Python Introduction

python, tutorial / By

What is Python?

Python is a high-level, interpreted, general purpose programming language created by Guido Van Rossum and was first released in 1991. Python is a dynamically typed language and it supports multiple programming paradigms including procedural, object-oriented, imperative and functional programming.

Python has become the most popular programming language around the world because of its simplicity and a wide scope of implementation.

Versions –

Python has majorly two versions – Python 2 and Python 3. Both are different from each other.

Sample program in python –

This program will print the message “Hello World” when executed.

print("Hello World")

Features of Python –

  • Simple syntax – Python has a very simple syntax as compared to other programming languages. Code written in python can somehow be understood by non programmers as well.
  • Expressive language –  Python is an expressive language. Its syntax is human readable and understandable.
  • Cross Platform – Python is a cross platform language as it can be run on multiple platforms like windows, Linux, Mac OS.
  • Multi Paradigm – Python supports multiple programming paradigms.
  • Open Source – Python is an open source language. It can be downloaded freely from its official website.
  • Various Libraries – Python has a very large collection of different libraries for various purposes. Some of the most popular python libraries includes NumPy, SciPy, Pandas and TenserFlow.
  • Integrated language – It can be integrated with other programming languages like C, C++, Java etc.
  • Interpreted language – Python is an interpreted language. Its code is interpreted by the python interpreter line by line.

Applications of Python –

  • Software development – Python is used as a supporting language in software development for build control and management, testing and a lot more things.
  • Web development – Python can be used to develop websites and web applications. It has various libraries for internet protocols. It also has web development frameworks like Django, Pyramid, Flask.
  • GUI Applications – There is a library in python named ‘Tkinter’ which is used to develop user interface in python based applications.
  • Scientific Computation – Python is widely used in scientific and numeric computation. Some popular libraries include Pandas, Scipy, IPython etc.
  • Artifial Intelligence – Python is widely used in artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Some of the most popular real world applications that uses python –

  • Google
  • Facebook
  • Youtube
  • Quora
  • Pinterest
  • Netflix
  • NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) also runs on python!

Code length –

Code written in python is shorter as compared to other languages. For instance lets print “Hello World” using C++ and using Python separately.

Below is a C++ program that will print “Hello World”.

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main ()
{
    cout<<"Hello World";
    return 0;
}

And now, a python program to print “Hello World”

print("Hello World")

You can clearly see the difference between the two above programs. The goal was same, to print “Hello World”. The C++ program has 7 lines of code, while the same thing can be achieved in python by writing a single line.

Code written in Python is often shorter than code written in other programming languages.

Why is Python the best language to start learning programming –

Python is very easy to learn. Its syntax contains English language words which makes it easier to learn if you are an absolute beginner. Python allows a developer to program with fewer lines of code as compared to other programming languages. So if you are a complete beginner with programming, I personally advise you to start learning programming with Python.

You may also like