Guido van Rossum’s the Python language is considered a gap-filler, a way to write scripts that “automate the boring stuff” (Al Sweigart) or to prompt prototype applications that can be implemented in other programming languages.
However, over the past couple of years, Python is accepted by the developers as the most secured, trusted and fastest programming language in industries like software development, web development, data analysis, gaming, and networking. Python language is now the major force in web browser creation, server-side web applications, system administrations, provides a huge number of libraries to work on Big Data and intuitive syntax, basic control flow, data structures for artificial intelligence. Perfect for IT, Python simplifies every aspect of the IT industry, from system automation to machine learning, from Large GUI applications to Small embedded devices.
1. Python’s key advantages
Python’s success revolves around several advantages it provides for all from beginners to experts alike.
Python is easy to learn and use
The Python Programming language is full of features; a number of tools in the language make it easier to play along with it. It requires a relatively little amount of time or effort to produce your first program. The Python syntax is pretty much readable and straightforward to attract more users to use it. This simplicity makes Python an ideal programming language, and it lets young learners cope up with quickly. As a result, developers have more time to spend in debugging issues from software that spending time on language complexities.
Python is broadly adopted and supported
Python is among the most popular and widely used programming language, according to the high rankings in surveys like the Tiobe Index, Forbes, it is a demand coding language and a large number of projects using Python attest. Python is environment-friendly, runs on almost every major operating system and platforms. Every major library and Application programming interface-powered services have Python bindings or wrappers. Python interface is easily accessible and those services and libraries are directly useable. Python is one of the fastest languages, but in versatility and utility, it is incomparable.
Python is not a “toy” language
Though scripting and automation cover a lumpsum amount of Python’s use cases (more on that later), Python is also the best choice to build professional-quality software, both as mobile applications and as web services.
2. What Python is used for?
The fundamental use of Python is as a scripting and automation language. Python isn’t just a replacement for shell scripts or batch files but it’s also used to automate interaction with web services or GUIs.Along with that system provisioning and configuration tools such as Ansible and Salt also arranged and supported by Python. For scripting and automation ace is on Python.
General application programming with Python
You can create both CLI and cross-platform GUI applications by using Python and deploy them as self-contained executables.
Data science and machine learning with Python
Data become the fundamental unit of IT industries and data analysis has become one of the fastest-growing areas of IT.
Web services and RESTful APIs in Python
Python’s native libraries and third-party web frameworks provide fast and convenient ways to create everything from simple REST APIs in a few lines of code to full-blown, data-driven sites. Python’s latest version (3.0) has support for asynchronous operations, letting sites handle multiple requests in second with the libraries.
Metaprogramming and code generation in Python
In Python, everything is an object, along with Python modules and libraries themselves. Python is allowed because of this to work as a highly efficient code generator, make it possible to write applications that manipulate their own functions and have the kind of extensibility that is impossible to give by other languages. Python has driven code generation system like LLVM that is helpful to use the Python in different language efficiently.
“Glue code” in Python
Python has a synonym, “glue language,” means it can let disparate code (typical libraries with C language interfaces) to interoperate. It is used in both machine learning and data science which are practically unmatchable before the invention of the Python.
3. Where Python falls short?
There are some places where this language falls short.
As it is a high-level language, so it’s not suitable for system-level programming i.e device drivers or OS kernels.
Finally, when the speed is the number one priority for user python is not the best option available in the market.
4. Python 2 versus Python 3
Python is available in two versions in the market, which are different enough. Python 2.x, is the older version, will continue to be supported (that is, receive official updates) through 2020, and it might persist unofficially after that. For better concurrency controls and a more efficient interpreter, Python 3.x is most acceptable and used. 3.x is much faster than 2.x.
Many third-party libraries support on 2.x and not in 3.x just because of the third-party units are not in a condition to shift their authenticity in 3.x. But over the last couple of years, the number of libraries supporting is version 3 is increasing in rapid succession.
5. Python’s libraries
Python’s success is based on the acceptance and giving a platform for the third-party developers and allowing their libraries on a rich ecosystem. From the first- and third-party software Python benefits from both a strong standard library and a generous assortment of easily obtained and readily used libraries from third-party developers. It has been enriched by decades of expansion and contribution.
The default Python distribution also provides a useful, cross-platform GUI library via Tkinter and an embedded copy of the SQL database.
Python’s popularity and versatility constitute the strongest showcase for the thousands of third-party libraries, available through the Python Package Index (PyPI),
For example:
- The BeautifulSoup library used for pulling data out from HTML and XML files
- Frameworks like Flask and Django allow python-based web frameworks, which follows the model-view-template architectural pattern.
6. Python’s compromises
Like C#, Java Python has garbage-collection memory management, meaning the programmer doesn’t have to implement code to track and release objects. The garbage collection happens automatically in the background, if that poses a performance problem, the user can trigger it manually and maintain the performance by disabling it completely.
An important aspect of Python is its dynamism. Everything in the language, including functions and modules themselves, are handled as objects. This comes at the expense of speed (more on that later), but makes it far easier to write high-level code. if needed.
Syntactical white space might cause noses to wrinkle, and some people do reject Python for this reason. But strict indentation rules are far less obtrusive in practice than they might seem in theory, even with the most minimal of code editors, and the result is code that is cleaner and more readable. Another potential turnoff, especially for those coming from languages like C or Java, is how Python handles variable typing.
7. Is Python too slow? It doesn’t have to be
One common issue of Python is that it’s slow in comparison to C/C++. Objectively, it’s true. Python programs are generally run much more slowly than corresponding program i.e Java.
It is due to the fact that python is very dynamic and mammoth size makes it difficult to optimize the language in speed, even when it is compiled. That said, Python’s speed may not be as much of an issue as it might seem, and there are ways to reduce it.
8. Developer time typically beats machine time
Sometimes development speed is higher than execution speed and delivering speed. Standard programming in Python takes 6 seconds in compare to java’s time 1 second. The space and flexibility and availability of python make it more important to the developers. When the speed of development and programmer comfort are more important than shaving a few seconds off the machine clock, Python may well be the best tool for the job.
Today’s world programmers comfort and development strategy is more important than saving a minimal second of clock, that’s why python is an undisputed programming language in today’s scenario.
