Zig has topped an annual Stack Overflow survey within the class of highest-paid programming know-how, making the relative newcomer to the scene a strong funding for builders who’re searching for gainful employment in utility improvement.
Builders programming in Zig—an all-purpose language that provides a substitute for C—earned upwards of $103,611 in 2023, in line with the Stack Overflow 2023 Developer Survey. The language, an lively mission began by Andrew Kelley in 2015, knocked final 12 months’s high earner Clojure ($96,381) right down to No. 5 within the class. Stack Overflow polled greater than 90,000 builders for the survey, which has been printed now for 13 years.
The concurrent programming language Erlang got here in second, with an incomes potential of $99,492, adopted by common programming language F# ($99,311), and open-source language Ruby ($98,522)—all sitting above 2022’s No. 1 within the class.
Python continued to point out progress amongst builders this 12 months, changing SQL as No. 3 on the listing of mostly used languages amongst all respondents, whereas SQL dropped to fourth, which was Python’s place from final 12 months.
Python additionally positioned first because the language that non-professional programmers or these studying to code want to make use of, with scholar builders utilizing Python greater than SQL (59% vs. 37%). Nevertheless, skilled builders nonetheless have a tendency to make use of SQL greater than Python (52% vs 45%).
Zig’s upward mobility
Zig is a so-called “low-level” language for programs improvement aimed toward simplicity and reliability by selling “code upkeep and readability,” in line with its description on the Zig Software program Basis web site. It does this by “making all management circulation managed completely with language key phrases and performance calls,” in line with the positioning.
According to its position as a substitute for C, Zig maintains some connections with the present tradition of C software program improvement, permitting for painless migration of current C software program. Nevertheless, in the end the aim of Zig is to change C and provide comparable efficiency coupled with an improved improvement expertise.
Zig’s look on the high of the highest-paid know-how listing is spectacular, particularly provided that it didn’t even seem in any respect on the Stack Overflow developer survey for 2022.
Certainly, earlier than Zig gained reputation, C already had worthy alternate options within the type of programming languages Rust and Go. Regardless of Zig’s ascendance, these languages additionally stay related, with the previous of incomes the excellence for the eighth 12 months in a row of most admired language in Stack Overflow’s 2023 survey outcomes. Which means greater than 80% of builders utilizing Rust mentioned they wish to use it once more subsequent 12 months.
Go, in the meantime, dropped a spot within the highest-paid know-how class, going from No. 9 to No. 10 although its incomes potential rose from $89,204 in 2022 to $92,760 in 2023. The open-source, statically-typed language has Zig and its position on the high of the class accountable as the explanation for slipping down a spot.
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