This is a work from Big Data Digest, please see the end of the article for reprint requirements.
Author | Kayla Matthews
Translation | Zhao Qian Nan, Kang Lu, Ning Yun Zhou
Understanding Python
As we mentioned earlier, Python is no longer a young programming language. Although it hasn’t been around as long as some other languages, it has existed longer than most people realize. It was first released in 1991, and despite significant changes over the past few years, it has remained functionally consistent with its original version.
Python is a task-oriented programming language that has been aimed at enterprise clients and top-tier projects since its inception, and it has a long history—in fact, this is just one of the reasons why Python has become popular in recent years. The most important reason is that Python is almost universal! You can use Python to build Raspberry Pi applications, program scripts, configure servers, and much more.
The Uniqueness of Python
Python is a very versatile language, often referred to as pragmatic due to its ease of reading and writing. Python is also very simple, as the designers do not emphasize conventional syntax, making it easier to use, even for non-programmers or developers.
Moreover, Python can meet various development needs, providing programmers with a wide range of options; it is a truly universal programming language. Once accustomed to using Python, programmers can easily switch from one industry to another, as Python is widely used in system operations, web development, server and management tools, deployment, scientific modeling, and almost all common fields.
Surprisingly, many developers do not consider Python as their primary programming language. Due to its ease of use and learning, it is often chosen as a second or third language. This may also be another reason for Python’s popularity among developers. One of the largest tech companies in the world—Google—also extensively uses Python to create applications. They even have a portal that offers free courses for Python developers, including exercises, video lectures, and more.
Of course, the popularity of the Django framework and the decline of PHP have also contributed to Python’s success, but fundamentally, it is the perfect storm created by developers, official support, and demand.
The following six reasons may not be immediately obvious, but they have also contributed to Python’s recent surge in popularity.
1
Python has a healthyand active community that provides strong support
If you have ever learned programming, you will find that some programming languages are difficult to use due to a lack of documentation and developer support. Python does not have these issues; it has been around for a long time and has accumulated a wealth of documentation, guides, tutorials, and more during this time. Additionally, the Python developer community is incredibly active. This means that when someone needs help or support in any situation, they will receive timely responses.
Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned veteran in the coding world, you can almost always find help and support in this active community. As any experienced coder or developer knows, whether you can get support when you encounter critical issues often determines your success or failure.
2
Python receives sponsorship from manylarge enterprises
Corporate sponsorship can help programming languages grow and develop rapidly. C# has Microsoft’s sponsorship, Java has Sun, and PHP has sponsorship and support. Python received significant support from Google in 2006, and since then, many of Google’s platforms and applications have used Python.
Why is this important? Because if a company (like Google) wants their teams and future developers to continue using Python to develop their systems and applications, they need to provide substantial resources. In Google’s case, they have created a wealth of guides and tutorials for using Python. At least in the developer realm, Google has continuously contributed a large amount of documentation and support tools and has been advertising Python for free.
3
The Rise of Big Data
The increasing use of big data and cloud computing solutions in the corporate world has also propelled Python’s success. Python is one of the most popular languages in data science, second only to R. It can also be used in machine learning, artificial intelligence systems, and various modern technologies. Of course, Python’s ability to ride the big data wave is also due to its simplicity in analyzing and processing data. There is an old saying in China: “To forge iron, one must be strong oneself.”
4
Python has many great libraries
When developing large projects, Python’s libraries can save you a lot of time and shorten the originally planned development cycle.Many of Python’s libraries are very useful, from NumPy and SciPy in scientific computing to Django in web development. For example, the well-known scikit-learn in machine learning and nltk for natural language processing.
Additionally, large cloud service platforms like Encoding.com allow it to be compatible with the C language family. In other words, there are some library tools that provide cross-platform support, which is a huge advantage.
5
Python balances reliability and efficiency
If you ask any Python developer or anyone who has ever used this language—they will tell you that Python is fast, reliable, and efficient. You can use and deploy Python applications in almost any environment, and regardless of which platform you use, you do not have to worry about any performance loss.
Moreover, because it is very reliable, this also means you can work across multiple fields, including but not limited to web development, PC applications, mobile applications, hardware, etc. You do not have to worry about compatibility issues because it is universally applicable.
6
Beginner-friendly
For beginners and novices, Python is very easy to learn and use.In fact, it is one of the easiest programming languages to learn. Part of the reason is its simplified syntax, which is closer to natural language, allowing you to write Python code and execute it faster.
In any case, this is a great language for beginners, and many young developers are starting to learn Python. Even in this case, experienced developers are not overlooked, as Python always offers you many things to do.
Original link: http://www.kdnuggets.com/2017/07/6-reasons-python-suddenly-super-popular.html
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