Do you have a favorite programming language? I don’t necessarily mean the language you use most, but the language you reach for if you have several options—the language that just seems to directly translate from your brain to action. Most developers have one, and according to the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), many of us are on the same page for 2025.
The 2025 IEEE Top Programming Languages Survey puts Python firmly at the top of the list, with Java coming in a solid second. C++ is number three, with a huge universe of languages following. Now, the IEEE was using research techniques that applied to enterprise IT programmers as well as embedded systems programmers, but all the evidence I’ve seen indicates that their conclusions apply to our industry as well as to the larger world of programming.
The real question that comes in response to the survey isn’t “Is Python the best programming language?” but rather, “Will there be a need for programming languages in five years?” The growing number of software developers who build software via LLM AI prompts could make the idea of writing code directly as quaint as the concept of entering a program via control-panel toggle switches. The thing I’m wondering about is whether such a development would be a step forward or another move toward the abyss.
Back in My Day…Indulge me for a moment: Once upon a time, coding in assembly language (or even machine code) meant that you needed an intimate understanding of the computer you were programming in order to make something happen. High-level languages added a level of abstraction, trading reduced programming time for some efficiency and optimization in the program as it was running.
Low-code systems (e.g. Node-RED) and “vibe programming” with AI prompts add yet another abstraction layer — now, it’s not necessary for a programmer to have any real understanding of how a device works. Now, all they really need to know is whether a microprocessor or SOC is capable of a particular action. The programming system takes their need and turns it into action.
Vastly more powerful processors supported by vastly more capable systems are what make these highly abstracted programming environments possible. They also make it, arguably, less important to wring the last jot of performance out of each clock cycle. We gain more productive software developers: What do we lose in return?
I’d like to know what you think. Is it important for software developers today to have a real understanding of what’s going on inside a processor, or have modern programming systems made a higher level of knowledge sufficient? Are we finally close to the COBOL-era ideal of just telling the system what you want in simple human language? Or will there always be a need for programmers who have an understanding of the underlying hardware that’s up close and personal? Please let me know your thoughts — I’ll be sharing more of mine in upcoming issues.
In the meantime, I hope you’ll be inspired by this month’s articles on using embedded systems to improve communications for those with challenges, on getting the most out of an ESP32 system, and on the beginning steps of a journey into analog electronic design. As always, Circuit Cellar columnists show you some of the ins and outs of great projects. The truth is, there’s a lot of great design and programming work going on, whether AI is involved or not.
email: c.franklin@circuitcellar.com
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PUBLISHED IN CIRCUIT CELLAR MAGAZINE • November #424 – Get a PDF of the issue
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Curtis Franklin has been a journalist working in the computer and technology fields for more than forty years. From his early career as a columnist at Computer Shopper and the founder of the BYTE Testing Lab, he has covered computing devices from handheld to supercomputing and applications from trivial to life-altering. In 1988, he was the first editor of an exciting startup publication that was then called Circuit Cellar INK. Since then, he has edited and written for publications including ComputerWorld, NetworkWorld, InfoWorld, InformationWeek, and Dark Reading. Most recently, he was Principal Analyst for Cybersecurity Management at Omdia.
Curtis co-wrote one of the first books on podcasting and has been a host or co-host on more than 500 episodes of various podcasts, including hundreds of episodes of This Week in Enterprise Technology, a production of the TWiT Podcast Network.
When not telling stories of computers and the people who make them, Curtis is an amateur radio operator (KG4GWA), an artist, and a Florida Master Naturalist. He’s also active in the maker community, working on the teams that produce Maker Faire Orlando and Maker Faire Miami.
