Java Tech Popularity Index Q4/2023

What’s This?

Picking a popular technology makes our developer life easier. My free, quarterly newsletter measures Java technology popularity by following the money: job ads in 59 countries and online course purchases by 60+ million developers. I also analyze developer interest with Google searches and developer engagement with questions at Stack Overflow.

The Java technologies are: IDEs, build tools, JVM languages, databases, back-end frameworks, web frameworks, and mobile app frameworks. I also recommend options in each of these seven areas. My recommendations are based on that popularity, industry analysis, and my 24 years of Java experience.

Why popularity? Because popular technologies are easier to learn, build, debug & deploy, easier to find jobs/hire, and easier to convince teammates & bosses. Popularity can make a difference in two situations: When multiple technologies score similarly, we could go for the most popular one. And when a technology is very unpopular, we may not use it.

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Table Of Contents

• What’s This?
• Archive
• Update for Q4/2023
  • Data Updates
  • Feature Updates
  • Side Quests
• IDEs
• Build Tools
• JVM Languages
• Databases
• Back-End Frameworks
• Web Frameworks
• Mobile App Frameworks
• Next Issue

Archive

Update for Q4/2023

Data Updates

• Developer job ads dipped 30% in 2023.
• Monthly Stack Overflow questions dropped 42% since ChatGPT, with JavaScript at -56% and Python at -59%.
• Since June 22, Udemy’s first-time Python course purchases have outpaced Java’s 7.1 million to 2 million.
• Job ads for Quarkus and Micronaut continue to rebound.
• The number of developer ads is generally down in 2023 by about 30%.
• The monthly number of Stack Overflow questions is down 42% since ChatGPT appeared in November 2022 (as of October 31, 2023). Here are example losses: Angular 42% and Flutter 45% after January this year, React 50% in 2023, and Java 45%, JavaScript 56%, and Python 59% after November 2022.

Feature Updates

• The charts with the number of monthly questions at Stack Overflow now show the ChatGPT release on November 30, 2022.
• The charts for job ads and Udemy students show “100%” only once.
• The vertical axis in the charts for Google Searches and Stack Overflow questions now has dimmed numbers.

Side Quests

I published one InfoQ news item since September: JAX London 2023: Team Dynamics, Developer Platforms, and the Adoption of AI. It’s not a coincidence that I wrote about JAX London – I presented there on October 4, 2023.

IDEs

Here is the scorecard of VS Code (left) and Eclipse (right) vs. IntelliJ (100%), not on the card. The arrows show the trend vs. IntelliJ.

VS Code pulls away from IntelliJ in all categories but Udemy courses, where IntelliJ catches up ever so slightly. Eclipse loses ground to IntelliJ in all categories.

Here are my recommendations:

• If you don’t want to spend money, then use Eclipse.
• If you may spend money, evaluate IntelliJ.
• Evaluate VS Code for non-Java work, like web development (I use it for all my websites).
• If you’re using NetBeans, consider moving off of it.

Build Tools

Here is the scorecard of Maven (left) and Ant (right) vs. Gradle (100%), not on the card. The arrows show the trend vs. Gradle.

Maven loses to Gradle except for jobs, where it rises slightly. Ant has disappeared from searches and Stack Overflow and trends downwards in jobs.

Here are my recommendations:

• If you use Scala, then use sbt.
• Otherwise, if you absolutely cannot stand XML files and/or need to customize your build heavily, then use Gradle.
• Otherwise, use Maven.

JVM Languages

Here is the scorecard of Java (left) and Scala (right) vs. Kotlin (100%), not on the card. The arrows show the trend vs. Kotlin.

Please take the Kotlin numbers with a huge grain of salt: Most Kotlin development is on Android, not in JVM projects. Java loses to Kotlin in all categories except for jobs. Scala declines against Kotlin in all categories (see the job ad section for why job numbers for Scala are missing).

Now, let’s look at JVM competitors. Here is Python (left) and Java (right) vs. JavaScript (100%), not on the card. The arrows show the trend vs. JavaScript.

Python slightly declines in jobs against JavaScript but holds steady or increases a bit in all other categories. Java holds steady against JavaScript or declines slightly.

Here are my recommendations:

• If you need to switch languages or are on a new project:
  • Use Scala if you need functional programming.
  • Use Kotlin if you really need a “more modern Java”.
  • Otherwise, use the latest Java LTS version you, your team, and your application can take.

Databases

Here is the scorecard of MySql (left) and MongoDB (right) vs. Postgres (100%), not on the card. The arrows show the trend vs. Postgres.

MySQL gains jobs on Postgres but loses slightly (courses, searches) or heavily (Stack Overflow questions). MongoDB hold steady in job jobs but loses slightly everywhere else.

These are my recommendations:

• On your current project, keep your existing database unless that database is absolutely, irrevocably, really not working out for you.
• If you need to switch databases or are on a new project:
  • If you know that you’ll need the NoSQL features and/or scalability, and you can’t get this with MySQL, then use MongoDB.
  • Otherwise, use MySQL.

Back-End Frameworks

Here is the scorecard of Spring Boot (left) and Quarkus (right) vs. Jakarta EE (100%), not on the card. The arrows show the trend vs. Jakarta EE.

Spring Boot pulls away from Jakarta EE everywhere except for job ad mentions. Quarkus gains on Jakarta EE everywhere.

Here are my recommendations:

• On your current project, keep your existing back-end framework unless that framework is absolutely, really not working out for you.
• If you need to switch back-end frameworks or are on a new project:
  • Use Quarkus if you need the smallest possible, fastest-starting Java application now.
  • Otherwise, use Spring Boot.

Web Frameworks

Here is the scorecard of React (left) and Vue (right) vs. Angular (100%), not on the card. The arrows show the trend vs. Angular.

React pulls away from Angular except for jobs where Angular edged closer in the last year. Vue holds steady or gains slightly against Angular, except for slight losses at Stack Overflow.

Here are my recommendations:

• If you already use React, Angular, or Vue in your project, keep using them. Otherwise, evaluate a migration. In many (most?) cases, such migration doesn’t make business sense.
• If you start a new project or migrate, start with React first, Angular otherwise, and finally, Vue.

Mobile App Frameworks

Here is the scorecard of React Native (left) and Xamarin (right) vs. Flutter (100%), not on the card. The arrows show the trend vs. Flutter.

React Native and Xamarin lose to Flutter in all categories.

Here are my recommendations:

• Don’t build two separate applications with Apple’s and Google’s first-party frameworks. Use a cross-platform framework instead.
• If you already use Flutter or React Native in your project, then keep using them. Otherwise, evaluate a migration. In many (most?) cases, such migration doesn’t make business sense.
• If you start a new project or migrate and have used React before, then start with React Native first and use Flutter otherwise.
• If you start a new project or migrate and have not used React, then begin with Flutter first and use React Native otherwise.

Next Issue

The next issue will arrive in November 2023. Subscribe to it as a newsletter to have it in your inbox then!