Software developers have always fought to keep up with the skills necessary to make themselves marketable. A new survey has been created by IDC / Application Developers Alliance that provides the insight on the tools used as well as organizations. As always a survey is conducted by taking a sample from people of where they are working. So take it with a grain of salt because certain software tools are used in particular areas of the country.
The survey, conducted by research firm IDC and commissioned by the Application Developers Alliance, drew responses from 850 developers—not a massive cross-section of the world developer population, which easily numbers in the millions, but certainly enough to bring certain trends to light.
Here are some highlights from the study:
- Some 68 percent of surveyed developers had 5 or more years of experience.
- Around 57 percent said they were interested in “staying current” about development technology.
- A full 75 percent used open-source software.
- Some 83 percent considered themselves “self-reliant,” using online forums and search engines to get job-related help.
The most popular databases and platforms include MySQL (64 percent of respondents), Microsoft SQL Server (49 percent), SQlite (39 percent), Oracle DB (37 percent), and ProgresSQL (23 percent).
A lot of developers who read the survey will likely see themselves reflected in the results.