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Stack Overflow Dev Survey: VS Code, Visual Studio Still Top IDEs 5 Years Running

Some things never seem to change in the sprawling developer surveys published annually by Stack Overflow, such as JavaScript forever destined to be named the top programming language.

That just seems set in stone -- at least for the past 11 years and apparently the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile, Microsoft's Visual Studio Code editor and full-fledged Visual Studio IDE look to be establishing similar dominance, placing No. 1 and 2 respectively in the ranking for IDEs for the past five years in which that category was featured.

"Visual Studio Code remains the preferred IDE across all developers, increasing its use among all developers this year from 75 percent to 81 percent," said the Stack Overflow 2023 Developer Survey, published earlier this month.

However, the chart associated with that claim actually shows neither 75 percent nor 81 percent, but rather 73.71 percent (see below). No explanation for that discrepancy was seen, but it seems safe to say VS Code is still No. 1.

[Click on image for larger view.] Top IDEs (source: Stack Overflow).

Returning to programming languages, the 2023 survey shows little changes as JavaScript is still No. 1 as mentioned while Microsoft's TypeScript and C# languages maintained their No. 5 and No. 8 positions, respectively, just like last year.

[Click on image for larger view.] Top Programming Languages (source: Stack Overflow).

Actually, not much of interest to Microsoft-centric coders seems to have changed at all, as:

  • Microsoft SQL Server is still in fifth place among most popular databases, just like last year.
  • Microsoft Azure is still in second place among cloud platforms, just like last year.
  • ASP.NET Core is still in seventh place among web frameworks and technologies, just like last year.
  • .NET(5+) is first in "Other frameworks and libraries," just like last year (when it was presented as simply .NET).
  • Windows is first in OSes for both personal and professional use, just like last year.

Some Microsoft offerings have changed their rankings, though, as:

  • Microsoft Teams is first among synchronous tools, ahead of Slack and Zoom. Last year it was Zoom, Teams and Slack
  • TypeScript is third in the ranking for admired/desired programming, scripting and markup languages. Last year TypeScript was fourth in a similar ranking: "Loved vs. Dreaded."
  • Microsoft SQL Server was sixth in the admired/desired ranking of databases, while it placed seventh in last year's loved/dreaded ladder.

For visual learners, SO published a 35-minute video that discusses the new survey, while reader types can also consult two blog posts: "Hype or not? AI's benefits for developers explored in the 2023 Developer Survey" and "2023 Developer Survey results are in: the latest trends in technology and work from the Stack Overflow community."

About the Author

David Ramel is an editor and writer at Converge 360.

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