What Is Python?
Python is said to be a high-level and general-purpose programming language. It supports several programming paradigms, as well as structured, object-oriented, and functional programming. It is used for Data Science, Data Analysis, Machine Learning, Software Development, etc.
Guido van Rossum created Python in 1991 as Python 0.9.0 which was the first released. Python 2 is a very popular version and its latest version is Python 3.
Why Do We Use Python?
Python has a huge number of capabilities for programming. It offers a number of features that makes it one of the top-ranked programming language in the world. Here are the following features that make Python a popular and widely used programming language:
1. Platforms Independent
You can install and run Python on different types of platforms like Windows, Mac, Linux, AIX, IBM i, RISC OS, Solaris, etc. That means it is platform independent programming language. Due to this Python applications are portable on different platforms.
2. Supports Multiple Programming Styles
It supports multiple programming paradigms or styles because you can use Python in a procedural way, an object-oriented way, or even a functional way.
3. Stable and Secure
Python is a mature, stable, and traditional programming language because, since the late 1980s, there has been continuous active development in its functionality, testing, usability, and security updates in the form of new version releases, which makes it bug-free and stable.
4. Simple and Easily Understandable Coding Syntax
Python is written in a very simple language and syntaxes like English and math language; you can read and learn Python code very easily, thus saving your time and energy to a great extent. New lines are used to complete a command in Python, which is not used in other programming languages. There is no special symbol like the curly brackets used to write loops, functions, and classes. Python uses indentation and whitespace for this type of scope.
5. Need to Write Lesser Code
Python is called a programming language with less writing because you have to write much less code in it as compared to other programming languages.
6. Support Fast Coding Interpreter
The code in Python continues to execute as it is written because it works on the interpreter system. Because of this, the prototyping of coding becomes very fast.
7. Support Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) Architecture
Most programmers are already familiar with object-oriented programming methodologies. Python supports object-oriented programming methodologies, which makes them very supportive and easy to learn for new programmers. That’s why Python becomes a popular language among new programmers.
8. Supports Quick Development and Budget-Friendly
Python is considered to be fast development and budget-friendly programming language because you can create new simple or complex projects or applications by writing less coding at a low cost.
9. Supports Web Development
Python is a better choice for web development because Python supports many features for web development. You can successfully do web designing and development in Python because there are many types of frameworks available in Python which are helpful in creating website applications like – Django, Pyramid, TurboGears, Web2py, etc. Django is quite a popular Python framework. Django Python framework-based popular websites are – Pinterest, The Guardian, The New York Times, etc.
10. Support Industry Standard Database Interaction
Python supports most of the popular databases in the programming industry, such as MySQL, Oracle, PostgreSQL, Sybase, etc. You should know that PostgreSQL and MySQL are two common open-source database names that Python uses to store data for its web applications.
11. Supportive Global Python Community
There is a huge Python global community around the world that helps programmers or developers to learn, update, and debug Python code for free. This is the reason that no Python developer gets trapped in his project or code, and he can successfully produce his project or application on time.
Where Do We Use Python?
You can use Python in a variety of applications. Here are the names and short descriptions of many of them that show the common and practical uses of Python:
- Web Development
Python is known as a server-side application or backend language, so Python is often used to develop the backend of websites or web applications. For this, Python plays an important role in performing many tasks such as sending data to the server, data processing, communication from the database, etc.Python provides a variety of options for web development which are as follows – frameworks like Django and Pyramid, micro-frameworks such as Flask and Bottle, and advanced content management systems such as Plone and Django CMS.
- Software Development
You can develop software using Python. It is a very supporting language for software developers for building control and management, testing, etc. There are multiple tools are available for this, such as – SCons, Buildbot, Apache Gump, Roundup, and Trac. - System Administration for IT Administrator
Python is used to perform a variety of system-administration tasks such as bulk and huge file handling operations and execution for servers. - Scientific and Numeric Purposes
Python is a versatile programming language and is widely used for scientific and numeric computing purpose. There are multiple tools, packages, and libraries available for this purpose, such as – ciPy, Pandas, and IPython. - Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine learning
Python is the best option for Artificial Intelligence. Machine learning is a type of artificial intelligence that uses Python to learn from large sets of input data and generate results based on that input. By using Python for machine learning, you can create models that are able to learn from experience and predict future events without needing any human input. - Business Applications
ERP and e-commerce applications can be created using Python. “Odoo” is known for ERP, and Tryton is known for financial, sales, business-related software, etc.
Which IDE Is Used for Writing Python Code?
There are a variety of Python editors or IDE available. PyScripter is a very popular and lightweight Python IDE for small-level development. You can use other powerful IDE for managing high-level development with larger collections of Python files like:
- Thonny
- Pycharm
- Netbeans
- Eclipse
Python Code Sample
The following are the basic code sample for Python programming language:
a = 564
b = 3430
if b > a:
print("b is greater than a")
What Are the Names of Python-Based Frameworks?
As you must be aware that the framework of any programming language is very helpful in managing development time and cost, and we can produce new applications faster. Because many basic and advanced programming functionalities and features are already written in the coded framework. We just have to call and execute them in our application.
Similar frameworks are also available in Python, whose popular names are as follows:
- Django,
- Pyramid,
- TurboGears,
- Web2py,
- CherryPy
Who Is Using Python?
Many companies with a global presence in the world are using Python for their backend applications. The names of those companies are – Youtube, Instagram, Pinterest, Netflix, Uber, Dropbox, Spotify, etc.
