+4  A: 

I think this really depends on the "market" you are looking at (ie. device, web, desktop...).

My personal recent searches show quite a bit of the following

  • C# / VB.NET
  • Java
  • C++
JTA
+1 C# is what all the recruiters seem to be looking for at the moment.
Ed Woodcock
+16  A: 

English. Languages don't mean much, it's what you do with it.

eed3si9n
Other good choices might be Japanese, Hindi, and Russian.
David Thornley
That's not a programming language.
ReDAeR
Theoretically, English _could_ be a programming language. You could "compile" English "code" to another language. If I say, "write me a program that does X" and you write a program that does X, then congratulations, you've compiled English. Therfore, +1
Chris Lutz
I don't know if you were joking when you wrote this answer eed3si9n, but command of English for Programmers and Software Engineers is indeed high in the knowledge/abilities/skills list in the O*NET OnLine career exploration catalogs. +1 for sure.
Kensai
@Chris - Isn't that the same as VB? =)
StingyJack
+1  A: 

The market place is rather large, decide what type of programming you want to do such as server side, client web programming, legacy mainframe systems, imbedded devices, etc and that will limit your choice of what languages are popular for that segment of the market and allow you to make a better choice on what to learn.

Jared
A: 

Brush up what you are good at. Instead of doing many things at one time why don't you become a guru in one language?

More over even if you have many years exp in one thing and if you are applying for an entirely new technology just because its of high demand, wont it make you a fresher again?

Shoban
+2  A: 

The TIOBE Programming Community Index is probably the most well-researched list I've seen. Google trends is always fun, but probably not as accurate. According to TIOBE, the top ten are:

  1. Java
  2. C
  3. C++
  4. PHP
  5. (Visual) Basic
  6. Python
  7. C#
  8. JavaScript
  9. Perl
  10. Delphi

Having said that, you may need to define your markets better. PHP is the most popular web programming language at the moment, but if you're looking for a corporate web development job, you should probably focus on C#/Java. What is the market you're interested in?

Chris Pebble
Most well-researched? Their methods are "search for language names on Google, Yahoo, MSN, and a few others". The TIOBE index has _major_ problems with it's methodology. Not to say it's a bad resource, but it's only a good resource if you say "Here's an interesting, if perhaps flawed, metric:" rather than your "Here's the holy grail of answers to your question:"
Chris Lutz
A: 

It is a moving target, so that information really isn't all that useful for career planning purposes. Also, a few recruiters I know have told me that the answer to this question varies wildly by geographic region.

Some examples that I got from the recruiter: Common .NET languages like C#/VB.NET are in higher demand in areas where most of the developer jobs are concentrated inside corporate IT functions or Government agencies (Austin, Texas

Lower level languages like C++ are in higher demand in areas where the jobs are more centered on hardware devices.

Java, Rails and other non-MS centric languages are big in the software development hubs like the Silicon Valley area.

There are, of course many exceptions. Ultimately, it is a good idea to do a few sample projects in a lot of languages to make sure you have a broad understanding of the capabilities of different platforms, but you should spend most of your time on the ones you enjoy the most (including the culture surrounding it). Being an expert in any technology and reasonably competent about the others is a much better way to provide job security than aligning your focus with wherever the wind is blowing.

JohnFx
"Lower level languages like C++ are in higher demand in areas where the jobs are more centered on hardware devices." - True, but please consider some wonderful C++ toolkits such as the Qt for GUIs and the Wt for, oh yes, web applications development.
Kensai
A: 

A good programmer with an understanding of the major programming paradigms should be able to sell himself/herself to an employer on the basis of their understanding of these general concepts, since all "good" employers know that with these skills one can easily pick up a new language in a couple of days. Having experience with a particular language, say Java for example, doesn't necessarily make you a better candidate for a job that involves programming with Java, than somebody with no Java experience but a lot of other OO experience. Hopefully employers know this and take it into consideration, those that don't, probably aren't the sort of people you want to be working for anyway :-)

David Claridge
A: 

now google is looking to launch a new products of moblies, and whatever it say rightnow mobile applications having high demand in market.now google introduces a new type of application laguage for mobile,is ANDROID..... i hope it may gonna blast in few years.

nagasekhar
Android is an OS / Platform. If you want to get into Android development then Java is the best bet.
Neil Aitken