Although Java has been recognized as the most popular and widely used programming language in the world, a new 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. 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 the spring of 2010, Evans Data officials said. A similar increase of 7.6 percent occurred in North America. In the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, the number of total users has also increased, though to a smaller degree, Evans Data said.
“We’re seeing a definite resurgence in Java development across all regions,” Janel Garvin, CEO of Evans Data, said 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.”
Although total users has increased in all regions, those who employ the language more than 50 percent of the time has remained steady.
The Evans Data Global Development study is based on 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 will be sent to subscribers this month. The Table of Contents is available for interested parties.