I like to follow trend browsers / OS / languages, etc. I find that trends at Google are a very useful resource, but sometimes I can’t get the information I need.
An example of a very clear increase in Ubuntu (with 6 month peaks near release dates) compared to other major linux distributions over the years ...
http://www.google.com/trends?q=ubuntu%2C+debian%2C+redhat%2C+mandrake&ctab=0&geo=all&date=all&sort=0
An example of results that are distorted due to non-programming events. See “Flood Flashes” and “Java Earthquake” in news reports
http://www.google.com/trends?q=flash%2C+java%2C+javascript&ctab=0&geo=all&date=all&sort=0
Is there a better way to filter the results in order to include Java in the programming language and make sure that it catches all variants of the name - for example, js instead of javascript or an alternative tool that can create similar graphical trend data.
possibly to exclude terms with a minus sign and use | for options:
flash -flood, java -crash -quake, javascript + js
But if you need accuracy, it would be better to use the Language Popularity Index (or Tiobe , as Bas suggests).
Such "metrics" are of dubious value (but interesting to discuss). You can add the word "program" to each language: http://www.google.com/trends?q=flash+program%2C+java+program%2C+javascript+program&ctab=0&geo=all&date=all&sort=1