TIOBE index

TIOBE Software measures programming languages indexes with respect to their popularity among developers. The latest rankings are available here.

This month Java is the leader and has been maintaining its position since February last year, closely followed by C, which also maintains its position. The next three positions are held by C#, C++ and Objective-C. This is an interesting ranking and specially, it is good to know where the demand is going when starting to learn a new programming language. Compared to last year, C#, which I favor over Java simply because I spend most of my time developing for the Windows platform, jumped three positions and it now holds 3rd place, even though at significant distance from positions 1 and 2 (about 8 percent). I do not expect C# to be #1 any time soon, specially since it is not (natively) portable to Unix-like systems, and of course C is a natural leader, even though complex, no serious developer should lack knowledge of C.

Regarding the leader, Java, I remember I liked it a low while in college and after that and I still develop some pieces of code using it and I think it is all right, but when it comes to Windows desktop programming and developing software that has a user interface, I don't see it as a rival for C# right now. Well, this is a kind of debate that would not end if put on a forum or discussion group and of course, everyone would be right, since the best programming language is the one that you have used the most and feel most confortable using, no doubt about it. Enjoy coding!

Add Command Prompt Shortcut to Windows Explorer Context Menu

I always seem to be needing a command prompt and right clicking on a directory and opening a command prompt with the path already set to that directory is very handy. The contents of this post may also be found on various sites on the internet and I am only writing it here specially for me to remember it in the future, when I reinstall Windows :). I have found this post which goes through a seemingly exhaustive process of describing all methods to add the shortcut to the command prompt in the context menu: http://www.petri.co.il/add_command_prompt_here_shortcut_to_windows_explorer.htm. I personally prefer manually creating a key in the Windows registry, under [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Folder\shell]. To make it easier, I have exported the keys and all you need to do is create a new file, say with Notepad and assign it a .reg extension (not .reg.txt ) and copy the following lines in the new file and double-click it.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Folder\shell\Command Prompt] @="Command Prompt" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Folder\shell\Command Prompt\command] @="cmd.exe /k pushd %1"

Otherwise, open the registry editor and browse to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Folder\shell]. Expand this key and create a new key named Command Prompt. Under the newly created Command Prompt create a new key and name it command. Double click the Default entry under command and assign it the value:

cmd.exe /k pushd %1

And that will do the trick. Hopefully, next time I'll remember...