67-year-programming language ranks in the top 10 of the Tiobe index of programming language popularity for two months running. Credit: Natalya Duryagina / Shutterstock Fortran’s return to the top 10 in Tiobe’s monthly index of language popularity is being attributed to the growing importance of numerical or mathematical computing. Fortran returned to the top 10 in the index for April 2024 and retains the 10th place in the index for May 2024. The rating for Fortran did slip a bit, from 1.47% last month to 1.24% this month. But before April, Fortran’s last appearance in the Tiobe top 10 was April 2002. Paul Jansen, CEO of Tiobe, a provider of tools for measuring software quality, attributed Fortran’s recent rise to the language’s advantages for numerical/mathematical computing. “Despite lots of competitors in this field, Fortran has its reason for existence,” Jansen said. He noted shortcomings in the competition: Python, while the top choice, is slow; MATLAB comes with expensive licensing; C/C++, while mainstream and fast, has no native computation support; R is slow; Julia, while rising, is not mature yet. “And in this jungle of languages, Fortran appears to be fast, having native mathematical computation support, mature, and free of charge. Silently, slowly but surely, Fortran gains ground. It is surprising but undeniable.” The Tiobe Programming Community Index gauges language popularity based on the number of skilled engineers worldwide, courses, and third-party vendors. The ratings are calculated using Google, Bing, Wikipedia, and more than 20 other websites. The Tiobe index top 10 for May 2024: Python, with a rating of 16.3% C, 9.98% C++, 9.53% Java, 8.69% C#, 6.49% JavaScript, 3.01% Visual Basic, 2.01% Go (golang), 1.6% SQL, 1.44% Fortran, 1.24% The rival Pypl Popularity of Programming Language index assesses how often language tutorials are searched on in Google. The Pypl index top 10 for May 2024: Python, with a 29.98% share Java, 15.97% JavaScript, 8.79% C#, 6.78% C/C++, 6.46% R, 4.76% PHP, 4.55% TypeScript, 3.03% Swift, 2.76% Rust, 2.6% Related content analysis Beyond the usual suspects: 5 fresh data science tools to try today The mid-month report includes quick tips for easier Python installation, a new VS Code-like IDE just for Python and R users, and five newer data science tools you won't want to miss. By Serdar Yegulalp Jul 12, 2024 2 mins Python Programming Languages Software Development analysis Generative AI won’t fix cloud migration You’ve probably heard how generative AI will solve all cloud migration problems. It’s not that simple. Generative AI could actually make it harder and more costly. By David Linthicum Jul 12, 2024 5 mins Generative AI Artificial Intelligence Cloud Computing news HR professionals trust AI recommendations HireVue survey finds 73% of HR professionals trust AI to make candidate recommendations, while 75% of workers are opposed to AI making hiring decisions. By Paul Krill Jul 11, 2024 3 mins Technology Industry Careers how-to Safety off: Programming in Rust with `unsafe` What does it mean to write unsafe code in Rust, and what can you do (and not do) with the 'unsafe' keyword? The facts may surprise you. By Serdar Yegulalp Jul 11, 2024 8 mins Rust Programming Languages Software Development Resources Videos