Is Python becoming more popular than Java?

I know some Python and I know some Java. To the best of my knowledge, despite Java being used for a few big-name games such as Minecraft and, oh yes, Minecraft, the main uses of Java currently are for Android apps and server software on enterprise servers, and occasionally for some embedded software.

However, I've also been getting the impression lately that Java's popularity has been declining while Python's popularity has been increasing. It seems more desktop applications are being based on Python than on Java, and that companies and projects are turning more to Python on the server for an easier and lighter solution than Java. Plus, Python is much bigger in the open source application arena than Java.

So am I correct in my perceptions? Is Python's popularity really increasing while Java's popularity is decreasing? Or is there more going on with Java than I know of?

Guest

It is certainly possible for python to become more popular than Java but currently Java is FAR more popular. This is mainly because it has been around for so long and how much it is used. It is supported by Google with its mobile operating system, Android, and almost every app available for an Android device is coded in Java. In Mashable's "10 coding languages you should learn right now" Java is rated at number one while Python has been judged as number seven. Python is certainly useful and growing but right now it is hard for most coding languages to "compete" with Java.

Jake

Python deserves to be popular but it seems that it's never been more than 6% according to

http://www.tiobe.com/index.php/content/paperinfo/tpci/index.html

The trend for Java is declining, but heavy-duty applications require explicit declaration of variables and that is something Python lacks.

I wish someone could come up with an ideal language. I might start with Python as a base and only change a few things. One would be an *OPTION* to insist on strong typing. Another would allow for visual indentation (allow lines to start with 3 or 4 periods followed by a blank for each indentation level). Another would allow mutable strings.

EddieJ