According to this Evans Data Corporation survey, the number of Linux developers and Windows developers will be equal by the end of the year 2006. This development was noted by LinuxToday editor’s: ‘…With its dominant adoption rate, Apache may be doing more for the cause of open source development than Linux itself. Some survey numbers support Handy’s theory: 68% of the respondents are planning to code for Web applications. Since Apache is the most prolific Web server, it stands to reason that the openness of the Apache server is rubbing off on the development community. They’ve gotten a taste of open source development and they want more.

Now, let’s keep in mind that this is just one survey, and the numbers may not reflect reality (Evans cites a +/- 4% error rate). Plus, having more developers does not automatically ensure the success of an operating system. But it cannot be denied that the trend is showing a strong growth of Linux developers, and sometime in the near future, their numbers will pass those of Windows. When that happens, a lot more applications and solutions are going to find their way to Linux.

“Watching the developers is like watching the future,”…’