#1}{#2} = #3 ~ \msf{in} ~ #4} \newcommand{\letrec}[4]{\msf{letrec} ~ \hasType{#1}{#2} = #3 ~ \msf{in} ~ #4}a \newcommand{\ift}[3]{\msf{if} ~ {#1} ~ \msf{then} ~ {#2} ~ \msf{else} ~ {#3}} \newcommand{\rec}[5]{\msf{rec}(#1; ~ #2.#3.#4)(#5)} \newcommand{\case}[5]{\msf{case} ~ {#1} ~ \{ L(#2) \to #3 \mid R(#4) \to #5 \}} \newcommand{\pair}[2]{\left({#1},~{#2}\right)} \newcommand{\proj}[2]{#1 . #2} \newcommand{\inj}[3]{\msf{inj} ~ #1 = #2 ~ \msf{as} ~ #3} \newcommand{\letv}[3]{\msf{let} ~ {#1} = {#2} ~ \msf{in} ~ {#3}} \newcommand{\fold}[2]{\msf{fold}~{#1}~\msf{as}~{#2}} \newcommand{\unfold}[1]{\msf{unfold}~{#1}} \newcommand{\poly}[2]{\Lambda~{#1}~.~ #2} \newcommand{\polyapp}[2]{{#1}~\left[{#2}\right]} \newcommand{\export}[3]{\msf{export}~ #1 ~\msf{without}~{#2}~\msf{as}~ #3} \newcommand{\import}[4]{\msf{import} ~ ({#1}, {#2}) = {#3} ~ \msf{in} ~ #4} % Typed lambda calculus - types \newcommand{\tnum}{\msf{num}} \newcommand{\tstr}{\msf{string}} \newcommand{\tint}{\msf{int}} \newcommand{\tbool}{\msf{bool}} \newcommand{\tfun}[2]{#1 \rightarrow #2} \newcommand{\tprod}[2]{#1 \times #2} \newcommand{\tsum}[2]{#1 + #2} \newcommand{\trec}[2]{\mu~{#1}~.~{#2}} \newcommand{\tvoid}{\msf{void}} \newcommand{\tunit}{\msf{unit}} \newcommand{\tpoly}[2]{\forall~{#1}~.~{#2}} \newcommand{\tmod}[2]{\exists ~ {#1} ~ . ~ #2} % WebAssembly \newcommand{\wconst}[1]{\msf{i32.const}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wbinop}[1]{\msf{i32}.{#1}} \newcommand{\wgetlocal}[1]{\msf{get\_local}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wsetlocal}[1]{\msf{set\_local}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wgetglobal}[1]{\msf{get\_global}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wsetglobal}[1]{\msf{set\_global}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wload}{\msf{i32.load}} \newcommand{\wstore}{\msf{i32.store}} \newcommand{\wsize}{\msf{memory.size}} \newcommand{\wgrow}{\msf{memory.grow}} \newcommand{\wunreachable}{\msf{unreachable}} \newcommand{\wblock}[1]{\msf{block}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wloop}[1]{\msf{loop}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wbr}[1]{\msf{br}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wbrif}[1]{\msf{br\_if}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wreturn}{\msf{return}} \newcommand{\wcall}[1]{\msf{call}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wlabel}[2]{\msf{label}~\{#1\}~{#2}} \newcommand{\wframe}[2]{\msf{frame}~({#1}, {#2})} \newcommand{\wtrapping}{\msf{trapping}} \newcommand{\wbreaking}[1]{\msf{breaking}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wreturning}[1]{\msf{returning}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wconfig}[5]{\{\msf{module}{:}~{#1};~\msf{mem}{:}~{#2};~\msf{locals}{:}~{#3};~\msf{stack}{:}~{#4};~\msf{instrs}{:}~{#5}\}} \newcommand{\wfunc}[4]{\{\msf{params}{:}~{#1};~\msf{locals}{:}~{#2};~\msf{return}~{#3};~\msf{body}{:}~{#4}\}} \newcommand{\wmodule}[1]{\{\msf{funcs}{:}~{#1}\}} \newcommand{\wcg}{\msf{globals}} \newcommand{\wcf}{\msf{funcs}} \newcommand{\wci}{\msf{instrs}} \newcommand{\wcs}{\msf{stack}} \newcommand{\wcl}{\msf{locals}} \newcommand{\wclab}{\msf{labels}} \newcommand{\wcm}{\msf{mem}} \newcommand{\wcmod}{\msf{module}} \newcommand{\wsteps}[2]{\steps{\brc{#1}}{\brc{#2}}} \newcommand{\with}{\underline{\msf{with}}} \newcommand{\wvalid}[2]{{#1} \vdash {#2}~\msf{valid}} \newcommand{\wif}[2]{\msf{if}~{#1}~{\msf{else}}~{#2}} \newcommand{\wfor}[4]{\msf{for}~(\msf{init}~{#1})~(\msf{cond}~{#2})~(\msf{post}~{#3})~{#4}} % assign4.3 custom \newcommand{\wtry}[2]{\msf{try}~{#1}~\msf{catch}~{#2}} \newcommand{\wraise}{\msf{raise}} \newcommand{\wraising}[1]{\msf{raising}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wconst}[1]{\msf{i32.const}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wbinop}[1]{\msf{i32}.