C/C++ is almost dead in the business world. I started as a Visual C++ MFC developer. My skills were in great demand. Now, everyone (I am a consultant) want VB.NET, C# or Java. There are very few jobs that want anything else. I realize there are markets still for C/C++, just as there are for Fortran, etc. Obviously, certain areas such as System Programming, Drivers, Embedded, etc. will be using C/C++ for quite a while. However, if you are viewing this from a business perspective, which does employ a huge percentage of all programmers, the shift has already happened.

I would agree with the Assembly assessment. The problem with C/C++ development is that finding talented developers in this realm is going to get harder. Since businesses are not using C/C++ (for the most part), most students are steering towards the languages that will most likely lead to a job. There will always be _some_ talented C/C++ programmers, but I believe the numbers will be dwindling.

My husband still has a hard time finding good C programmers for his embedded mobile web browser. There is still quite some demand for C/C++. Much more than Assembly that is, which is truly dead. Just 20 years ago Assembly was still a hit. IMO, No6 of his list should have been Assembly, not C.

Shame about COBOL (and probably all the other languages I learnt in the early nineties)

Heh, in college I learned Pascal predominantly. Dead too.

And what do you think about:
– Prolog
– Logo
– Haskel
– Assembler 68000
This is my personal cemetery!

I agree! That’s a strange choice in that page. I considered C/C++ quite alive and will still be for a long. Maybe assembly is considered dead since ages so he didn’t even bothered including it