C Programming Resurges in TIOBE Index, Performance Matters
The January 2026 TIOBE Index dropped, and it shows a surprising shift in what we are coding with - The C language has seen a massive resurgence, cementing itself at #2 right behind Python. We spent the last decade optimizing for Developer Velocity. We are now entering a decade of optimizing for Compute Efficiency.
Python is the steering wheel. C is the engine. 🏎️
The January 2026 TIOBE Index dropped, and it shows a surprising shift in what we are coding with - The C language has seen a massive resurgence, cementing itself at #2 right behind Python.
Performance Still Matters
There is a misconception in 2026 that modern coding is just gluing APIs together in Python or JavaScript.
But the recent surge in C programming proves that performance still matters.
We spent the last decade optimizing for Developer Velocity (how fast can I write code?). We are now entering a decade of optimizing for Compute Efficiency (how fast can the code run?).
The IoT and On-Device AI Era
With the explosion of IoT and on-device AI, we can no longer afford the overhead of heavy runtimes. Every cycle counts. Every byte of RAM counts.
Rust is the future of safety.
C is still the king of portability and raw speed.
The Foundation of Computing
If you want to understand how computers actually work, don't just learn a framework. Learn C. It's the Latin of programming, the Sanskrit of programming—it helps you understand everything else better.