Five Programming Languages Facing a Bleak Future

Every programmer has a preferred language, and while many languages fade away due to lack of maintenance or shifting community interest, some—like C—have endured the test of time.

Programming languages follow a lifecycle, and for some the era has clearly ended. This article reviews the five languages that currently have the dimmest outlook.

1. Visual Basic .NET

Microsoft Visual Basic .NET is the .NET‑based successor to Visual Basic 6.0. After Anders Hejlsberg left Borland for Microsoft and began the C# project, C# quickly became Microsoft’s primary language, relegating Visual Basic .NET to a secondary role and signaling its eventual decline.

2. Delphi

Delphi (Pascal + Objects) is struggling despite Embarcadero’s continued releases. Frequent name changes—from Delphi to Imprise, then back, and later to CodeGear—have confused users and eroded its community, leaving its future uncertain.

3. Perl

Perl once dominated scripting, but the language accumulated increasingly complex features without clear direction. Development of Perl 6 was halted in 2000, and today few developers choose Perl for new projects.

4. Adobe Flash

Flash is a platform rather than a language. When Steve Jobs refused to allow Flash on Apple’s mobile devices, the platform’s decline accelerated, forcing developers to adopt JavaScript, HTML5, or other approved technologies.

5. Ruby

Ruby enjoyed a surge of popularity about a decade ago, but its slower performance led major users like Twitter to migrate away, suggesting that Ruby’s prominence may be waning.

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