BACANCY TECHNOLOGY
How Python Has Become So Popular In So Less Time?
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Introduction to Python Of all the programming languages, Python is the only one that can be considered “general purpose�, meaning that in Python it is possible, obviously at a theoretical level, to build any type of program. This is because Python is not a language limited to a specific field of use, such as the MATLAB language or the AutoCAD scripting language, Excel macros, etc. these languages can be considered dedicated to particular fields, while Python is a language that allows you to do anything and leaves maximum freedom at a high level, because the abstraction that allows Python allows you to ignore what is the binary code that runs on processor of the machine and therefore allows not to consider the architecture of the processor. Python: simple, powerful and effective language for automation Using Python means exploiting all the advantages that this programming language brings: for example Python and a multi-paradigm language as, in the sense that it allows to write the code in various ways, that is in procedural, object-oriented, functional style etc. So if we know the procedural code, type C and Pascal, we can write in Python in this way; But even if we are programmers we can keep the same approach with Python from object oriented languages like Java, C Sharp and C ++. Python also allows to use functional programming paradigms and for example to pass functions to other functions.
Another advantage of Python is that it is portable and multi platform: the same program runs on Windows, Mac, Linux without changes; then the same source code runs on multiple platforms without changing anything. This is a great advantage especially for those who work with various platforms. Python is software that is free to use, so it does not imply any cost or license to use it, in any area. It is also equipped with a very rich built-in library which allows you to use it immediately without requiring additional components. Let’s say that 90% of the needs of a common programmer is covered by the standard library.
Python: where it comes from? Van Rossum, a Dutch developer and mathematical researcher first invented a language called ABC, but nobody used it, but then Python was born from the evolution of ABC. Today, Van Rossum is a supporter of open-source culture and releases his code under the GNU General Public License (GPL). The Python project is maintained by the developer community under the Python Software Foundation. The following image gives an idea of the temporal development of Python and highlights its most significant stages.
The FLOSS system (Free / Libre Open Source Software) and the role of the PEP One of the features of Python is that it is a FLOSS (Free / Libre and Open Source Software) that is you can see its source code, modify it, take pieces of code and use it in other free programs. FLOSS is based on the principle of free sharing of knowledge within a community. Since its creation, Python has been updated and maintained by a community that improves it and keeps it growing: the Python Software foundation. Python has seen a frightening growth in recent years as appears from the graph shown at Stack Overflow.
By virtue of all its prerogatives, Python is today among the first most used languages in the world as we can see by looking at the following figure, which offers a graph available on the Internet on the famous science and technology site.
Python is experiencing a huge diffusion, so much so that it has become the first most used language in the world in the web and in the desktop while in the mobile embedded field C still has its presence and Java still plays it in the mobile web.
This ranking was made using as a criterion the aggregation of various sources, such as search engines, job search, polls on social networks and so on. Today, the major players in the market use Python in their infrastructure, as shown in the following image.
Furthermore, many known applications use Python as an internal language to manage objects and allow the user to create macros; these applications are OpenOffice, Gimp, Paint Shop Pro, Autodesk Maya, Open Inventor, Poser, Blender. Python is also used in video games such as Civilization IV, Eve-Online, Battlefield 2. Python: why use it? At this point, one wonders why to use Python; the answer is that Python can be used to do scripting, a concept that can be clarified by imagining. For example, having to take a file from a directory and changing the name with a certain criterion or placing it on another directory or sending it to print or open it with another program and so on.
Well, these operations are actually scripts that is they are sequences of things that we keep repeating every day or maybe once a week. A script can serve, for example, if we need to automate the backup or other activities. The script then allows the automation of procedures of various kinds such as sending a print-online service of image files every time they are added to a certain folder. Python is also very useful in prototyping specially when an algorithm can not be written with other languages because it is too difficult.
Another example of use can be to create small services. There is no need to compile, because Python interprets and compiles into a Virtual Machine, ie it executes the code automatically so there is no need to compile the software for a certain architecture; Extensive library of functions already available with the basic installation Readable and simple code Oriented to prototyping and teaching Extensive documentation and available community Flexibility, because we use the same language for desktop / web / mobile / server (DEVOPS!). To program in Python, the first thing to do is to decide what we want to do, ie write an algorithm and a series of steps. Python, as explained a little while ago allows to adopt more programming styles; to clarify this concept we see the classic Hello World program which will allow us to understand the simplicity with which Python scripts can be used to build software. Let’s take a look at the following code snippet, which is Hello World and is written in Java: public class HelloWorld { public static void main(String[] args) { System.out.println(“Hello, World”); } } In Java, to write Hello World you need to use three or four lines, while in Python the code becomes: print(“Hello, World”)
In short, something much simpler because a print statement is enough! Some peculiarities of the Python language
Let’s see now some features regarding Python, starting from the syntax to be used in writing the code: Firstly, to delimit the cycles of instructions do not use parentheses or strange characters that are also difficult to write and search on the keyboard Begin and End are not used: the block of code is delimited only by indentation Multiple assignment is envisaged, ie on the same line we can declare and assign multiple variables with a simple and single instruction, separating them with a comma You do not have to put the semicolon (;) at the end of the line There is no need to declare the variables ie there is no need to define what the variable is because language understands it alone In Python everything is an object even if we do not know it and even if we do not use it Everything has methods and attributes so if we like to use it in an object-oriented way we do it otherwise not Although it seems that Python has no types and it is actually strongly “typed” (yes, it is Strongly Typed) because every object has a type that can never change and there is control over it. Let’s now have an example of Python code which is used to check if a site is first of all reachable (so whether it is online or not, which is already useful in itself) and then also checks that the content of the site is that what we expect; this is helpful because maybe someone changes the site without communicating it or some accident happens or the provider forgets to register the domain and then the site responds with a courtesy page. Conclusion Python in the future will surely be more and more supported out-of-the-box in major IDEs like in Visual Studio, for which at the moment there is only one plug-in. An important thing to remember is that the current Python2, then versions 2.x up to 2.7, will be deprecated in 2020. Deprecated does not mean that it stops working but that it will no longer receive support from the community point of view.
So as an experienced Python Development Company, we advise who wants to start learning now should start with a later version because it is useless to waste time on something that will be deprecated in 3 years.
Python will become the “prince� ingenuity for bioinformatics, automation, IoT (Internet of Things) and above all Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence which are the sectors that receive more libraries and more attention.