What is Python Programming? A Beginner’s Guide

If you are somehow connected to the world of programming, you might have heard about Python, which is one of the most popular programming languages in the world and is a choice of many people who are willing to learn programming, due to many reasons. If you are wondering about what is python, how can you easily learn programming in Python, or you are just curious and want some information about Python, do not worry, since we have got you covered.

In this article, you can find much information about Python, like what is Python Programming, the benefits of Python, its features of python, its advantages, disadvantages, and much more.

What is Python Programming?

Python is a high-level, Interpreted, Object-oriented, general-purpose programming language, which was developed by Guido Van Rossum, and was first released in 1991. Do not worry if you are seeing these buzz words for the first time, since familiarity with these words is just a matter of time, once you get started learning Python programming language.

Python has gained much popularity due for several reasons, and it has a wide range of applications in a variety of domains, like Data Science, Machine Learning, Web Development, Application Development, and much more. Python stands as one of the most popular and widely used programming languages in this world.

Many students consider learning Python as their first programming language, due to many different reasons, when compared to other programming languages, the syntax of Python is much smaller and easy to understand. You can do many things, in just a few lines of code.

History of Python

The thing is that Python is one of the most popular programming languages, and a very widely used programming language in the world now. But now, let’s have a brief look at the history of this great programming language.

It was initially developed by Guido Van Rossum, and it was released in 1991. Guido Van Rossum started working on this project in the late 1980s. Guido Van Rossum had started this as a hobby project, which would keep him occupied during Christmas, and now, Python has become one of the most popular programming languages in the world, with its application and use ranging in a variety of domains, like Machine Learning, Deep Learning, Web development, Game development, App development and much more.

Python is said to have succeeded ABC programming language. Guido Van Rossum had helped develop the ABC programming language, and then he wrote an interpreter for the new scripting language which would be a descendant of ABC.

If you are wondering why the name of the programming language was kept as Python? Well, this name is not inspired by the big snake, but it has a different story.

The name for the programming language has come from BBC’s TV show “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”. Guido Van Rossum was a big fan of this TV show, and when implementing Python, he was also reading some scripts from the show. He also was searching for some unique, and mysterious name for the language, and then, he came up with the name Python!

If we have a look at versions of Python programming language, you might get to see Python 2 and Python 3. The thing is that Python 2 is no longer supported. So, as of now, you can find the versions related to Python 3. You can find the latest version and the other older versions on the official Python website www.python.org

What is Python used for?

The thing is that we write programs for a variety of reasons, like for creating something, just to have fun, or solve some problem. A very common question might come to some random mind, what can I do with Python, or what can Python be used for? Well, let’s have a look at what can be the uses of Python.

• Introduction to Programming.
• Machine learning
• Data analysis
• Automation
• Software testing
• Web development
  And much more.

Let’s explore the above-mentioned points in brief so that you can have a better idea, about what things we can do with python. Actually, there is a lot more than this to do, but let’s discuss the above-mentioned points.

Introduction to Programming

When students begin their programming journey, it is not an easy task, since what we do so easily is required to be done with the help of a computer. They need to learn some language in order to be able to do different things. They need to learn some programming language, and many students choose Python as their first programming language. There are many reasons to do so python is one of the most popular programming languages, and it is easy to learn, has a much easier syntax, and with just fewer lines of code, you can do a lot of things.

So, by getting started with Python, the students are easily introduced to the world of programming, which then, they can explore on the basis of their interests. Also, when you learn Python, it opens a lot of doors to many job and business opportunities, and also for learning new and interesting stuff, like Machine learning, Data Science, and much more.

So, from that angle, we can say that learning Python can be an easy and smooth introduction to the world of programming. Python is so easy to learn that anybody can get started learning Python, and get introduced to the world of programming. It is not necessary to even have a computer background in education to be able to learn to program.

Machine Learning

You might have heard about this term – Machine Learning. Machine learning is around us in many use cases. It is there in your music streaming services, video streaming services, food delivery app, or in your favorite shopping app. If you have ever wondered about how this work or you want to learn Machine Learning, python can be the answer. Python is used in a variety of use cases, including Machine Learning.

There are many libraries, like Tensorflow, Keras, etc, using which, we can easily write programs for data analysis, and Machine learning in an efficient way. So, you can make your way to learning and implementing Machine learning using Python.

