Introduction to Python
There are many high-level languages. The language you will be learning is Python. Python is one of the easiest languages to learn and use, while at the same time being very powerful. It is one of the most used languages by highly productive professional programmers. Also, Python is a free language! If you have your own computer, you can download it from the Python main web portal: Python.
Python enables programmers to code in fewer lines as compared to other programming languages. The language was founded in 1991 by developer Guido Van Rossum. It is used for web development (server-side), system scripting, software development, data handling, data science, machine learning, and performing complex mathematical operations.
The articles in this Python Basic series are listed below.
- Python Basic – An Introduction to Python Programming
- Python Basic – How to setup the local environment and run python
- Python Basic – How to use String in python
- Python Basic – Mathematical operations by python
- Python Basic – A Basic Guide to Python Type Conversion and Variable
- Python Basic – How to use Operators in Python
- Python Basic – Conditional Statements in the Control Structure in Python
- Python Basic – Boolean logic and Operators Precedence in Python
- Python Basic – While Loop in the Control Structure in Python
- Python Basic – What is The List in Python
- Python Basic – How To Use List in Python
- Python Basic – For Loop in the Control Structure in Python
- Python Basic – Important Data Structures in Python (Dictionary, Tuple, List)
- Python Basic – How to Use List and Dictionary Comprehension in Python
- Python Basic – How to Slice List in Python
- Python Basic – What is the Concept of Function in Python
- Python Basic – How to Use Comments and Doc Strings in Python
- Python Basic – How to Handle the Exceptions & Errors in Python
- Python Basic – How to Work with Files in Python
- Python Basic – What is Functional Programming in Python
Python Features
- Interactive Language
- Interpreted Language
- Integrated Language
- Open-Source Language
- Modular Language
- Dynamic Language
- Object-Oriented Programming Language
- Portable Language
- High-Level Language
- Extensible in C++ & C
- Extensive Library Support
Python supports a command-line shell that provides output for each statement while keeping previously fed statements in active memory. A new line is sent to the interpreter, which is evaluated both in part and in whole. Python is an interpreted language. It executes code line by line, which enables easy debugging and learning. Python can be easily integrated with other languages like C, C++ and JAVA etc. It is an open-source language , which makes it freely usable and distributable, even for commercial use. Python allows users to logically organize Python code in a file which can be further imported into another python code. This makes Python easy to learn and code. Python is a dynamic language. It allows users to change functions and objects at run-time. This language fully supports object-oriented programming. Python can be interpreted on various operating systems, including UNIX-based systems, Mac OS and Windows. Python is a high-level language and enables the development of a program in a user-friendly way and generally independent of the computer’s hardware architecture. Python can be used in C++ and C programs which enables scripting capabilities for a programmer. The Python standard library is very huge. Along with this, it also supports third party libraries as well which enables fast programming experience.
Note: The most recent major version of Python is Python 3, which we shall be using in this tutorial. However, Python 2, although not being updated with anything other than security updates, is still powerful.
Applications of Python
Web Applications
Along with JavaScript and Java, Python is one of the most popular programming languages in existence today. It’s easy to understand why: Python is easy to learn and easy to read. It allows you to build complex web applications quickly and with minimal lines of code. Such as:
- Django and Pyramid framework(Use for heavy applications).
- Flask and Bottle (Micro-framework).
- Plone and Django CMS (Advance Content management)
Console-based Application
A console application is an application that runs in a console window same as a C and C++ program. It doesn’t have any graphical user interface. Console Applications will have a character based interface. As python is an interpreted language, Python has an interpreter IDLE which is a console based program that runs python code line by line.
Desktop GUI Applications
Python has been successful in a wide variety of use cases. But few understand and appreciate its abilities in creating graphical user interfaces (GUI.) Indeed we have a handful of extraordinary python GUI frameworks that help developers quickly put up an interface to interact with their project.
Some tools for develop python GUI application:
- Tkinter or Tk
- wxWidgetM
- Kivy (used for writing multitouch applications )
- PyQt or Pyside
Software Development
Software Development with Python is intended for anyone who wants to learn how to use the Python software language to create professional-caliber applications. Python’s accessibility, simplicity and wide use have made it more popular as a first choice for novices learning to write software code. Python developers can also leverage powerful, well-known code libraries and frameworks. Such as:
- SCons is used to build control.
- Buildbot and Apache Gumps are used for automated continuous compilation and testing.
- Round or Trac for bug tracking and project management.
Scientific and Numeric
This is the era of Artificial intelligence where the machine can perform the task the same as the human. Python language is the most suitable language for Artificial intelligence or machine learning. It consists of many scientific and mathematical libraries, which makes it easy to solve complex calculations.
Implementing machine learning algorithms requires complex mathematical calculations. Python has many libraries for scientific and numerics such as Numpy, Pandas, Scipy, Scikit-learn, etc. If you have some basic knowledge of In In python, you need to import libraries on the top of the code. A few popular frameworks of machine libraries are given below.
- SciPy
- Scikit-learn
- NumPy
- Pandas
- Matplotlib
Enterprise Applications
- OpenERP
- Tryton
- Picalo
Image Processing Application
As computer systems have become faster and more powerful, and cameras and other imaging systems have become commonplace in many other areas of life, the need has grown for researchers to be able to process and analyze image data. Considering the large volumes of data that can be involved – high-resolution images that take up a lot of disk space/virtual memory, and/or collections of many images that must be processed together – and the time-consuming and error-prone nature of manual processing, it can be advantageous or even necessary for this processing and analysis to be automated as a computer program. Such as:
- OpenCV
- Pillow
- SimpleITK
Data Science and Data Visualization.
Data is money if you know how to extract relevant information, which can help you take calculated risks and increase profits. You study the data you have, perform operations and extract the information required. Libraries such as Pandas, NumPy help you in extracting information.
You can even visualize the data libraries such as Matplotlib, and Seaborn, which are helpful in plotting graphs and much more. This is what Python offers you to become a Data Scientist.
- Pandas
- NumPy
- Matplotlib
- Seaborn
Also, python is used in various sections of the computer world. As like Business Applications, Audio or Video-based Applications, 3D CAD Applications, Game Development
Facts about learning Python
Python is a popular and versatile programming language that is widely used in a variety of fields, including web development, data science, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and scientific computing. Here are some facts about learning Python:
- Easy to learn: Python has a simple and straightforward syntax that makes it easy to learn for beginners.
- High-demand language: Python is one of the most in-demand programming languages, and it is consistently ranked as one of the top programming languages to learn.
- Widely used in industry: Python is used by companies such as Google, NASA, and Spotify, and it is also used in many academic and scientific research projects.
- Versatile: Python can be used for a wide range of tasks, including web development, data analysis, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
- Large community: Python has a large and active community of users, which means there are many resources available for learning and getting help with the language.
- Plenty of libraries and frameworks: Python has a large number of libraries and frameworks available, which makes it easy to accomplish tasks quickly and efficiently
- Good for beginners: Python is considered a good first language for beginners to learn programming, due to its simplicity and ease of use.
- Multipurpose: Python is not only used for web development and data science, but also in many other industries like finance, healthcare, and gaming.
By learning python you will be able to develop your own software, analyze data, automate repetitive tasks, and much more.
