Exploring YouTube as a Learning Source for Developers: A Large-Scale Analysis of Technology Videos

• Gabriel Victor de Paula PUC Minas
• João Victor Guerra PUC Minas
• Luís Antônio Souza PUC Minas
• Luiz Gustavo Soares PUC Minas
• Pedro Henrique Machado PUC Minas
• Aline Brito PUC Minas / UFOP
• Laerte Xavier PUC Minas

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5753/educomp.2025.4930

Abstract

YouTube is a platform widely used by the software development community. It hosts videos covering a variety of scenarios, which developers use for learning and staying updated. For instance, there are videos on new techniques and trends in software development, framework usage, environment configurations, and best practices, among others. Consequently, YouTube videos have become valuable resources for supporting software development by providing easy access to up-to-date and practical knowledge. In this context, in this paper, we analyzed approximately 11K videos related to software development. Our analysis revealed several characteristics of these videos, for instance, the results suggest a significant number of videos for beginners involving Python, as well as popular videos that are short. Finally, we discuss characteristics and future research that can help in the creation of relevant programming videos.

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