Compared with other sections of the IT industry, software development isn't a place where radically new trends appear frequently. Most programming practices and tools used today have been in place for years. Given what has transpired in 2022, some interesting software development trends are to watch out for in 2023. Let’s dive into it:

AI-Assisted Programming Takes Off

For several years, tools have been available to help write source code using AI. But we're now in a watershed moment, thanks to the introduction over the past year of a new breed of AI-assisted coding tools like ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot and Amazon CodeWhisperer.

In 2023, expect to see more and more developers at least experimenting with AI-generated code. I'm not sure that AI-assisted coding will mature to the point that these tools become an everyday part of most developers' workflows by the end of 2023.

Still, I think more coders will at least be playing around with the tools and occasionally using them to generate relatively mundane code.

Crypto and Blockchain Development Wind Down

The blockchain hype is dying down. We predict blockchain development will decline in 2023. If you're a developer trying to specialize in building blockchain applications, my advice is to find a new niche. The originality of blockchain-based apps is a function of the architecture of the blockchain than the logic of software interacting with the blockchain.

Low-Code Programming Becomes Less Buzzworthy

Like crypto hype, the energy surrounding low-code programming will likely decline during the coming year. This isn't because low-code programming is going away. It has been around for a long time, and good reasons remain to take advantage of low-code solutions today.

More developers recognize the limitations of low-code tools. If you're already using low-code platforms, you'll probably continue to do so in 2023. But I think the adoption will slow as developers realize that low code has limits.

Monoliths Move to Containers

Remember when developers faced pressure to refactor their application code so it could run as microservices inside containers? Those days are mostly over. By now, most applications that are good candidates for refactoring have already been refactored.

At the same time, developers continue to face pressure to migrate applications to platforms like Kubernetes and make applications more environment-agnostic. To do those things, they need to run applications inside containers.

Although containers are most often associated with microservices, there's no reason why you can't run an entire monolithic application inside a container. There are benefits to doing so, such as reducing the number of external environment dependencies you have to worry about when deploying the app.

Software Developer Hiring Slows Down

For years, software developers have had enviable leverage in the job market. Companies were desperate to recruit coders, willing to pay pretty good salaries to hire and retain them.

There are few reasons to believe that that trend has changed yet. Developers still seem to land jobs with ease.

The general economic slowdown that has taken place over the past year has hit the tech industry especially hard. Combined with large layoffs and departures at major tech companies in recent months, it will likely result in a somewhat less rosy job market outlook for developers.

In 2023, good developers will still be able to find good jobs, but they may not have their pick of them as they did in previous years. And some "over-employed" developers may have to settle for doing just one job at a time.

Conclusion

2023 is likely to see the explosion of some cool new software development trends, like AI-assisted coding. At the same time, it will witness a cooling off of older trends, including the development of blockchain apps and low-code programming. And the software development job market may just finally cool down, too.

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