Description
What is Python Used For? 5 Major Real-World Applications
It’s one of those fine mornings when you don’t have much to do. While you make your coffee, you reach for the remote to play your morning songs on YouTube. When everything is set, you log onto Netflix to continue with your favorite series. From time to time you reach for your phone to check Facebook and Instagram notifications. Amazon reminds you to buy the rubber shoes you left on your cart. After a while, you board an Uber to go and see your friend. You then head to Google to search for the best restaurant in your local area for you to spend time in.
Well, guess what all these actions have in common — That’s right! Python!
Python is a programming language that has relatively simple syntax. This makes it an ideal choice for beginners who are just starting out in the field of programming.
Python is also a very versatile language, which means that you can use i for a wide variety of tasks and in different industries.
Just like most newbies trying to get into tech, I had difficulties finding the correct path of learning to code. I had to bounce back on forth trying to find a way that was comfortable for me.
I began my journey into the tech field by learning first the basics of web development – that is HTML, CSS and a little bit of JavaScript. Later on I tried out different programming languages, all in the name of trying to find the one that suited me perfectly.
I did a little bit of C and Java, and I even learned Pascal at some point (basically because it was what was being taught at school as a freshman).
All this was before I came across Python, gave it a try, learned a little bit about it, and decided that it would be my new normal.
Read along to get a better understanding why Python is the easiest language to learn for beginners, its benefits, and resources and tips to help you get started.
Why Learn Python?
Whether you are beginner or a person who has learned a couple of programming languages, you will likely agree that learning a new programming language can be challenging. Even more so when you don’t have the right resources and guidance. But with the right help, you can make it an enjoyable experience.
Python was created on December 3, 1989 by Guido van Rossum. He had a design philosophy which stated, “There’s only one way to do it, and that’s why it works“.
Python is an interpreted, high-level, general-purpose programming language. As a programming language, Python uses mostly English keywords, so it has fewer exceptions and special cases compared to the languages.
Now let’s look at some of the reasons you might want to learn Python.
Python’s Simple Syntax
Python is a language that has a very simple syntax. This is one of the reasons it is ideal for beginners getting into tech to consider as a first language. I understand this alone might not be motivating enough, but believe me – after a thorough breakdown you will be convinced otherwise.
Compared to other languages, Python has one of the simplest syntaxes that uses fewer lines of code to accomplish a particular task. This makes it easier to learn the basics and understand the language within a shorter period of time.
In addition to this, Python is an interpreted language, which means that you don’t need a compiler to write and run Python code.
Let’s take an example where we print the “Hello World” statement using Python, Java, and C++:
Here’s “Hello World” in Python:
print(“Hello World)
Here it is in Java:
public class HelloWorld {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println(“Hello, world!”);
}
}
And here it is in C++:
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main() {
cout << “Hello, world!” << endl;
return 0;
}
As you can see from the code snippets above, Python has the most concise and easiest syntax compared to the others.
Thanks,
Ayman