In this age of digital technology, almost every day a new programming language is developed. These programming languages serve to be a platform to bring revolutionary changes in the industry by generating algorithms. These algorithms are used for computing complex problems with highly automated computer programs.
Amongst a pool of countless languages, the task is to opt for the best. According to reports, Python has been crowned as the most desired programming language in 2018.
Python got its name when Guido van Rossum was reading scripts of “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”, a BBC comedy series from the 1970s. Van Russom wanted the name of the language to be short and slightly mysterious. Due to Van Rossum’s major role in development of Python, community entitled him as ‘Benevolent Dictator for Life’ (BDFL).
Although the concept of a Benevolent Dictator might sound a bit oxymoronic or plain ‘doublespeak’, but Python has certainly provided new wings to the digital industry. The language has been adopted by many industry giants like Google, Netflix, Spotify, Instagram, Apple etc.
And in time, Python has become far more mature as a interpreting multi-paradigm language that provides a highly flexible coding framework to programmers.
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In this blog we will understand why python became primary preference for techno-sapiens.
- Easy to Understand
If someone is stepping his feet for the first time in coding, then Python is the best alternative due to its easy-to-understand syntax which is almost similar to speaking English. Programming becomes a complex task when it comes to learning tricky syntax, thus python gained popularity over time as the most beginner-friendly language of all time. The documentation is well written by the community for the current stable version of Python.
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- Flexibility
Due to its interpreting nature, one can always compile and run the part of the program until it reaches the problematic part. With the rich set of precompiled functions, Python offers a very versatile way to eliminate potential error causing complexities.
- Diversity
Python Community is growing vast and rapidly and people from different backgrounds are actively participating towards advancement. The motto of the community to encourage the enthusiasts is: “whoever you are, whatever your background is, we welcome you”.
- Open Source
Python is a part of FLOSS (Free/Libre and Open Source Software) i.e. we can read its source code, make changes to it and distribute its copies. Python was developed as a non-profit community which promotes knowledge.
- Portable and High-level
Python is a platform independent language which does not require explicit changes. It is capable of running on Linux, Windows, Macintosh, Solaris etc. Since Python is itself a High-level programming language it can avoid low-level detailing such as allotment of memory to the program, since it is done automatically.
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- Stability
Developers are issuing a ‘bugfix’ releases for the older versions, to improve the stability of the current versions. These bugfix releases constitutes of only fixes to the reported bugs and unwanted dependencies without disturbing the interfaces. There has been a major release in almost every 6 to 8 months, thus accounting for its stability.
- Fewer Lines of Code
Comparing a Python code with a code written in some traditional language is really amazing. Due to provision of rich set of precompiled libraries and functions, python becomes very expressive language and thus only 500 lines of code are sufficient to build an industry-level application.
- Extensibility and Embeddability
These are most powerful features of python which allow embedding a piece of code written in python into a code written in some other language. Since Python is a highly customizable language, developers use compiling language such as C/C++ for performance-critical segments of code and python for high-level control segments.
Python is also used as an extension language, since it increases the overall performance and reliability of a program. Cython was developed to combine the power of C and Python, which includes generating C extensions for Python.
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- Critical Support Base
The more likely you get into programming; the more vital support becomes. The entire python community is all about giving and receiving help. As the community is growing day by day, imagine how many people are always ready to support you with building powerful applications. Python has been listed among the top programming languages by various Q&A sites such as Stackoverflow, Meetup and GitHub.
- Career perspectives
With the rise in emerging technologies such as Big Data, Python professionals are very much in need as Data Scientists. Since with huge Python Standard Library, python has varied applications such as unit testing, ftp, web development, GUI designing, Cryptography etc., thus opening the doors of employment.
Python with its easy flow structure and added extensive features makes the development of application fun and exciting for the developers. It is highly integrating language and has a higher life expectancy. At last, the KPI of python is the support, all thanks to the community.
