Python: Is it really worth it ?

Introduction

“Python is the ‘Swiss Army knife’ of programming languages.”

 — Charles Severance

The year was 1991. Python was the new kid in town. A lot of people were excited by it, but no one could have predicted the extent to which it would be loved, adopted and used. Fast forward 32 years later to 2023, Python is one of the most used programming languages in the world. Having been listed in the top ten “best” programming language of every year since 2000, one can’t help but want to learn python and encourage others to do so. However, today, we take a look at whether python lives up to its name, or whether it’s nothing but an imposter! (dramatic music plays).

What makes Python so good

Python is loved for it’s simplicity. It has a very short and concise syntax(vocabulary) making even the most complex of programming tasks easy to do for most people. In addition to its simplicity, python is also very powerful (unlike some languages, cough cough Visual Basic, cough). Having direct control over the operating system, web server, computer networks and even computers in the cloud, there is nothing you can imagine that can’t be achieved with Python. Furthermore, having a community of more than //insert number here// developers, newbies can quickly ask questions and get replies from a large (and active) community of developers on websites (for example, realpython.org) and social media platforms( for example X, formerly Twitter).

Do not be fooled!

The points listed above are very compelling, I know. But do not be tricked into learning python by the hype alone, no! You should learn and use Python because it offers the best solution to the problem at hand.

What do I mean by this ? I mean don’t learn Python because Tom, (the badly named) Dick and Harry are doing it. Instead, learn Python because it’s the best language for your particular use case(if you want to build your own AI, for example. Therefore, as I always say in my articles, first understand what it is you want to do, then, if it is the best, learn Python.

Who should learn Python ?

Now that the cloud of hype has dissipated (disappeared), I will now answer the question on everyone’s mind: Who should learn python ?

Here is a list of people who should learn Python:

• Machine Learning Enthusiasts

• Cyber security enthusiasts

• Backend developers

• and more…

As I said in the beginning, you should first find out if your particular needs can be effectively met with Python, and learn it from there.

Who shouldn’t learn Python

Good afternoon, morning or evening to my Indian friends who are reading this article. If you are an application developer(be it mobile,desktop or even console) or frontend developer , do not learn Python as it will serve you very litte in your department. Believe me, because I created mobile and desktop applications with Kivy and Tkinter, and I have found it to be aweful. This is not because Python is by any means bad, but because there are so many better alternatives. If you work in any of the above fields, yes, Python is a good tool to have in your toolbox, but first master the tools of your trade before learning Python.

To answer the question…..

Is python just hype without any real substance to back it up ? No, Python is a very powerful programming language. And its beauty is that it is useful to everyone, not just in huge industries. It can be used to perform little tweaks on your computer, organise files or even just clean up things on your computer. It is a true general purpose programming language.

You should definitely learn it at some point in time, even if it isn’t useful in your industry. But don’t forget that every industry has it’s champion

Last words

I sincerely hope you enjoyed this article, if you did, please consider following me for more content on controversial tech topics and answering all your tech-related questions.