Introduction to Python Programming Language

I’m not going to talk about Python snake. ??

Rather, I’m going to talk about Python Programming language.

So,

Let’s Get Started!

What is Python?

Python is a popular and powerful programming language.

It is one of the most widely used and fastest growing languages in the world.

And,

The best part is – Python ranks top on the PYPL (Popularity of programming language) index, with a worldwide share of 27.43 % as of Jul. 2023. (source: https://pypl.github.io/PYPL.html)

Created:– Python language developed by Guido van Rossum.

It was conceptualized by Guido van Rossum in the late 1980s as a successor to the ABC language.

And, the first version of Python 0.9.0 was released in February 1991.

---

Secret behind the name[Python]:

Why Python?

Python is just because this language looks like a snake, not exactly. It was not actually named after the snake by the way.

It was named after the British TV show Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

Because, The author (Guido van Rossum) of Python is a big fan of this famous TV show.

And that’s why he went with a name called as Python initially and then, when everyone liked it he went for the same name.

---

Characteristics and features of Python:

⚫ Python is interpreted:

Python is processed at runtime by the Python interpreter. You do not need to compile your program before executing (run) it.

That is,

The interpreter executes the program directly without previously compiling a program into machine-language instructions (i.e., 0 and 1).

Then, What is an interpreter?

An interpreter is a program that directly executes instructions written in a programming language, without requiring them previously to have been compiled into a machine-language instructions.

⚫ Python is general purpose:

A general-purpose programming language is a language that is capable of creating all types of programs and is used to solve a wide variety of problems.

⚫ Python is interactive:

You can actually sit at a python prompt and interact with the interpreter directly to write your programs.

What does Prompt mean?

Ans:- It’s simply means that, Characters displayed by the interpreter to indicate that it is ready to take input from the user.

⚫ Python is free and open-source:

Which means that anyone can download it freely and use it to develop programs.

⚫ Python is Object-oriented:

It’s basically means that, it provides features that supports object-oriented programming.

Object-oriented Programming (OOP) is a programming model/style which is based on the concepts of classes and objects.

OOP(Object-oriented programming) organizes software design around objects rather than “functions” and data rather than “logic”.

Programmers define the data-type of a data-structure, and also the types of operations(functions) that can be applied to the data-structure.

In this way the data-structure becomes an object that includes both data and functions.

⚫ Python is a High-level language:

It is a machine independent language and can easily understand or interpret or compile by the programmers.

⚫ Python is dynamically typed:

It is a property of a language where type (i.e., data-type) of a variable is checked at run-time.

We don’t have to declare the type of a variable or manage the memory during assigning a value to a variable in Python.

⚫ Python is portable:

Python codes can be run on a wide variety of hardware platforms having same interface on all platforms.

Python interpreters are available for many operating systems, ranging from Windows to Linux to Mac etc.

and,

Let’s have a look at the most interesting feature of Python that actually makes it as a best programming language for beginners.

⚫ Python is easy to learn:

Python has a very simple and clear syntax. It is much easier to read, write and understand due to its straightforward syntax like English language.

It uses English keywords frequently. Where as other languages use punctuation.

and, it has fewer syntactical constructions than other languages.

---

What is Python used for?

There are so many applications/uses of Python,

Here are some of them:

1.) Web development

2.) GUI (Graphical user interface) based desktop application.

3.) Scientific and numeric applications.

4.) Artificial intelligence and Machine learning.

5.) Game development

6.) Enterprise and business.

7.) Data science and data visualization.

8.) CAD (Computer-Aided Designing)

9.) Prototyping

10.) Operating system

11.) Language development

12.) Embedded applications.

13.) Web Scraping applications.

---

Why Python language is so popular?

Python is popular in what terms?

It is so popular in terms of number of developers who are using it, in terms of number of libraries we have, in terms of areas we can implement it and in terms of number of companies who are using it.

You might be thinking, which company or Organizations uses Python.

Let’s have a quick look at some of the organizations using Python language :

We have Google, we have YouTube, Microsoft, Dropbox, Yahoo, Instagram, Netflix, Mozilla, Uber, Spotify, Pinterest and the lists goes on…

And,

The Social news networking site Reddit is written completely in Python.

That’s why Python is so Popular and important language in the world of programming.

---

Difficulty level of learning Python:

Easy to learn.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5 out of 5).

Job opportunity:

Huge.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5 out of 5).

Salary of a Python developer:

The average salary of a Python developer in India is Rs.450,000 per year.

---

Pros:

• Python is easy to learn.
• Supports multiple systems and platforms.
• Object-oriented programming driven.
• Extensive library support.
• Gives rise to quick development by using less code.
• Allows to scale even the most complex applications with ease.
• Open-source with huge community support.
• A large number of resources are available for Python.

Cons:

• Python is slow.
• Not very good for mobile development.
• Python is not a good choice for memory intensive tasks.
• Has limitations with data base access.
• Python is not good for multi-processor/multi-core work.
• It’s near impossible to build a high-graphic 3-D game using Python.

---

Writing our first program:

Traditionally, the first program you write in a new language is called “Hello, World!” because all it does is display the words “Hello, World!” In Python,

It looks like this:

>>> print("Hello, World!")

Output:

Hello, World!

---

So, That’s it from my side.

I hope this article helped you a lot before diving into the coding world!

And,

If you have any question ,

Feel free to ask in the comment section below right now.

---