2023 Stack Overflow Developer Survey: Popular Languages, Databases, AI Tools and Trends

Stack Overflow released its 2023 Developer Survey, gathering responses from more than 90,000 developers worldwide, and the report covers developer demographics, technology usage, AI adoption, career insights, and community involvement.

Most Popular Database : PostgreSQL surpassed MySQL to become the most used database among professional developers (49.09%); MySQL remains second (40.59%), followed by SQLite (30.17%) and DynamoDB (10.31%). Among learners, MySQL is still the most common (45.71%), with MongoDB and SQLite also popular.

Most Popular Programming Language : JavaScript has been the top language for 11 consecutive years, while Python has overtaken SQL to become the third most popular. Languages such as Bash/Shell, C, Ruby, Perl, and Erlang all moved up one rank, and Go and Rust also saw increased usage.

Highest‑Earning Language : Zig developers earn a median annual salary of $103,611 (≈ ¥740,000), positioning Zig as the most lucrative language, while Clojure dropped to fifth place compared to the previous year.

Most Popular Web Frameworks and Technologies : Node.js and React.js are the leading web technologies, with similar adoption among professional developers; among learners, Node.js is slightly more popular (52% vs 48%). Other notable frameworks include jQuery, Express, Angular, Next.js, and Vue.js.

Most Popular IDE : Visual Studio Code remains the preferred IDE, increasing its usage from 75% to 81% of respondents.

Most Popular AI Search Tool : ChatGPT is used by 83% of developers, followed by Bing AI (20%), WolframAlpha (13%) and Google Bard (10%).

Most Popular AI Development Tool : GitHub Copilot is used by 55% of respondents, with Tabnine (13%) and AWS CodeWhisperer (5%) trailing.

Trust in AI Tools : Less than 3% of developers have high confidence in AI tool accuracy, while about 6% have very low trust; 39% express moderate trust, and 30% are neutral.

AI Tool Usage Scenarios : The majority use AI to assist code writing; other uses include debugging, documentation, learning codebases, and testing.

Future Expectations : Both professional developers and learners anticipate that AI tools will change development workflows within a year.

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