The State of JavaScript... Going into 2020
The State of JavaScript 2019 results were recently released. This annual survey of some 20,000 developers takes a look at the shifting trends in the JS landscape. We’re here to React to the results and Relay our key takeaways. So sit down, grab a Mocha and read on (or close your browser if you hate puns).
1. People are generally satisfied with the tools they are using
The above chart seems to show that while there is a lot of debate about which tools may be best, the majority of respondents seem content with the tools they are using (with a few notable exceptions that we’ll get to).
2. Ones to watch
This chart plots the change in users and opinions on various tools over the last 3 years.
There are a few standout gainers in from this chart including GraphQL, Jest and TypeScript which have seen immense growth in their user base and popularity over the last few years. However…
3. Angular… Not so popular?
An interesting debate is over the somewhat negative opinions respondents had to Angular.
Despite the phenomenal work the team at the State of JS have done over the years, this is where they may come in for some criticism. By lumping AngularJS and Angular into the same category, this may have had a significant affect on the opinions some users gave in their responses.
We have seen varying responses on whether AngularJS and Angular are truly comparable. Do you think this lack of differentiation could have impacted the results here?
What can’t be denied is the popularity of the other 2 major frameworks. If you are considering adopting Angular it may be worth taking a second look.
4. This needs to change…
20,000 respondent should give a fairly representative sample size (at least for the English speaking demographic) and to have just 6% of respondents identify female is concerning. It would have been nice to see the ethnic diversity figures too. However, it should be clear that there are huge benefits to having our digital world being built by a demographic that reflects the people using the technology.
On the flip side, this may also give some companies comfort in knowing that they may not be doing anything wrong with their diversity and inclusion hiring strategy. If your development team is representative of the applicant pool, you may not be doing anything wrong. What needs to change is perhaps more systemic?
What will 2020 bring?
With the JavaScript landscape moving so quickly what changes do you anticipate in 2020?
If you do anticipate needing to hire more JavaScript developers in 2020 then our team of JavaScript recruiters have you covered. Get in touch with us at: https://devanta.io / [email protected] / 0203 538 7118
This article first appeared on the Devanta blog at: https://devanta.io/state-of-javascript-going-into-2020/