What Is Python Used for?
If there is one programming language that can be used for virtually anything, it would be Python. This popular open-source language can be applied to Artificial Intelligence and video game development to web development and web scraping.
Python web scraping is one common application of Python used in extracting useful data from various websites and platforms.
Such an application for Python is not just possible but also easy because the language is high-level with a general-purpose, can be easily interpreted, and is easily readable with straightforward syntax.
What is Python?
Python is defined as an open-source, highly interactive, interpreted, high-level, and object-oriented programming language built on high-level data structures that finely combines dynamic typing and binding.
This type of combination is one thing that sets Python apart from other programming languages and makes it very attractive for developing applications.
Applications developed with Python can be employed in several fields, some of which we will be looking at shortly.
Python readily supports different packages and modules with a simple syntax that reeks of readability and is easy to learn.
Other advantages that Python brings include:
- Free extensive standard libraries that can be freely distributed to all major platforms
- Absence of compilation steps with fast and easy debugging
- The option of raising exceptions whenever errors are discovered
How is Python different from other programming languages?
Python is, by far, the most popular programming language in the world. However, it is not the only programming language. Other similar languages that can also be used for similar applications include Ruby, C++, and PHP.
We will now compare all of them to see how Python differs from the rest.
Important areas where Python can be used
Python is loved, mostly, because of its versatility and ability to be used and applied in just about any field, including;
- Web Scraping
As a programming language, Python offers several powerful tools that can be conveniently used for web scraping, which collects an enormous amount of data from multiple websites. Scraping needs to be automatic, as doing it manually would take too much time and energy.
Python, with its many libraries and packages, can be used to build and deploy the scripts required to allow web scraping to run automatically.
The following are some advantages of using Python for web scraping:
- It makes it easy to write codes for web scraping scripts.
- It offers a diverse collection of libraries, with many of them supporting web scraping.
- Writing a web scraping script only requires a few lines of code, and this can save a lot of time.
- Python boost a rich active community that is always available and eager to offer their assistance to beginners.
2. Web Development
Python’s many general-purpose libraries and web frameworks such as Django, Flask, and Pyramid make it very easy to build and develop software and web projects. The best part is this can be done quickly.
3. Video Game Development
Python modules such as PyGame, libraries such as Pyglet, and frameworks such as PyKyra can be used to develop video games. All Python syntaxes are simple, easy, and clear, making the development a less complicated process.
4. Data Science
Many of the Python libraries such as SciPy, Matplotlib, and Theano can be effectively used for data manipulation, which is, essentially, what data science is all about.
5. Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Many Artificial Intelligence tools and technologies can also be easily developed using different Python libraries such as Keras, PyTorch, and Theano. These tools, which are easy and comfortable to work with, also support data management which is another important aspect of AI.
Conclusion
The Python language is a very versatile language that can be used in building and developing several tools and technologies.
One of such tools is the web scraper. Python uses its many libraries and frameworks to make Python web scraping both fun and convenient.
Besides, Python is preferred over other programming languages because it holds several benefits, including having a simple and more transparent syntax, saving time, and being the easiest to read and work with.
