Kodeclik Blog
What is Python Used for?
Learn why Python is one of the most popular programming languages out there and the myriad places where it is used.
What is Python Used for?
Python is one of the most popular high-level programming languages today. It frequently ranks in the top-5 lists of programming languages as surveyed from programmers. Python was designed by Dutch programmer Guido van Rossum as a successor to the ABC programming language but it borrows elements from many other languages such as SETL. Python is considered a multi-paradigm programming language meaning it embodies elements of object-oriented programming, functional programming, and aspect-oriented programming. Today, Python is supported by a rich ecosystem of libraries and extensions for domains such as data science, machine learning, web development, testing and automation, and software engineering.
Python for data science
Python is a very natural language for data science. Data science involves processing large amounts of data, analyzing them for trends and patterns, and visualizing them in charts and graphs. Python provides many libraries for the data scientist. For instance, pandas is a very popular Python library for handling large-scale two-dimensional data tables using “data frames”. Data frames are a cross between spreadsheets and databases and provide a very expressive notation to do common statistical operations. One of the advantages of pandas is that it allows you to “reshape” the data into new formats in a very convenient manner.
Python for machine learning
Machine learning is the idea of learning patterns from data and using these patterns to make projections, forecasts, or other inferences. Python is a very rich source of libraries for machine learning. In fact, the question is not whether you should use Python for machine learning (you should!) but which Python library you should use. Popular libraries are scikit-learn, PyTorch (developed and popularized by Facebook), TensorFlow (developed and popularized by Google), Keras (popularized by the Google engineer François Chollet).
Python for web development
Python is one of the popular languages (but not the most popular, which would be Javascript) for web development. There are Python frameworks that support both back-end and front-end web development. Back-end web development includes database maintenance, ensuring user/session privacy/security, and handling transactions. Front-end web development refers to the look and feel of the site, including the responsive user interfaces. Python frameworks like Django and Flask are very popular with web programmers.
Python for testing and automation
Python is a very popular software testing and automation framework. What does this mean? Using Python you can script and automate your process of developing software, e.g., testing programs, cataloging test instances, validating that your fixes address the bugs discovered, etc. For instance Requestium is a Python library for testing web applications.
Python for software engineering
Python is an ideal language for ad-hoc software engineering tasks. For instance, suppose you want to scrape a website for the latest stock quotes, take these quotes and analyze them for trends, and then post these trends in real-time to a website for consumption by humans. Python is the ideal language to do each of these steps and string together the results. It can use APIs and harvesters to extract data, use a data science library to spot trends, and finally employ a web framework to publish results.
Which is better - Python 2 or Python 3?
Python 3 is considered to be mainstream today. There are some key differences between Python 2 and 3 and Python 3’s features are now considered to be standard.
How can I learn Python?
Kodeclik has a very structured curriculum for Python through our online coding classes. It takes several weeks to master Python and Kodeclik’s curriculum gently takes you through the basics of the language, how to write simple programs, and how to use what you learn to build complex programs. Our curriculum also gets into material like Turtle graphics, writing your own games, and even interfacing with Minecraft!
What types of careers can I expect if I master Python?
Practically every computing or IT-related career will benefit from knowing Python. This includes data scientists, software engineers, network specialists, software testers, QA experts, and even game designers.
Is Python beginner-friendly?
Python is one of the most beginner-friendly languages out there! It has minimal syntax and simple rules that are both consistent and versatile. As students master writing simple pieces of code, the same rules apply to much larger contexts and thus students are able to gradually ease themselves into writing more complex programs. In fact, students can create their own modules and libraries and over time re-use their own code when faced with a new programming assignment.
So there you have it - Python is a very versatile language! What will you use it for? Let us know!
If you are interested in more Python content, checkout our Python coding for kids page and our many blogposts on Python coding, such as making a password generator in Python and solving the Tower of Hanoi puzzle in Python. If you like graphics and animations, you will enjoy learning about Python Turtle.
