The nine-year-old programming language Rust is the star of the TIOBE Programming Language Community Index this month. The language Rust rose to number 13 from number 17, a jump from 0.93% in the proprietary TIOBE points system in May to 1.18% in July. The top 10 list of programming languages stayed mostly steady, with Go hanging on to its spot at number 7 after a dramatic rise last month.
The TIOBE Programming Community Index shows trends in programming languages based on search engine volume.
Rust recommended by the US government
TIOBE Software has been keeping a close eye on Rust as it has gradually risen through the ranks.
“Gaining 4 positions might seem a small change, but Rust has been ‘the talk of the town’ the last couple of years without making much progress in the TIOBE index,” wrote TIOBE Software CEO Paul Jansen in the July update.
Rust was recommended by the U.S. government as a more secure alternative to C or C++ because it is memory safe, which has helped Rust climb through the ranks of the index. In terms of TIOBE’s proprietary points system, Rust grew 0.29% year-over-year to reach 1.18%, its highest-ever score.
“The community is growing, including the number of third party libraries and tools,” Jansen said. He predicted Rust is headed for the top 10 in the TIOBE Index.
SEE: The White House recommended memory-safe programming languages in March.
Other changes in the TIOBE Index in July
Go remains a programming language to watch in the TIOBE Index, with a jump from 13th place to 7th place year-over-year. C++ gained popularity slightly, while C lost some popularity, but neither change was enough to switch the two languages’ top rankings.
TechRepublic has reached out to TIOBE Software for more information.