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Should anyone build a Mobile App in Python?by@aeliusventure
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Should anyone build a Mobile App in Python?

by Aelius VentureMarch 29th, 2022
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Just 1% of Python developers only use the programming language for mobile app development. See how mobile development in Python works, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of doing so, and why it can be a good option for entrepreneurs. Python is ranked fourth among the most popular technologies, third among the languages most beloved by developers, and first, among the programming languages, developers express interest in, according to the Stack Overflow survey. The syntactical structure of Python makes it easier to read as C or Java code because of the different coding patterns.

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As a back-end programming language, Python is considered to be a good choice by many. On the other hand, mobile interfaces will struggle with it.


Let’s explore how mobile development in Python works, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of doing so, and why it can be a good option for entrepreneurs.


Many programmers are drawn to Python because of its general-purpose nature, clear and neat code, easier programming process, as well as a large number of useful libraries. Python is currently the most popular language. Python is ranked fourth among the most popular technologies, third among the languages most beloved by developers, and first, among the programming languages, developers express interest in, according to the Stack Overflow survey.

Python appears to be gaining popularity as a programming language. When it comes to data analysis and web development, machine learning, and other process automation, Python is the most commonly utilized language. However, what about using Python to create mobile apps?

There are just 1% of Python developers who only use the programming language for mobile app development.


Even if Python isn’t as popular in mobile programming, it doesn’t mean you should ignore it if you’re doing any work with mobile apps. To help you decide if Python is the right choice for your project, we’ll go over the features that make it so popular.

Features of Python

  • Increased efficiency as well as greater adaptability in the development process.
  • Easy to understand and understandable syntax if you plan to control development or design your own application or website.
  • It is easy to integrate with other languages such as Java, PHP, and the .NET framework.
  • Due to the open-source nature of the platform, the ecosystem is always growing and evolving.
  • All kinds of data manipulation libraries can be found.


What to expect when using Python in mobile app development is discussed here. Also, be familiar with the capabilities of Python for mobile applications development.

Python as a Backend

Python is a popular choice for server-side programming. For their complex back-end processes, IT behemoths like Instagram, Dropbox, Reddit, Pinterest, Mozilla, and Spotify use this simple language.

Django is a Python framework used by Instagram engineers to build their backend applications. The following are some of the reasons:


  • Speed to market is now more crucial than performance speed in today’s competitive market.
  • Allowing the development team to focus on user-facing features, it’s easier to get up to speed and push out the product.
  • As a result, it is easier to hire new employees; Python is a favorite among engineers.


Despite the fact that Python is most commonly associated with web programming, it may also be used for server-side development for Android and iOS. The functionality of everything will be the same.

Team members typically select between Django and Flask when discussing Python frameworks or Python mobile app frameworks that they use. To construct basic and easy-to-learn python applications is indeed the best option.


Django is a Python-based open-source web framework. When it comes to backend apps, the major goal of Django is to make them as fast as possible to develop. It is a technological advancement that is extremely reputable. This framework has been used by numerous large corporations to produce their products, and development and support for it are not expected to stop any time soon.


Microframework Flask doesn’t need any specific tools or libraries to work. Python developers that want lightweight frameworks can benefit from Flask, which lacks features such as database abstraction and form validation. The fact that Flask is lightweight and the chance of discovering Flask security issues is low may be an advantage of utilizing this framework.

Benefits of Python for Backend

  • The development process is substantially accelerated by the use of simple syntax. There are no concerns with variable types or casting that you would have to deal with in other languages.
  • In web development, Python provides the graphical user interfaces that are needed.
  • The syntactical structure of Python makes it easier to read. In other languages, such as C or Java, it may be difficult to grasp the code because of the different coding patterns. As a team developer, Python is a good choice for enhancing both understanding and productivity.
  • If you don’t want to use an external library or package, Django is a ‘Batteries-included’ package. Everything you’ll require is included. Do you wish to keep track of your activities? There’s a solution for that. Logs? Simply insert this line. What is cache management? You’re good to go now that you’ve added this one.
  • Python integration libraries like Cython and Jython make it easy to cross-platform with other languages like C/C++ and Java.

