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The 25 Hottest Technologies in Q2 2016

Jul 11, 2016

Based on the number of active StackOverflow posts, the 25 hottest technologies of Q2, 2016 are:

  1. JavaScript – 11.7%
  2. Java – 9.9%
  3. Android – 8.6%
  4. PHP – 7.5%
  5. C# – 7.2%
  6. Python – 6.8%
  7. jQuery – 5.2%
  8. HTML – 5.0%
  9. iOS – 4.3%
  10. CSS – 3.5%
  11. C++ – 3.4%
  12. MySQL – 3.1%
  13. AngularJS – 3.1%
  14. SQL – 2.4%
  15. Swift – 2.3%
  16. Node.Js – 2.1%
  17. R – 2.0%
  18. JSON – 1.8%
  19. Ruby on Rails – 1.7%
  20. ASP.NET – 1.7%
  21. C – 1.5%
  22. SQL Server – 1.5%
  23. Objective-C – 1.4%
  24. .NET – 1.3%
  25. Excel – 1.2%

The percentages in the list above show the percentage of active posts tagged with that tag compared to all the active posts tagged with any of the top 25 tags. For example, in the second quarter of 2016, there were 96,315 active posts tagged with JavaScript and a total of 825,596 active posts tagged with one of the 25 tags above. So, 96,315 / 825,596 is .117 or 11.7%.

The two images below show how popular these technologies have been since 2014:
Y-Axis is the Number of Posts

Most Popular Technologies: 1 – 13

13 most popular technologies

Most Popular Technologies: 14 – 25

next 12 most popular technologies

HTML Training jQuery Training iOS Training iOS Training C++ Training C++ Training CSS Training CSS Training MySQL Training Python Training MySQL Training C# Training Angular Training PHP Training JavaScript Training Java Training Android Training C# Training Python Training Android Training JavaScript Training HTML Training Java Training PHP Training jQuery Training C/C++ Training SQL Server Training Excel Training SQL Training SQL Training Swift Training Node.js Training R Training Ruby on Rails Training Ruby on Rails Training Objective-C Training Objective-C Training ASP.NET Training C/C++ Training ASP.NET Training

Update 1: July 12, 2016

Sudesh pointed out that there is a general downward trend until Q1, 2014. This seems to be a reflection of activity on StackOverflow rather than of a general interest in the technologies relative to each other. This query showing the total number of active posts on Stack Overflow per quarter supports this. Here are the results:

Quarter Num Posts
2014, Q1 1,867,218
2014, Q2 1,743,856
2014, Q3 1,672,515
2014, Q4 1,638,290
2015, Q1 1,821,998
2015, Q2 2,000,206
2015, Q3 2,236,030
2015, Q4 2,272,914
2016, Q1 2,490,584
2016, Q2 2,670,822

Notice the drop until 2014, Q2 and then the rise from there.

It’s perhaps more useful to view the popularity of the technologies compared to all activity on Stack Overflow. The following charts show that.

Most Popular Technologies (Relative): 1 – 13

13 most popular technologies relative to total posts

Most Popular Technologies (Relative): 14 – 25

next 12 most popular technologies relative to total posts

END UPDATE 1. Thanks, Sudesh!

The query I used to get the original data is available on StackExchange.

  • Sudesh

    Why are most technologies going down till ~Q4, 2014 ? Was the popularity of SO on decline?

    • Great point, Sudesh! I think this is a reflection of activity on StackOverflow rather than of the popularity of the individual technologies. I’ve updated the post with some new charts. Thanks!

  • Alexei Martchenko

    Do Java and Android overlap?

    • Great question, Alexei. I just ran a query on that (http://data.stackexchange.com/stackoverflow/query/edit/511646) and yes they do. In Q2, 2016, there were 13,303 posts that were tagged both Java and Android. It’s not nothing, but I don’t think it changes the picture that much.

      • Alexei Martchenko

        On a second thought, it doesn’t matter. Like jQuery, Javascript and JSON or different SQLs or even .NET and C#, there’s always something overlapping, but they are indeed other technologies.

  • mehran okhovat

    If some one would want to start building a site like amazon or jet.com what curent technology would be the best?