[sdevonoes]

That's easy: Python, Java, C++, HTML, JavaScript, CSS, PHP, SQL, Postgres, MySQL,...

A better question would be: what software technologies will not be around 20 years from now? My bet: Babel, npm, Vue.js, React, Angular, Zend, most of the SaaS/IaaS we know and use, Kubernetes, Visual Studio Code, ...

[muzani]

I'd actually bet against Java and C++.

C++ is no longer taught in CS degrees where I live, and not offered for jobs. At this point, it doesn't really do anything much better than other options.

Java is being replaced by Kotlin officially in Android docs. But the big thing is that people are actively converting Java code to Kotlin, which you don't see being done with PHP, MySQL, COBOL and so on. And the resurgence of functional programming benefits Kotlin over Java.

They might still be around in legacy systems, but maybe not in the front line manner that JS and Python will be.

[ncmncm]

This is the silliest thing I have read in a long while (albeit partly because I don't read Paul Graham anymore).

In 20 years no one will even recognize Kotlin's name.

But C++ will be going stronger than ever. Why? It is absolutely exploding right now, even though it is 40 years old. Attendance at conferences for C++ (until lockdown, of course) was through the roof, with C++ conferences multiplying to try to absorb the overflow. Attendance at each of the ISO Standard C++ conferences in the last four years has exceeded that at all previous meetings.

Essentially all of the highest-paid development in Fintech, CAE, telecom, aerospace, semiconductor simulation, HPC, and neural AI is done exclusively in C++, for reasons.

Java will still be trundling right along, not for any good reason, but just because it is a steady job with light demands.

[maltalex]

I wouldn’t bet against Java. It is both ubiquitous and evolving. Sure, Kotlin is nicer than Java 7 (Java 15 is about to be released soon) but the switch to Kotlin is happening only on Android. Java is still extremely strong on the backend where there is little reason to replace it with anything else at the moment. Even if new projects stop being written in Java entirely (which they aren’t), there would still be plenty of Java in the enterprise for the foreseeable future.

I could maybe see some Java projects switching to Rust if anything. Especially for infrastructure projects like Cassandra where performance matters a lot, and where GC pauses are problematic.

[EliRivers]

In my experience, when chosen, C++ is not chosen because it's in CS degrees. Accordingly, it not being in CS degrees shouldn't be an impediment.

[robodale]

Visual Studio Code! :O