--- title: Rust Jumps in Ranking, Python is still #1 - what does... description: A commentary on the June 2026 TIOBE index showing Rust rising and Python slipping, used as a springboard to argue that language rankings are largely noise and... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/rust-jumps-in-ranking-python-is-still-1---what-does-that-mean--iybngaolr twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Rust Jumps in Ranking, Python is still #1 - what does that mean? | daily.dev og:description: A commentary on the June 2026 TIOBE index showing Rust rising and Python slipping, used as a springboard to argue that language rankings are largely noise and... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/rust-jumps-in-ranking-python-is-still-1---what-does-that-mean--iybngaolr og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/IyBnGAOLR.png og:image:alt: Rust Jumps in Ranking, Python is still #1 - what does that mean? og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Rust Jumps in Ranking, Python is still #1 - what does that mean? **[Stefan Mischook](https://daily.dev/sources/stefanmischook)** · 7 min read · 6 upvotes · 1 comments ## Summary A commentary on the June 2026 TIOBE index showing Rust rising and Python slipping, used as a springboard to argue that language rankings are largely noise and irrelevant to career decisions. The author advises developers to focus on job opportunities rather than rankings, argues that programming languages are just tools, and emphasizes that mastering AI workflows and agents is the most important skill going forward. Also dismisses the importance of DSA for most developers, noting that hardware is fast enough and database access is typically the real bottleneck. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### According to the Tiobi index, is Python still the most popular programming language? Yes, Python remains ranked number one on the Tiobi index despite slipping below 19% in a reported June measurement. Rust reportedly hit a new high near 12%, while C++ moved back ahead of Java into third place. C stayed fifth at 4.85% and JavaScript held sixth at 3.0%, though these month-to-month shifts of a percent or two are considered statistical noise. _Developers weighing which languages to invest in can track these shifting rankings alongside real job-market signals on daily.dev._ ### Should I choose which programming language to learn based on popularity rankings like Tiobi? No, popularity indexes like Tiobi are not a reliable basis for choosing what to learn, largely because they're based on search engine query volume, which is becoming less meaningful as more developers turn to AI models instead of search engines or Stack Overflow. A better approach is to look directly at job opportunities and market demand for the skill rather than glancing at index rankings. _Anyone deciding their next language or framework can weigh job-market signals over index noise using daily.dev._ ### Do I still need to learn data structures and algorithms deeply for modern software development? Only the basics are necessary for most developers, because for the vast majority of software projects the bottleneck is database access rather than runtime performance, and modern hardware is powerful enough that algorithmic optimization rarely matters. Deep DSA knowledge matters mainly if building something like a game engine or processing billions of records, which most developers never do. _Developers deciding how much time to spend on DSA versus system-level and AI workflow skills can find grounded takes like this on daily.dev._ ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@brightblade42** · 0 upvotes > That index is bananas. > > 8. Scratch > > 9 Pascal > > Sure. ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [A Pythonista’s Guide to the 2026 Code Rush](https://daily.dev/posts/a-pythonista-s-guide-to-the-2026-code-rush-huwgzroui) · Planet Python · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#python](https://daily.dev/tags/python), [#rust](https://daily.dev/tags/rust) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/rust-jumps-in-ranking-python-is-still-1---what-does-that-mean--iybngaolr) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Rust Jumps in Ranking, Python is still #1 - what does that mean?","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/rust-jumps-in-ranking-python-is-still-1---what-does-that-mean--iybngaolr","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/rust-jumps-in-ranking-python-is-still-1---what-does-that-mean--iybngaolr"},"datePublished":"2026-06-18T15:46:01.491Z","dateModified":"2026-09-13T20:13:34.878Z","description":"A commentary on the June 2026 TIOBE index showing Rust rising and Python slipping, used as a springboard to argue that language rankings are largely noise and...","image":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/POgtS-lL87U/sddefault.jpg","thumbnailUrl":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/POgtS-lL87U/sddefault.jpg","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"Stefan Mischook","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Stefan Mischook","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--rL9dJTgI--/f_auto/v1731602107/logos/stefanmischook","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/stefanmischook"},"commentCount":1,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/rust-jumps-in-ranking-python-is-still-1---what-does-that-mean--iybngaolr","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":6},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":1}],"keywords":"python,rust","timeRequired":"PT7M","video":{"@type":"VideoObject","name":"Rust Jumps in Ranking, Python is still #1 - what does that mean?","description":"A commentary on the June 2026 TIOBE index showing Rust rising and Python slipping, used as a springboard to argue that language rankings are largely noise and...","thumbnailUrl":"https://i.ytimg.com/vi/POgtS-lL87U/sddefault.jpg","uploadDate":"2026-06-18T15:46:01.491Z","duration":"PT7M","url":"https://api.daily.dev/r/IyBnGAOLR","embedUrl":"https://www.youtube.com/embed/POgtS-lL87U"}} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Stefan Mischook","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/stefanmischook"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Rust Jumps in Ranking, Python is still #1 - what does that mean?"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/rust-jumps-in-ranking-python-is-still-1---what-does-that-mean--iybngaolr","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","text":"That index is bananas.\n\nScratch\n\n9 Pascal\nSure.","datePublished":"2026-06-22T02:53:43.660Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/IyBnGAOLR#c-3SLgTt4d9","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"ryan","url":"https://daily.dev/brightblade42","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--O0TOmw4y--/f_auto/v1715772965/public/noProfile"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/rust-jumps-in-ranking-python-is-still-1---what-does-that-mean--iybngaolr#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"According to the Tiobi index, is Python still the most popular programming language?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Yes, Python remains ranked number one on the Tiobi index despite slipping below 19% in a reported June measurement. 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