More code than ever
About half of the developers surveyed report that they manage over 100 times more code than they did in 2010.
Credit: Dimensional Research
About half of the developers surveyed report that they manage over 100 times more code than they did in 2010. Credit: Dimensional Research
When we interviewed Sourcegraph CEO Quinn Slack, he led the talk with this chart. It’s no surprise that the volume of code a typical organization or developer manages has grown in the last ten years—but many people outside the industry might not realize just how much. More than half of the developers surveyed report a growth (as measured in mebibytes) of more than a hundredfold.
Some of this code growth can be explained by increasingly complex code, but much of it comes from an increase in the diversity of platforms and tools used. Modern development—particularly Web development—generally means amalgams of many different platforms, libraries, and dependencies. The developers surveyed reported increases in the number of supported architectures, devices, languages, repositories, and more.
Most companies are tech companies now
In 2020, it’s difficult not to be a technology company.
Credit: Dimensional Research
In 2020, it’s difficult not to be a technology company. Credit: Dimensional Research
Another chart we found interesting was specific to developers at companies that have not traditionally been considered technology companies—such as insurance, retail, and even food and beverage companies. Of the developers surveyed, 91 percent say their non-technology company functions more like a technology company than it did ten years ago. This won’t surprise anyone who has noticed firms like Walmart Labs sponsoring open source technology conferences and delivering presentations.
The full survey results are available for download in PDF form.