5 Use Cases of Python in The Real World
There aren’t many programming languages that are as well-known as Python. In fact, it’s used by Google, Spotify, Netflix, Amazon, and many other globally famous companies in their daily operations.
It is only fair to say that Python isn’t only a jack of all trades but also a master of many. It is a hugely popular general-purpose language used for a number of different applications. As many as four out of five developers say that they mainly work with Python and thanks to the latest technology advancements, the number of its use cases is constantly increasing.
If you want to know more about what Python is used for and its benefits, this article is a great place to start.
What Is Python?
Python is an incredibly powerful and versatile programming language that has become the go-to for many web developers, software engineers, and data scientists who want to create robust applications quickly and with minimal hassle. It’s a high-level language, which means that it focuses on readability by humans rather than machine code. This makes it easier for those unfamiliar with coding to understand and use it.
Python can be used for a variety of object-oriented programming tasks such as:
- Website development
- Software automation
- Game creation
- Artificial intelligence (AI) development
- Data analysis and visualization
- Robotics programming
- Network application development
It also has fantastic built-in functions and supports various libraries and frameworks such as Django and Flask that make developing applications much more efficient.
Python was created in 1991 by Dutch programmer Guido van Rossum who named it after the famous British comedy series ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’. It still remains one of the most popular languages even today due to its extensive support community, a wide selection of tools, and highly optimized web frameworks which allow developers to take advantage of modern web technologies like AJAX or JSON.
In addition to its scalability and versatility in both creating solutions from scratch or building upon existing programs using APIs or libraries, Python also offers great flexibility in terms of licensing options. Some are available under open-source licenses while others require commercial licenses (depending on the user’s needs). This makes it an ideal choice for businesses that want to build their own solutions without having to purchase expensive commercial software.
All in all, Python is an incredibly versatile language that continues to provide users with great solutions at a fraction of the cost compared to other languages.
5 Benefits of Using Python
Python is one of the most popular programming languages for many reasons, and these are just some of them.
Easy to learn and use
Python is easy to learn and code, which makes it a great choice for beginners in programming. This functional programming language is often referred to as an "executable pseudo-code" language due to its simple syntax and readability. Its function definitions, class mechanisms, class definitions, and directness make it easy for beginners to learn the necessary basics and become adept at coding tasks quickly.
Additionally, Python is an interpreted language, meaning that what you see is what you get when you code. This makes Python a great choice for prototyping projects and developing applications quickly.
Libraries and frameworks
Python has become the tool of choice for many developers thanks to the language design, flexibility, and wide range of packages. In fact, Python libraries and frameworks are among the main reasons why Python is such a powerful programming language.
Popular libraries like NumPy, Pandas, Keras, and TensorFlow can help you tackle complex problems in mathematics, data analysis, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Moreover, frameworks like Django, Flask, and Pyramid are great for web development, while Robot Framework provides a powerful automation platform.
With so many libraries and frameworks available, Python makes it easier to quickly create complex applications and be more productive when coding.
Wide community
Another great thing about Python is the incredible community that surrounds it, including the Python Software Foundation. Python has a huge, vibrant community of developers who are always willing to help users who have questions or problems. With so much support, it's no wonder Python is one of the most popular programming languages in the world.
From seasoned professionals to beginner coders, there’s always someone willing to lend a helping hand or give advice. There are hundreds of online forums dedicated to discussing topics related to Python and its usage.
This active and engaged community makes it easy to get help with any Python-related questions you may have. Whether you're looking for feedback on a code block or just want an experienced programmer to review what you've done, there are plenty of experienced members of the Python community who can provide assistance. Additionally, the community has created a variety of educational resources and tutorials to help beginners get up to speed quickly.
Free to use
Python is a free, open-source programming language that comes under the OSI-approved open-source license. It can practically be downloaded, modified, and redistributed without any cost, which makes it useful for organizations who want to customize their version of Python for development purposes.
The availability of the source code allows developers to share, copy, and modify it as needed with minimal maintenance costs. And the Python community also benefits from this by providing an opportunity to share knowledge among junior specialists in the field.
What Is Python Used For?
This powerful functional programming language can be used for many different types of tasks. Let’s explore some of the use cases for Python.
Web development
Python is a popular choice these days when it comes to web development because of its versatility, scalability, high-level syntax, and vast libraries. Frameworks like Flask and Django make it easier to create websites from scratch and create server-side applications while libraries like Requests allow interaction with other sites' APIs, so web developers can get more out of their applications.
It also provides an easy way to access databases, allowing developers to quickly build dynamic websites and web applications.
Data science, analysis, and visualization
Python is incredibly powerful for data analysis because its libraries like Pandas, NumPy, Scikit-Learn, and Tensorflow make analyzing data easy.
Python functions are also a great choice when it comes to data visualization projects. With just a block of code or a few of them, you can easily produce beautiful charts, histograms, maps, or any other type of graph using libraries like Plotly or Matplotlib which are designed specifically for this purpose.
Desktop applications
Python is also used to create graphical user interfaces (GUI) for desktop applications. It supports a wide range of GUI frameworks such as PyQt, Tkinter, and Kivy, which are great for creating cross-platform apps.
And did you know that Pythons is used for creating and maintaining some of the most popular web applications of today? You may be surprised when you hear that Dropbox, Netflix, Quora, Uber, and Amazon are just some of the big names that use Python on a regular basis.
Automation and scripting
This programming language created by Guido Van Rossum is a great choice for automating tasks or creating scripts to do work quickly and efficiently. For example, Python can be used to automate mundane tasks like:
- File management. You can use Python to create, delete, and rename files by automation.
- Sending emails. Texts and emails can be scheduled or automated with Python so team members can focus on other development tasks.
- Web scraping. If you want to crawl the web and gather data faster, you can use Python to browse the world wide web and do web indexing automatically.
Machine learning
Finally, Python is also used in the fields of deep learning, machine learning and artificial intelligence. These technologies are becoming increasingly popular for businesses to use for data-driven decision-making.
Machine learning has been gaining more attention in recent years and Python plays a major role in its development. Its great flexibility, platform versatility, and advanced visualization options make it an increasingly popular ML programming language.
Several frameworks exist for machine learning such as TensorFlow and Keras, both written in Python. Libraries like SciPy also provide support libraries for ML algorithms such as linear algebra and calculus tools to allow developers to develop more complex systems. This allows for implementing popular ML techniques while IPython and similar tools provide users with tab completion, debugging, and testing features.
Final Thoughts
There you go. This guide should give you a solid overview of Python’s benefits and use cases. All in all, if you want to start learning your first or new programming language and be able to write lines of code as quickly as possible, Python is probably the best choice.
Due to its user-friendliness, extensive libraries and frameworks, huge community, as well as a wide array of use cases, learning this dynamic language may be one of the best decisions on your way to becoming a master programmer.