npm, Inc. Survey: What’s New in JavaScript, 2019

Company reveals major trends as npm adoption hits 99%

OAKLAND, Calif.--()--npm, Inc., provider of JavaScript collaboration and security tools and operator of the world’s largest software registry, today announced the publication of Enterprise JavaScript in 2019, Essential Trends and Analysis, a study of more than 33,000 developers from 156 countries that reveals previously unknown facts about the JavaScript community and highlights important trends for anyone who plans to ship web, mobile, or desktop apps in the coming year.

Among other revelations, the study shows that adoption of npm’s tools will hit more than 99% market share of JavaScript developers in 2019. Already, 97% of users are using npm to build front-end web applications, while 77% are building Node.js applications, 13% are writing code for Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and a surprising 46% are writing native desktop and mobile applications in JavaScript.

A demographic shift towards developers with more experience and a greater appetite for applying best practices in tooling and security confirms that npm users are becoming more sophisticated in their adoption of tools for writing JavaScript, especially in enterprise environments. Companies are employing ever-larger numbers of JavaScript and TypeScript developers every year and will need to adapt to new demand for tools and processes.

Other survey findings include:

  • React’s growth continues to dominate - 63% of developers use React, up 5% year over year. This makes React more than twice as popular as the next-biggest framework, Angular. React and its ecosystem of complementary technologies dominate web, mobile, and desktop development in the npm community.
  • TypeScript gains momentum - 61% of all JavaScript developers report using TypeScript, an impressive 31% increase in usage since npm’s last survey. With TypeScript adoption on the rise, the study digs deeper into top-level usage data to find how many npm users are primarily TypeScript developers.
  • GraphQL is set for a boom - 23% of developers have already started using GraphQL, but 49% of all npm users are considering using it in 2019. npm plans future studies that will further examine the motivations and use-cases driving this interest.
  • Kubernetes is big, and serverless is gaining serious momentum - 56% of respondents deploy using containerization technologies, and a surprising 33% of respondents already use “serverless” or “cloud functions” to deploy code.
  • Security concerns have increased - 83% of respondents are concerned about whether the open source code they use is secure, an 8% increase over last year, reflecting JavaScript’s maturing developer base. The complete survey report contains analysis on what best practices the industry prefers to utilize, and the increasing frequency of methods such as automated security scans.
  • Companies who use open source JavaScript care about compliance - 58% of npm users said that the license of a package impacts their decision to use it, and 55% were prohibited from using certain licenses by their employers. The study goes into detail on the kinds of licenses that cause the most concern among enterprises.

“npm’s unrivaled position at the center of the JavaScript ecosystem gives us amazing insights that can help JavaScript developers and engineering managers make better technical and architectural decisions. We’re happy to share these insights with the world, and help developers optimize their use of JavaScript across countless use cases and scenarios,” said Laurie Voss, co-founder and Chief Data Officer.

To learn more and download the report Enterprise JavaScript in 2019, Essential Trends and Analysis, visit: https://javascriptsurvey.com.

Further insight will also be provided in a series of weekly webinars. The first webinar, “JavaScript: the most important language in your stack” will be presented by Voss on Tuesday, April 23 at 10 a.m. PT. To learn more and register, visit: https://www.npmjs.com/events.

Companies interested in exploring how to professionalize their JavaScript security and collaboration while improving team efficiency can learn more at https://www.npmjs.com.

Individuals interested in learning more about and contributing to open-source npm projects may learn more at https://npm.community.

Open employment opportunities at npm, Inc. are available at https://www.npmjs.com/jobs.

About npm, Inc.

npm, Inc., founded in Oakland, California, in 2014 by Isaac Z. Schlueter and Laurie Voss, maintains the npm package manager for JavaScript and operates the world’s largest software registry. Created in 2009 as an open-source package manager for Node.js, npm has been embraced by millions of developers worldwide for client- and server-side applications as diverse as IoT, mobile development, financial services and aerospace. More than 150,000 companies, including BBC, Coinbase, eBay, Electronic Arts, Nvidia and Slack rely on npm’s products and services to reduce developer friction and build amazing things.

Contacts

Cybele Diamandopoulos
FOLIO Communications Group, LLC
npm@foliocom.com
512-535-4422

Release Summary

npm, Inc. study of more than 33,000 developers from 156 countries reveals previously unknown facts about the JavaScript community.

Contacts

Cybele Diamandopoulos
FOLIO Communications Group, LLC
npm@foliocom.com
512-535-4422