Why Python? [Possibilities & Use Cases]

A few historical facts. Python is an open-source programming language, first designed by the Dutch programmer Guido van Rossum in the late 1980s. Python 0.9.0 was launched in 1991, marking its initial release. It is a bit old, right? However, according to the PYPL index, it ranks first as the most searched in January 2023.

The idea behind one of the most popular programming languages was to create a powerful toolset that is more intuitive and easy to learn. Python is usually one person’s work, unlike most high-level programming languages that need a closed community with a mastered skill set. The main principle of a general-purpose language like Python is to be flexible and adjusted for various development use cases. To find out whether Python fits your app take a look at benefits and use cases.

Why Python

What factors do we think of when choosing something new to learn? Like a popular language in IT now. The factors could be popularity on the job market, learning curve, resources to learn, and community of other learners. Python has it all:

• it’s easy to learn because of the user-friendly interface and more intuitive typing
• it’s free, open, and multiplatform which provides easy access, quick start, and flexibility in developing for different platforms
• mature and helpful community which can assist in any task or issue you face
• impressive amount of resources, libraries, and tools to realize the idea

That's all big words and it might seem that any popular language can claim that. So, I’ve asked the Python developer at Incora why Python. His answer:

“For me, it was a quick start without much effort and I like that there are endless possibilities in Python. Some say that Python is chaotic because it’s too flexible but that’s just bad project management. And one more thing is that it’s easy to read unlike strict C-languages”.

On a Statista page “Reasons for using Python,” you can basically see where developers use Python most. Things to do with Python are quite diverse but most hint at data and mathematical algorithms.

The TOP 3 are data analysis, web development, and machine learning as expected. The last in the graph, mobile app development, embedded development and game development, are not the strong sides of Python. As every developer would say “It depends on what you want to get in the end”.

Use Cases for Python

Python is a powerful language for many different applications because of its strong computing capabilities. It excels in industries such as scientific computing, machine learning, and artificial intelligence as it offers scalable data analysis and calculations.

The official Python website has a list “Use Python for” which actually is shorter than you can see in most blogs.

The first application is internet and web development so let’s see how is Python used in web development. Several useful frameworks, libraries, and tools for developing cool web applications, APIs are the main Python applications. For quick web app development with a straightforward design, use the Django framework. In case you need a performant web framework for building web APIs, Fast API is the right choice. Flask framework lets you build Web Server Gateway Interface web applications that might be scaled upon need.

Machine learning projects are rapidly increasing in number and quality. It’s one step before AI so it seems complicated. However, Python has built-in or available tools that handle algorithms perfectly. Among them are Keras (deep learning framework for running experiments), NLTK (working with human language data), PyTorch (from research prototyping to production deployment), scikit-learn (for predictive data analysis), TensorFlow (to build and deploy ML-powered applications).

Developing graphical user interface (GUI) applications for desktop environments is also an option in Python. Programming language can boast a wide range of GUI libraries, frameworks, and toolkits to choose from (tkinter,tkinter, Kivy) .

Among alternative use cases for Python, there are social networks like Instagram. It is also used by such giants as Google and Netflix. As you can see, the usage can’t be defined as a list of specific examples of Python applications. However, it can be divided into the fields of most productivity.

Examples of Python Applications

Lots of global tech companies use Python as part of their technology stack. Mostly it’s backend functions including data analytics and complex algorithms, Python is still part of Reddit code, along with Go and Javascript. Dropbox uses Python’s static type checking to quickly verify millions of lines of code, driving productivity to higher levels. Instagram was built using Django, a high-level Python web framework. The Uber platform needs to perform many calculations to predict demand and supply, traffic, and arrival times. Netflix needs a powerful recommendation and analytics engine, allowing the company to provide users with suggestions of content they'll want to watch. The engine is based on Python. Spotify developers used Python to build infrastructure to run user forecasts.

All those tech companies have one thing in common: they are crazy successful and productive.

Python Summary

Python is such a flexible object-oriented language that can be used to build cool software and realize ideas. A variety of different fields ranging from application development to robotics utilize Python for complex calculations, analysis, predictions and so on. You can use Python for general software development, data science and math, workflow automation and even robotics. Make sure though that Python developers are on board with business teams and your PM handles sprints like a pro 👨‍💻