Worldwide Java Use Increases Among Developers

Although Java has been recognised as the most popular and widely used programming language in the world, a study from Evans Data indicates that Java use grew even more over the last year.

According to Evans Data, Java enjoyed strong growth last year among developers in all regions of the world. The largest increase is in the Asia Pacific region where developers using Java, at least some of the time, has increased from 61 percent to 68 percent since spring of 2010, the report said.

West Reflects Java Growth

A similar increase of 7.6 percent occurred within North America. In the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, the number of total users has also increased, though to a smaller degree, according to the research.

“We’re seeing a definite resurgence in Java development across all regions” said Janel Garvin, CEO of Evans Data, in a statement. This resurgence “correlates directly with the increasing importance of the smartphone as a development target”, she added.

“Java is the most widely used language for smartphone development and is well suited for most of the major platforms including Android, Blackberry, Symbian, and cross platform Web development. Asia Pacific developers are slightly out in front because smartphone development has been more deeply ingrained in that region,” Garvin said.

Although the total number of users has increased in all regions, those who use the language more than 50 percent of the time has remained steady.

The Evans Data Global Development survey is an in-depth survey of over 1,200 software developers worldwide. It has been conducted twice a year since 2000 and follows development trends in three major regions. The latest volumes are being released to subscribers this month but interested parties can readily view the complete Table of Contents.