{#1}} \newcommand{\wgetlocal}[1]{\msf{get\_local}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wsetlocal}[1]{\msf{set\_local}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wgetglobal}[1]{\msf{get\_global}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wsetglobal}[1]{\msf{set\_global}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wload}{\msf{i32.load}} \newcommand{\wstore}{\msf{i32.store}} \newcommand{\wsize}{\msf{memory.size}} \newcommand{\wgrow}{\msf{memory.grow}} \newcommand{\wunreachable}{\msf{unreachable}} \newcommand{\wblock}[1]{\msf{block}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wloop}[1]{\msf{loop}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wbr}[1]{\msf{br}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wbrif}[1]{\msf{br\_if}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wreturn}{\msf{return}} \newcommand{\wcall}[1]{\msf{call}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wlabel}[2]{\msf{label}~\{#1\}~{#2}} \newcommand{\wframe}[2]{\msf{frame}~({#1}, {#2})} \newcommand{\wtrapping}{\msf{trapping}} \newcommand{\wbreaking}[1]{\msf{breaking}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wreturning}[1]{\msf{returning}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wconfig}[5]{\{\msf{module}{:}~{#1};~\msf{mem}{:}~{#2};~\msf{locals}{:}~{#3};~\msf{stack}{:}~{#4};~\msf{instrs}{:}~{#5}\}} \newcommand{\wfunc}[4]{\{\msf{params}{:}~{#1};~\msf{locals}{:}~{#2};~\msf{return}~{#3};~\msf{body}{:}~{#4}\}} \newcommand{\wmodule}[1]{\{\msf{funcs}{:}~{#1}\}} \newcommand{\wcg}{\msf{globals}} \newcommand{\wcf}{\msf{funcs}} \newcommand{\wci}{\msf{instrs}} \newcommand{\wcs}{\msf{stack}} \newcommand{\wcl}{\msf{locals}} \newcommand{\wcm}{\msf{mem}} \newcommand{\wcmod}{\msf{module}} \newcommand{\wsteps}[2]{\steps{\brc{#1}}{\brc{#2}}} \newcommand{\with}{\underline{\msf{with}}} \newcommand{\wvalid}[2]{{#1} \vdash {#2}~\msf{valid}} % assign4.3 custom \newcommand{\wtry}[2]{\msf{try}~{#1}~\msf{catch}~{#2}} \newcommand{\wraise}{\msf{raise}} \newcommand{\wraising}[1]{\msf{raising}~{#1}} \newcommand{\wif}[2]{\msf{if}~{#1}~{\msf{else}}~{#2}} \newcommand{\wfor}[4]{\msf{for}~(\msf{init}~{#1})~(\msf{cond}~{#2})~(\msf{post}~{#3})~{#4}} \newcommand{\windirect}[1]{\msf{call\_indirect}~{#1}} % session types \newcommand{\ssend}[2]{\msf{send}~{#1};~{#2}} \newcommand{\srecv}[2]{\msf{recv}~{#1};~{#2}} \newcommand{\soffer}[4]{\msf{offer}~\{{#1}\colon({#2})\mid{#3}\colon({#4})\}} \newcommand{\schoose}[4]{\msf{choose}~\{{#1}\colon({#2})\mid{#3}\colon({#4})\}} \newcommand{\srec}[1]{\msf{label};~{#1}} \newcommand{\sgoto}[1]{\msf{goto}~{#1}} \newcommand{\dual}[1]{\overline{#1}} % Inference rules \newcommand{\inferrule}[3][]{\cfrac{#2}{#3}\;{#1}} \newcommand{\ir}[3]{\inferrule[\text{(#1)}]{#2}{#3}} \newcommand{\s}{\hspace{1em}} \newcommand{\nl}{\\[2em]} \newcommand{\evalto}{\boldsymbol{\overset{*}{\mapsto}}} \newcommand{\steps}[2]{#1 \boldsymbol{\mapsto} #2} \newcommand{\evals}[2]{#1 \evalto #2} \newcommand{\subst}[3]{[#1 \rightarrow #2] ~ #3} \newcommand{\dynJ}[2]{#1 \proves #2} \newcommand{\dynJC}[1]{\dynJ{\ctx}{#1}} \newcommand{\typeJ}[3]{#1 \proves \hasType{#2}{#3}} \newcommand{\typeJC}[2]{\typeJ{\ctx}{#1}{#2}} \newcommand{\hasType}[2]{#1 : #2} \newcommand{\val}[1]{#1~\msf{val}} \newcommand{\num}[1]{\msf{Int}(#1)} \newcommand{\err}[1]{#1~\msf{err}} \newcommand{\trans}[2]{#1 \leadsto #2} \newcommand{\size}[1]{\left|#1\right|} $$

