Maybe in the past years, no one would have thought that the Python programming language, which was launched in 1991, would grow to this extent today and in 2022. Python is one of the few programming languages that has opened its place in all industries and fields. Especially with the rapid growth of artificial intelligence and machine learning, it is no surprise that the Python programming language has been selected as the best programming language in the world by the prestigious websites TIOBE and Stack Overflow.
With Python becoming prominent in our lives today, the question arises whether Python will still be as useful and popular as it is today or not?
In this article, we try to fully investigate this issue and see what the future of Python programming will be.
Table of Contents
Advantages of Python
As we said, the Python programming language has been launched since 1991. Today’s popularity of Python did not happen overnight, but since the year it was launched, Python has gone through the path of evolution and maturity. Over time, Python has managed to gather a large community of programmers, and its versions have evolved over time. There is no specific reason for the popularity of Python, but the popularity of Python is the result of a set of special features of this programming language that we will mention in this section.
Simple and beginner friendly
Python language codes are simple, readable and close to English. As a result, it is easier for beginners to learn and understand.
Open source
Python’s open source means that changes can be made and modified freely.
Support
Some programming languages have support issues that make programming difficult. But Python does not have these problems.
Independent of the operating system
Python supports various operating systems. Mac, Linux, Windows, etc. are fully supported by this programming tool.
Improving Performance
One of the main advantages of Python’s simplicity is that developers can focus on solving problems instead of spending a lot of time reading and understanding code.
Interpretive language
Python is an interpreted language which means that it executes the code line by line and if any error occurs, it stops the execution and reports the error that occurred.
Extensive library support
One of the great advantages of Python that expands the use of the Python language is its libraries. The set of Python standard libraries is very large, you can find all the functions you need for your work and you don’t have to depend on external libraries.
Dynamic type
This feature means that Python does not know the type of the variable until we run the code. Rather, it automatically determines the data type at runtime. In this case, the programmer does not need to worry about defining the type of variables.
Weaknesses of Python
There are always weaknesses along with strengths.
Slow down
We mentioned in the previous section that Python is an interpreted and dynamically typed language. But executing the code line by line often leads to slow program execution. Also, the dynamic nature of Python has a negative effect on the execution speed.
Runtime errors
Python’s dynamically typed nature can also cause runtime errors, because the data type of a variable can change at any time.
Memory usage
Python uses a lot of memory. In projects where memory optimization is a priority, this issue can be considered a weakness.
Weak in mobile computing
As we said, Python is slow and requires more memory than other programming languages. For this reason, Python cannot be used to develop mobile applications.
Database access
Python has limited database access. Compared to popular technologies like JDBC and ODBC, Python’s database access layer is a bit primitive. For this reason, Python is not used in large projects that require interaction with old data.
Python growth factors
Maybe you are a little disappointed with this programming language after reading the weaknesses of Python. But there is an important question: despite all the criticisms and weaknesses, how could Python grow so quickly and be chosen as the best programming language in the world? What factors have made Python so popular?
The first reason for Python’s popularity is that it is free, so it is usually the first choice of programmers to do a project. In addition, due to the growth of jobs related to Python in the world, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, etc., it is natural that the demand for learning Python will increase significantly.
Another reason is that Python is a versatile language that can be used for almost anything. Python is one of those languages that plays an important role in all of our lives without knowing it. For example, it is present in mobile devices, search engines and games, data science, applications, websites and many more. As you can see in the chart below, taken from the StaclOverflow website, the Python programming language is growing.
Various companies are trying to invest by attracting Python programmers. By examining the available job opportunities and the amount of income, it can be said that there is a very good job prospect in jobs related to Python programming. Some of these jobs include:
- Software developer
- Python developer
- Data scientist
- Machine learning engineer
- DevOps Engineer
- Product manager
According to statistics, there are more than 100,000 job opportunities in the world just for experienced Python software developers. Data Science, which has been implemented with Python, also has a very bright and growing future.
All these things show that the Python programming language will not be forgotten anytime soon.