College
Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences
Date of Last Revision
2026-05-11 08:03:26
Major
Computer Science
Honors Course
CPSC 498-004
Number of Credits
3
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
Date of Expected Graduation
Spring 2026
Abstract
Programming languages play a central role in open-source software ecosystems, yet their adoption, visibility, and influence shift over time as technologies, developer communities, and industry practices evolve. The study aims to investigate long-term trends in programming-language usage on GitHub from 2014 through 2024, focusing on ten major languages that represent diverse domains and ecosystems. Using repository metadata, engagement metrics such as stars and forks, and language-level code statistics measured with cloc, the analysis will examine changes in repository creation, code contribution volume, and popularity. Since popularity remains an unsettled and multidimensional concept, part of this research involves determining how it should be defined in a way that meaningfully reflects developer activity and ecosystem trends. Popularity in this study is treated as a multidimensional construct that incorporates not only GitHub-based signals but also developer movement and file-level activity captured through the World of Code (WoC) dataset.
To complement repository-level signals, the study will incorporate developer-centric information from WoC, enabling exploration of contributor relationships, commit activity, and potential language movement across projects. The expected outcome is a transparent and reproducible workflow for understanding decade-long programming-language evolution, offering new insight into how languages change over time and what technological, social, and ecosystem factors shape their trends over time.
Research Sponsor
Dr. Michael L. Collard
First Reader
Dr. Karima Elgarroussi
Second Reader
Dr. Nadhem Ebrahim
Honors Faculty Advisor
Dr. Zhong-Hui Duan
Proprietary and/or Confidential Information
No
Recommended Citation
Erb, Jonathan C., "A Decade of Programming Languages: Trends in Popularity and Influence" (2026). Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects. 2224.
https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/honors_research_projects/2224