Databases

The results for some questions, including this one, have been split into three groups based on the respondents’ involvement with SQL:

• “SQL – main” includes those who ranked SQL first among their primary programming languages.
• “SQL – primary” includes those who identified SQL as one of their three primary programming languages (possibly as their main one).
• “SQL – secondary” includes everyone else who has used SQL in the past 12 months.

SQLite and MongoDB appear to be favored by occasional SQL users, as their simple setup and usage make them ideal for small-scale applications, learning, and prototyping. On the other hand, MS SQL Server and Oracle Database, the two veteran databases, are notably more popular among SQL professionals than non-professionals.

Relative popularity is defined as the popularity of a database in a particular region in comparison to its popularity worldwide. For example, the share of MySQL in Germany is 39%, whereas its worldwide share is 51%. Dividing the difference (–12%) by 51%, we get –24%. This is how we define the relative popularity of MySQL in Germany.

Relative popularity is defined as the popularity of a database among users of a certain programming language in comparison to its popularity in general. For example, the share of MongoDB among Python users is 29.2%, whereas its general share is 26.6%. Dividing the difference (+2.6%) by 26.6%, we get +10%. We refer to this as the relative popularity of MongoDB among Python developers.

In this reciprocity table, each value denotes how many users of the Column database also use the Row database. For example, 38% of MySQL users also use PostgreSQL, whereas 51% of PostgreSQL users also use MySQL.

Different users engage with databases in different ways. While database professionals prefer using DataGrip or SQL Server Management Studio, those who use SQL only occasionally tend not to install dedicated applications for this purpose but instead rely on the Database plugin in a JetBrains IDE or simply the command line.

Considering that most respondents use two or more databases at the same time, it’s no wonder that, for example, Redis users also use pgAdmin.

JetBrains products appear to be particularly popular among Redis users, something we’ve observed in our reports since 2020. Notably, built-in Redis support was introduced in DataGrip 2022.3; previously, it was possible to use Redis via a specialized plugin.

Relative popularity is defined as the popularity of a tool in a region compared to its popularity worldwide. For example, the share of Command Line in Argentina is 7.8%, whereas its worldwide share is 19.4%. Dividing the difference (–11.6%) by 19.4%, we get –60%. We refer to this as the relative popularity of Command Line in Argentina.

A handful of tools exhibit significant regional specificity. For instance, Navicat is highly popular in China, where an impressive 42% of developers use it. This comes as no surprise, as the tool was developed in Hong Kong and has been well-tailored to Chinese users from the outset, actively establishing a strong presence primarily in that market.