Java searches were down 3.93% over the period, while Python gained 1.86%. The top 10 languages behind C, Java and Python are C++, C#, Visual Basic, Javascript, PHP, Assembly Language, and SQL.

Java, the most popular language, has an index rating of 15 percent, while C has a rating of 13.3 percent. SEE: Six in-demand programming languages: Getting started (free PDF) ...

For the first time in the history of TIOBE's index, Java has slipped out of the top two, leaving Python to occupy the spot behind reigning champion, C.

In a Q&A, Python programming language creator Guido van Rossum said it was "almost taboo to talk about a Python 4 in a serious sense" following the troubled migration from Python 2.0 to Python 3.0.