&Notepad

The Last Decade of Programming, According to Google Trends

Will Crichton   —   March 29, 2020
I explore programming trends through Google searches, like jQuery vs. React, Hadoop vs. Spark, RPi vs. Arduino, and more.

Has programming really changed in the last decade? One way to answer this is by looking at Google searches. Changes in search queries is hopefully a meaningful proxy for the underlying popularity (but not necessarily influence!) of a tool. For example, using Google’s Trends tool, we can look at how frontend web development has changed by comparing frameworks (query):

A few notes on how to interpret this graph.

The graph above indicates that jQuery was hugely dominant in frontend web development for a long time, but has slowly died off with the rise of other frameworks. We can see the relative proportions today by zooming in to the last two years:

Neat, right? Try doing some searches yourself! Here’s the first example again if you want to play around using my configuration: https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?cat=31&date=all&geo=US&q=jquery,react,backbone,angular,vue

Let’s dive into some other application areas.

Web servers

Ruby on Rails, Django, Flask, and Node.js:

Rails is dominant for a while. Django and Flask still far from the mainstream, apparently, although “Node.js” is a little general as a query.

High-performance web

WebGL, WebAssembly, Emscripten, node.js:

A uniquely last-decade trend. WebGL, Emscripten, and Asm.js kicked off the high-performance web trend, and WebAssembly has started to pick up steam.

Mobile apps

Android, iOS, and iPad:

Android and iOS are still neck-and-neck, although popularity has dimmed over the last decade.

Game engines

Adobe Flash, Unity, and Unreal Engine:

Flash has been slain at the hands of Steve Jobs. He published his famous “Thoughts on Flash” letter almost exactly a decade ago. Unity and Unreal have filled the void (or maybe Roblox and Minecraft have?).

Data science

Jupyter, numpy, and pandas

Another last-decade trend is the overall rise of the data scientist. Correspondingly, their faithful tools have gained popularity: Jupyter, numpy, and pandas all rose with numpy at the top.

Data visualization

D3.js, Matplotlib, ggplot2

The inscrutable Matplotlib leads the data visualization trend, but maybe it just generates more search traffic because it’s hard to use?

Cloud computing

Google Cloud, AWS, Azure

While it feels ubiquitous today, even cloud computing is really a last-decade trend. Amazon and Microsoft battle for first, while Google struggles below.

Big data

Hadoop, Spark, Kafka

Hadoop passes the baton to Spark as it becomes the leading big data processor.

Machine learning

TensorFlow, Pytorch, Caffe, scikit-learn

Machine learning frameworks are on the rise with the popularity of deep learning, with TensorFlow at the top, but falling precipitously. Scikit-learn was doing machine learning before it was cool.

Embedded computing

Raspberry Pi, Arduino

The embedded computing platforms Raspberry Pi and Arduino both hit the big time at the beginning of the decade. Did you know that the Pi is the third best-selling general-purpose computing platform of all time?

Education

Scratch, Lego Mindstorms, Alice

The pre-college programming education landscape hasn’t changed significantly in terms of tools specialized to education (e.g. the shift to Python isn’t represnted here). Well, one notable change though…

Version control

Git, Subversion, Mercurial, Perforce

Git won.

Addendum: Programming Languages

Since there are existing metrics for tracking programming language popularity, we can look to those to see how PLs changed over the decade. The PYPL measures search interest for language tutorials. For example, the top 6 PLs by popularity:

Note that the graph uses a log-scale on the y-axis. The most notable trend here: Python grew from 3% of total search volume to 30% of total search volume. It wins the language of the decade award, hands down!

A few more comparisons:

Systems languages

C/C++ still hold dominant. Go moderately more popular than Rust.

Scripting languages

Ruby and Visual Basic in decline, Javascript roughly constant, Python to the top.

Scientific computing languages

Matlab starts to die, R gets more popular but seems to plateau.

Java-like languages

Look at the elbow on the Swift line!