Programming languages by release year
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Quick answer: oldest first, the order is FORTRAN → COBOL → BASIC → C → SQL → C++ → Perl → Python → Java → C# → Go → Kotlin → Swift → Rust.
About this list
From FORTRAN in the 1950s to Rust in the 2010s. Languages that share a release year are never paired.
| # | Item | year first released |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | FORTRAN | 1957 |
| 2 | COBOL | 1959 |
| 3 | BASIC | 1964 |
| 4 | C | 1972 |
| 5 | SQL | 1974 |
| 6 | C++ | 1985 |
| 7 | Perl | 1987 |
| 8 | Python | 1991 |
| 9 | Java | 1995 |
| 10 | C# | 2000 |
| 11 | Go | 2009 |
| 12 | Kotlin | 2011 |
| 13 | Swift | 2014 |
| 14 | Rust | 2015 |
Source: Year of first public release.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the order of programming languages by release year?
Oldest first: FORTRAN, COBOL, BASIC, C, SQL, C++, Perl, Python, Java, C#, Go, Kotlin, Swift, Rust.
Which comes first and which comes last?
FORTRAN comes first (1957 year first released) and Rust comes last (2015 year first released) among the items in this quiz.
Where is this data from?
Year of first public release.
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