Computerworld Development Survey gives nod to C#

It beat out Java as the preferred programming language in a survey of developers

News Story by Computerworld staff

MARCH 28, 2005 (COMPUTERWORLD) - Microsoft’s C# beat out Java as the preferred programming language in a recent developer survey conducted by Computerworld.

The highest number of respondents selected .Net as their organization’s preferred framework/API, followed by Unix/Linux and Microsoft Win32/COM/DCOM.

While 50% reported that they use open-source code, most respondents indicated that they are not developing 64-bit applications, Linux applications or wireless applications (57%, 60% and 64%, respectively). What’s more, the percentages reporting plans to do 64-bit, Linux and wireless application development were all low: 9%, 4% and 7%, respectively.

Almost half, 48%, selected “No” when asked if their company was using Unified Modeling Language (UML), and 33% reported that UML is in use at their organization. Thirteen percent said that there plans for future use.

When asked about their organization’s Web services development, over half reported that they were already using Web services and developing more projects (58%). Another 15% reported working on pilot projects, while 12% said they were actively interested. Only 9% said they weren’t interested.

Regarding Java vs. .Net, 37% of the respondents said they used mostly Java, while 26% said they used mostly .Net, and another 23% reported using both.

Forty-five percent selected an integrated development environment (IDE) as their preferred editor. Thirty-five reported using both IDE and text editors and 17% selected text editor as their preferred tool.

Most respondents work at companies with more than 100 employees. Thirty-eight percent reported working as an IT manager, and 36% said they held the title of developer.

The software production activity was mixed; more (39%) respondents indicated that the software development at their company was for internal use only than for other uses. More than half (58%) reported that they work in enterprise development, developing applications that are deployed for corporatewide or business-to-business use.

Following are the full results of the survey:
Top 5 programming languages reported in use by respondents

• C# 72%
• Java 66%
• Visual Basic 62%
• C++ 54%
• JavaScript/ECMAScript 50%

What is your current employment status?

• Employed in organization with more than 100 employees 86%
• Employed in organization with 100 or fewer employees 7%
• Self-employed 6%
• Not employed* 1%

Which statement best describes your company’s production of software?

• My company produces/sells software or services for consumers/end users 20%
• My company produces/sells software or services for internal use only 39%
• Both 21%
• None of the above 20%
• What is your current position/job function?
• IT manager 38%
• Developer 36%
• Non-developer IT staff 8%
• Non-IT manager 5%
• Other 13%

Which best describes what you do?

• Professional development
  I develop applications that are deployed for individual or small team use 18%

• Enterprise development
  I develop applications that are deployed for corporatewide or business-to-business use 58%

• Learning
  I am getting started in software development 3%
• Other
  I am not involved in software development 21%

Which programming languages are currently in use at your company for development?

• C 32%
• C++ 54%
• C# 72%
• Delphi 7%
• Java 66%
• JavaScript/ECMAScript 50%
• PHP 16%
• Perl 34%
• Python 8%
• Ruby 1%
• TCL 6%
• Unix shell scripts 42%
• Visual Basic 62%
• Other interpreted languages 33%

Are you developing 64-bit applications?

• Yes 22%
• No 57%
• Plan to within a year 9%
• Don’t know 12%

Do you use open-source code in your applications?

• Yes 51%
• No 38%
• Plan to within a year 4%
• Don’t know 7%

Do you develop Linux applications?

• Yes 29%
• No 60%
• Plan to within a year 7%
• Don’t know 4%

Do you develop wireless applications?

• Yes 24%
• No 64%
• Plan to within a year 9%
• Don’t know 3%

What are your organization’s preferred frameworks or APIs?

• CGI/HTML/xScript/DOM 28%
• J2EE 42%
• MacOS/MacOS X 3%
• Microsoft .Net 51%
• Microsoft Win32/COM/DCOM 42%
• Unix/Linux 42%
• Other 7%

Is your organization developing Web services?

• Already using them, and developing more projects 58%
• Working on pilot projects 14%
• Actively evaluating 12%
• Not interested 9%
• Don’t know 7%

Does your company use the Unified Modeling Language?

• Yes 33%
• No 48%
• Plan to use in the future 13%
• No plans to use in the future 6%

When considering only Java and .Net, would you say your organization is:

• Using mostly Java 37%
• Using both Java and .Net 23%
• Using mostly .Net 26%
• Moving back to Java after trying .Net 1%
• Moving back to .Net after trying Java 1%
• Other 12%

Do you prefer working with an IDE or plain text editor?

• IDE 45%
• Text editor 16%
• Both 35%
• Other 4%

Where do you turn for help with programming problems?

• UBooks 73%
• Peers, face to face 63%
• Peers, via e-mail, interactive listservs, or Web site 62%
• Application’s online help 50%
• Vendor’s Web site 54%
• Vendor’s telephone help desk 18%
• Other Web source 41%

Methodology

This study was conducted among subscribers to Computerworld. A total of 45,308 names with e-mail addresses were randomly selected from the subscriber file using the selection criteria of:

Subscribers who currently help to acquire and or plan to acquire thru planning, recommendation or specification:

Application Development Software

Java

.NET

Application Development Management Tools

Other Application Development Software

Web Services

The study was administered via the Internet. Each sampled subscriber was sent an e-mail message inviting them to participate on December 1, 2004. Responses were accepted thru December 30, 2004. A total of 966 qualified completed surveys were received.