Python is one of the most widely used programming languages today, thanks to how easy it is to use and its wide range of application from web development to Artificial Intelligence. One common question that arises on most of us is: What is Python so popular? Or in other word what are the advantages of Python over other languages? In this blog, we will go through some major advantages and disadvantages of Python.
Before that, we hope that you have an understanding of what Python it and its use. If not, please make yourself acquainted with An Introduction to Python Programming Language
Python Programming Language: Pros & Cons
Let’s first discuss on what the pros and cons of Python programming language:
Simple and Easy
Python is simple and easy to learn and code. Its code is also easily understandable. The simplicity of language is also one major reason why people are learning Python today. Reading Python is much like reading English language.
If you are still looking for reasons to learn python we have got them covered them on our post Reasons to Learn Python
Extensive Libraries
Python has a huge collection of libraries. These libraries contain code for CGI, web-browsers, image manipulation, database, threading, unit-testing and many more. Because of these libraries, it makes easier to code. This also helps to limit the length of code to write in Python.
Some popular Python libraries are: TensorFlow, Numpy, Keras, PyTorch, Eli5 etc.
Versatility
Python is probably the most very versatile programming language today. It offers tools for almost every application. This includes web development, GUI, data mining, machine learning, etc. This versatility is a massive advantage for people trying to learn any language.
Improved Productivity
As we have already mentioned earlier, Python is simple to learn and code. Because of this simplicity, developers can focus more on solving the actual problem. They don’t need to spend long hours to understand the code and its behaviour.
Also, the availability of extensive libraries means developers need to spend less time to code. This aids to the productivity of developers.
Portability
In Python, you can write your code once, and it will run smoothly on different platforms with ease. Whereas in programming languages like C/C++, you need to change the code to make them run smoothly in different platforms.
However, you have to be careful not to include any system-dependent features while writing your code.
Interpreted Language
Python is an interpreted programming language. This means Python directly executes your code line by line. In case of any error, it will stop further execution and show you the error. This makes debugging easier and faster for developers.
Python has varied advantageous features and is a popular language to get started with today. However, this language has still some limitations or shortcomings which you should be aware of, as mentioned below.
Speed and Performance
Programmers sometimes worry about the speed of Python programs. According to some study, it shows that Python is slower than other languages like Java and C++.
However, there is no need to worry. There are tons of ways to improve the performance of programs written in Python run faster. You can learn further on improving performance here.
Mobile Computing
Python is a favorable language in many server and desktop platform, but it still has a long way to go in mobile computing.
Often developers have to write mobile apps in a particular language depending on the mobile platform targeted. For example, you need to write iOS app in either Objective-C or Swift. Likewise, if you need to develop mobile apps for Android you need to be written in Java.
Python developers use frameworks like Kivy to write cross-platform mobile apps.
Database Access
Python lacks behind when it comes to database interaction. Python’s database access layer is relatively underdeveloped in comparison to popular technologies like JDBC and ODBC.
Runtime Errors
A run time error is a type of error that is raised when we run the application. Because Python language is dynamically typed , it has many design restrictions that might lead to runtime error.
As we can understand from above, Python offers a lot of advantage for developers today. Hence, it is currently used in top world-class companies like Google, Facebook, and Uber as a part of their applications. You can read further on how these companies are using Python today on our recent blog 10 world-class companies using Python.
That’t it. We hope that our article was useful to you. If you liked the article on pros and cons of python, feel free to share it on your social media.