We dig into all things Python, which Allen thinks is pretty good, and it's rise in popularity, while Michael and Joe go toe-to-toe over a gripe, ahem, feature.
We realize that you _can_ use your podcast player to read these notes, but if you didn't know, this episode's show notes can be found at https://www.codingblocks.net/episode152. Check it out and join the conversation.
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Why Python?
A Brief History of Python. Very Brief.
- Python is a general-purpose high-level programming language, which can be used to develop desktop GUI applications, websites, and apps that run on sophisticated algorithms.
- Python was created in 1991, before JavaScript or Java, but didn't make major leaps in popularity until 1998 – 2003, according to the Tiobe index.
- Coincidentally, this lines up with the early days of Google, where they had a motto of "Python where we can, C++ where we must".
- In 2009, MIT switched from Scheme to Python, and others in academia followed.
Some Python Benefits, But Only Some
- It's an easy language for new developers as well as those who don't consider themselves developers, such as data scientists or hobbyists, but have a need write some code.
- Python has a great standard library when compared to languages like JavaScript that largely rely on third party libraries to provide depth in functionality.
- It's cross platform. As long as we're talking OS.
- Mobile? Not really, as that space is consumed with Swift, Java, and Objective-C. But with things like Pythonista, you can write and execute Python on mobile.
- Web? No, at least not on the client side. That space is dominated by JavaScript. But with frameworks like Django and Flask, you can use Python on the server side.
- In addition to the standard library, there are also many great/popular third party libraries, like NumPy, that are available on PyPi.
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