Drawbacks as a Backend

  • Python is an interpretive programming language. Consequently, when it comes to developing applications that require massive layers of sophisticated calculations, it has a somewhat poor performance.
  • For scalable projects in general, Python is not the ideal choice. Because Python has a Global Interpreter Lock (GIL), which prevents it from running many threads at the same time, large projects frequently require multiple tasks to be completed simultaneously.


Python uses dynamic typing. For large projects with growing development teams, dynamically typed languages are not appropriate. Growing in complexity and difficulty to maintain over time, the system gradually becomes unmanageable as it expands.

When Should You Use Python?

  • The only requirement for developing an app in Python is the speed of development or a small budget, which may be met by using the Python programming language. Because of the many frameworks that are available, the succinct code, and the fact that it is dynamically typed, development expenses can be reduced and applications can be produced more quickly. Calculators might help you better understand how much you’re spending on apps.
  • Data analysis for a mobile app that requires speech and facial recognition systems, picture processing software and neural networks, and machine learning systems.
  • For enterprise software applications, Python is one of the most popular languages due to the fact that it can be easily integrated into the existing Java, PHP and.NET frameworks.

Python as a Frontend

Both Android and iOS do not officially recognize Python as a language for mobile development since it lacks native mobile interface features.

A number of Python frameworks can be used for this purpose, though. Among the most popular are Kivy and Beeware, respectively.

Kivi is a Python framework that runs on a variety of operating systems and platforms. Native controls and widgets are not attempted by Kivy. There are no pre-made widgets in this app. All Kivy programs will now look the same regardless of the operating system they are running. This implies that your app’s look and feel will be different from your user’s native apps, but that’s fine. Depending on your audience, this may be a gain or a drawback for you.

You don’t have to recompile your code every time you make a change to your code when you’re building apps in python.

However, the BeeWare framework provides native interfaces for iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux, Web, and tvOS platforms.

Disadvantages as a Frontend

  • The fact that Python is an interpreted language (as previously stated) means that its processing speed is slow.
  • As a result of the use of dynamic structures in Python, it consumes more memory space than other programming languages do. When working on a project with memory constraints, it’s not the best tool to utilize.
  • This area of Python development has a weak developer community. Thus, finding tutorials answers to your problems, and code solutions on the Internet has become more complex.
  • The graphical capabilities of Python are limited.
  • In comparison to native mobile languages like Java, Kotlin, and Swift, the Kivy framework lacks numerous functions and platform-specific features.

Python for Mobile QA Testing

  • In mobile testing, Python is utilized. Python for mobile apps provides the required infrastructure for better testing processes, ranging from manual testing to automated solutions.
  • Core Python tools from the open-source framework can be used for both unit and integration testing. Python, for example, can be used to test mobile applications for geolocation by using geolocation testing.
  • The integration testing tools offered to coders allow them to verify only coding errors or the complete codebase.
  • To begin with, Python has a low barrier to entry, making it a popular choice among QA automation specialists. It also has a vibrant developer community, has an intuitive syntax, and is easy to read.

Uses in Mobile Development

The finest Python use cases for mobile back-ends have already been discussed in detail. The following are some general mobile front-end and back-end usage examples.


  • Apps that don’t require a lot of resources and don’t require a lot of performance.
  • Prototyping with Python is a great way to get started. You can get feedback and iterate much more quickly with Python than with other programming languages because it takes less time to build a project with Python. In reality, developing desktop applications using python is simple.
  • Minimum viable product development (MVP). There are more chances to get into the market early because of the pace of Python mobile app development. Having the ability to run your software on any of the most popular operating systems is also a benefit.

Conclusion

We hope that we have been able to answer your question on how to create an app in Python. Mobile app development with this is rare, but it can be quite beneficial in specific situations. According to the project’s goal, it varies.

Startups benefit from using this language. You can locate developers even if you have a limited budget because the language is simple to learn and widely used. Juniors and interns are good examples. It’s also a great way to try out your app ideas by constructing an app.

In data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, Python is the finest choice of programming language. AI and ML bots built-in Python, for example, can be incorporated into a Java project.

Because Python is not designed for this type of application, using Python for mobile apps is rarely a smart choice for a mobile app front-end. Kivy and Beeware, on the other hand, are promising initiatives. Perhaps a Python mobile app framework for Android or iOS development will be developed sometime. It’s nearly hard to anticipate what will happen in the future because of the rapid pace of technological change.


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