Fortran Returns to the TIOBE Top 10 in May 2024: Causes and Analysis

The TIOBE May 2024 programming language ranking announced that Fortran has re‑entered the top‑10 list, prompting the question of what has revived this veteran language.

Since its inception in 1957, Fortran has continuously evolved, with the latest ISO Fortran 2023 standard demonstrating its ongoing progress.

Its superior performance and mature technology in numerical and mathematical computing have helped it outperform many competitors.

Fortran’s free and open‑source nature gives it a cost‑effectiveness advantage.

Official website: https://fortran-lang.org/ and Chinese documentation: https://fortran-lang.org/zh_CN/learn/ .

Search results for “Fortran programming” on Amazon far exceed those for newer languages such as Kotlin and Rust, reflecting continued market interest.

Compared with other languages:

Python is popular but slower.

MATLAB is user‑friendly but costly.

C/C++ are fast but lack native mathematical support.

R is similar to Python but less widespread and slower.

Julia is promising but still maturing.

Fortran is fast, supports native mathematical computation, is technologically mature, and completely free, allowing it to progress steadily in the language ecosystem.

Fortran’s resurgence proves that classic languages can coexist with innovation, retaining vitality.

Fortran, short for “Formula Translation,” is a high‑level language originally designed for numerical and scientific computation.

Origin: Developed by IBM under John W. Backus in 1957.

Design Goal: Facilitate scientific and engineering programming.

Syntax: Simple syntax with direct support for mathematical expressions.

Compiler: Compiled to machine code for execution.

Evolution: Multiple standards (Fortran IV, 66, 77, 90, 95, 2003, 2008, 2018, 2023).

Parallel Computing: Support added from Fortran 90 onward, keeping it relevant in HPC.

Application Areas: Scientific computing, engineering simulation, numerical analysis, weather forecasting, quantum physics simulation, etc.

Cross‑Platform: Compilers available for Windows, Linux, and macOS.

This month’s top‑10 languages are: Python, C, C++, Java, C#, JavaScript, Visual Basic, Go, SQL, and Fortran.

Ranks 11‑20 and 21‑50 are also shown, with PHP falling to 16th place.

Historical rankings (1988‑2024) and a “celebrity” list of programming languages (2003‑2023) are also provided.

The TIOBE index is updated monthly based on data from engineers, courses, and third‑party vendors, using search engines and community sites such as Google, Baidu, and Wikipedia.

While the data reflects current trends and can guide learning and work decisions, each language has its own suitable scenarios, and the choice depends on how it is used.

Reference: https://www.tiobe.com/tiobe-index/