If you’re not up on your programming languages, Python has been the de facto choice for a large number of software engineers for some time. But why? What makes this particular language so special?
And, more importantly, is Python the language of the future? That depends on what purpose and who you ask.
Confused? You needn’t be because we’re going to break this all down in the simplest terms. But first, let’s talk about what Python is.
What Is Python?
As you’ve probably already surmised, Python is a computer programming language. But Python isn’t just any programming language. Python is a general-purpose language, which means it can be used for just about anything.
Python was released in 1991 and has a philosophy that emphasizes code readability. By making use of code that is highly readable (Python syntax uses English keywords), so just about anyone can pick up this language quickly.
What does that mean? Let me show you, by way of an example.
There’s a program that everyone learns from the beginning of their journey toward software engineering. That program is called “Hello, World!” This program does one thing, it prints out the phrase, Hello, World!. That’s it. If you want to write that program in C++, the code would look like this:
#include <iostream>
int main() {
std::cout << “Hello World!”;
return 0;
}
That same program in Python consists of a single line:
print(“Hello, World!”)
As you can see, the Python version of the program is vastly simpler than the C++ version.
Now, imagine how quickly a Python developer could create web applications for your company.
High readability and simplicity aren’t the only things that set Python apart from some other languages. Python is also an interpreted language. What does that mean? Many languages require that you compile your code before the app can be run. So you write the code, compile it, and then run it. With Python, the compiler is removed from the equation, so you just write the code and then run it.
Python is a great language for web development. Why? The list of reasons is considerable and includes:
- Portability
- Prototyping
- Asynchronous coding
- Large standard library
- Easy enterprise app integration
- Application and server-side scripting
By taking advantage of either the Django or Flask frameworks, you can create powerful web-based applications and scalable projects that can also interact with popular databases (such as MySQL and PostgreSQL).
Now that you have a basic understanding of what Python is, let’s look at why it might be considered the language of the future.
First Steps With Python
As I’ve said, time and again, Python is an ideal language for beginners. Because Python’s syntax is so easy to understand, it removes a significant barrier to entry for new developers. And although Python is most widely used for web development (which is a great place for new engineers to start), with the availability of the NumPy and SciPy packages, it’s also possible to easily apply Python to the files of science, mathematics, and engineering. That means those in those research areas aren’t required to spend inordinate amounts of time getting up to speed in the ways of traditional programming.
But the usability doesn’t stop there. Python is also adept in the fields of machine learning and AI. With packages like TensorFlow, PyTorch, scikit-learn, and OpenCV, Python makes it such that getting up to speed with modern technology advances isn’t nearly as hard as you think.
But this isn’t just about individual Python developers learning the language. Businesses keen on taking advantage of machine learning, artificial intelligence, data science, and web applications will do well by hiring Python developers. Those new engineers will be able to take your website (and other offerings) to new heights you might not have otherwise considered.
So whether you’re an individual engineer, or a company looking to add the right language into the mix, you can’t go wrong with Python.
Is Python Future-Proof?
What does future-proof mean? Simply put, it means something is not likely to be made obsolete in the near future. In today’s technological landscape, languages, apps, and services come and go faster than ever. Your business could design and release the perfect app or service, only to find it either fails to gain traction or very quickly loses its appeal.
Although Python will not last forever, it has a long life ahead of it. But because Python is so versatile and easy to use, there will always be a large number of developers and a seemingly never-ending parade of use cases. Python lies somewhere in between a scripting language and a full programming language, which makes it all the more flexible and, thus, future proof.
How flexible is Python? The CIA has used Python for hacking, Pixar uses it for film production, Google makes use of Python for scraping data from web pages, and Spotify uses it to recommend songs to users. Those institutions aren’t going away any time soon, and the likelihood of them finding a better substitute for Python is slim.
What does that mean for your company?
Once you start employing Python developers, the fruits of their labor will be around for a long, long time. That’s important because it means your company won’t have to constantly be reinventing your own wheel—which translates to cost savings.
What better reason do you need for a programming language?
Conclusion
If your business is looking to expand, you can’t go wrong by hiring a team of Python developers. And if you’re unsure of where to start in that hiring, you should consider Python development outsourcing from a company like BairesDev. By outsourcing that task, you can be sure the team brought in to add Python to your development pipeline will consist of some of the best engineers on the market. And by integrating Python, the sky’s the limit with how your company can grow.
If you enjoyed this article, check out one of our other Python articles.
