What Will Be the State of Python in 2024?
"I don't think we've hired an employee yet who knew Python," says an ESK Solutions developer. "I just say, 'Everything you write must be in Python.' Just so I can read it. And it's amazing because, looking at their screen from across the room, I can tell whether their code is good or bad. Because good Python code has a very obvious structure."
Initially, Reddit was written in Lisp, but switched to Python just six months after its initial launch in 2005. And this is just one of a huge number of companies using this extremely popular language.
Python took first place in Stack Overflow's list of 'most wanted' technologies for 2022. It also ranks among the top in the most popular languages and tech tools. As of early 2024, it holds the #1 spot in the TIOBE index—a position it also held in 2022.
The Python language has gained immense popularity since its creation and release over three decades ago. What is the state of this language in 2024? Who uses it? And why is it still relevant today? Let's explore why Python is such an important language to know.
Who Uses Python?
Python is used by tech giants, startups, government agencies, financial companies, and many other organizations across various fields and industries. In 2023, some of the world's top companies have Python in their stacks, and many have been using it for years. Even the most famous products of some major companies are written in Python.
In addition to Reddit, these companies use Python:
- Amazon
- Dropbox
- IBM
- Industrial Light and Magic
- JP Morgan Chase
- Lyft
- NASA
- Netflix
- PayPal
- Pixar
- Quora
- Shopify
- Spotify
- Stripe
- Uber
These are just a few examples from the many companies of all sizes using Python worldwide. Given the vast community of developers and technical professionals surrounding Python, it's safe to say that people from various industries and fields use this language for both professional and recreational purposes.
Python in a Nutshell
Currently, there are hundreds of programming languages. But Python stands out from the crowd.
This high-level, user-friendly, versatile, object-oriented, interpreted language is mainly used for back-end or server-side development, although it can also be used for front-end development. One of its main advantages is dynamic typing. It also implements garbage collection, meaning automatic memory management. Additionally, it is open source and free to use and distribute, which also leads to lower development costs.
But perhaps its most important feature is readability. This quality is woven into Python's design, making the language syntactically simple and intuitive. Moreover, the language makes good use of whitespace, further enhancing its readability.
Python is relatively easy to understand and write. It comes with extensive libraries and frameworks, further simplifying the development process.
What Is It Used For?
Web Development
Python is most often used for web application development, especially when rapid development is needed. Frameworks like Django speed up the development process.
Data Science
Python is also a player in the world of data science. Professionals in this field use the language's capabilities for complex calculations, data mining, processing, and building visualizations, thanks to its simplicity and clear syntax. Because of these qualities, data scientists and analysts often use Python in their work.
Machine Learning
As machine learning, a subfield of artificial intelligence, gains momentum, Python is becoming increasingly popular among developers in this area. In fact, the vast majority of machine learning developers and professionals use this language, helping them achieve goals such as product personalization and deeper understanding of consumer habits and behaviors through algorithm creation. Think, for example, of personalized recommendations from Netflix and Amazon.
And the Rest
Less commonly, developers use Python in areas such as mobile app and game development.
What Makes Python 3.10 Different?
On October 4, 2021, Python 3.10.0 was released. The new version offers a range of features and optimizations compared to version 3.9. According to the Python website, these include syntactic features, library features, interpreter improvements, typing features, as well as some removals and restrictions.
Python 3.10.4 is the current stable release, the fourth maintenance release of Python 3.10, published on March 24, 2023. Among other additions and improvements, this version introduced precise line numbers for debugging and other tools, explicit type aliases, parameter specification variables, and more.