Data Analysis

Many of the decisions that are taken in many businesses today are data-driven. Also, we have a lot of data around us being produced every day. It becomes important for businesses to channel the data to make decisions, that would be beneficial for the growth of the business. With python, data analysis can be done easily and efficiently. The data analysts and other professionals use the Python programming language to perform complicated statistical calculations, for creating data visualizations, and to perform some other data-related tasks.

So, using Python, you can make your way to the field of Data Analysis. Since there is a tremendous amount of data being produced, there can be a good demand for data analysts in many industries.

Automation

Very often, there are some tasks, which we are required to do repeatedly, and with python, we can easily automate those tasks. Writing programs for these automated processes are referred to as scripting.

Automation can be done for many different tasks, from simple to complex, just for getting rid of repetitive tasks. It can be done for renaming a huge number of files, or for copying names of thousands of files and directories from a folder, sending emails, checking errors in multiple files, and much much more. You can apply automation to any task that you feel is repetitive.

Software Testing

With Python, it is possible to automate and perform software testing, for new products and features. There are many tools available, with which, we can achieve automation for software testing. Here, we are doing the tasks like tracking for any bugs and testing the software.

Web development

In web development, there are many languages used, to create a website, like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript in the front end, and there are many options in the back end. If you are familiar with Python, and you just want to use Python as back end language for your web development project, you can do so. Well, the backend is something that is not visible to the user. There are a lot of things that we can do with Python in the back end, like processing data, communicating with databases, and much more.

There are several frameworks available for web development using Python. Some commonly used frameworks include Django and Flask.

So, there is a lot that can be done with python. Since Python has applications and uses in a lot of domains, learning Python can be of great advantage. So, you can learn Python, since it can open doors to many learning, job, and business opportunities.

Features of Python

Python programming language is very widely used, and it is no surprise now. One of the reasons for Python being so popular and widely used is the features of Python programming language. There are so many features that we get with Python programming language. So, here is the list of features provided by Python programming language, and then we would explore them in brief one by one.

• Easy to Learn
• Easy to code.
• Interpreted Language
• Open source
• Dynamically typed programming language.
• High-level programming language.
• Platform independent.
• Follows Object Oriented Programming paradigm.
• Portable.
• Extensive built–in libraries.
• Support for GUI(Graphical User Interface)

So now, that we have listed many of the features of Python programming language, let’s now have a look at these features in brief.

Easy to learn

Python is one of the easiest languages to learn. In fact, anyone can easily get started with learning Python programming language. This is one of the reasons why many people choose Python as their first programming language when they are learning to code. It is pretty easy to get started, but it would take some time for you to explore and implement the advanced concepts ahead in Python.

The syntax of Python programs is also very simple when it is compared to some other programming languages, like C, C++, or Java.

Easy to code

As mentioned earlier, python is very easy to get started. So, this becomes one of the reasons why many people choose python to be their first programming language when they are learning to code.

Here, both reading and writing codes are pretty easy in Python. When you go through Python programs yourself, you can understand that it is pretty easy to understand. There are no brackets or semicolons like in C, C++, or Java, and if we were to define some block here, we make use of indentations.

Interpreted programming language

You might have heard about many other programming languages, like C, or C++, which are compiled programming languages. Unlike them, Python is an interpreter-based programming language. We can understand this as there is a program called an interpreter, which executes our Python program line by line. On the other hand, in the compiled languages, the whole code is converted to machine-understandable code.

Open source

Python is a free and open-source programming language. This simply means that it is completely free to use, and anyone can download it from the official Python website and use it.

Dynamically typed programming language

Python is a dynamically typed programming language, which simply means that when we are writing python programs, we do not need to specify the type of the variables, but we just need to assign the data to the variables, and the type is decided at the runtime.

High-level programming language

Python is a high-level programming language. This is one of the features, due to which, Python is very programmer friendly. When you are writing Python programs, you do not need to remember about the system architecture or the memory management.

Platform Independent

Python is a platform-independent programming language. This simply means that when we are writing Python programs, we can run them on various platforms, like Windows, Linux, Mac, etc. In other words, we do not need to write different programs or make changes to our programs to run them on different platforms.

Python follows Object Oriented programming paradigm

Python is one of the languages that follow Object Oriented programming paradigm, which is one of the reasons for the popularity and wide use of Python in a lot of areas. The thing is that Python is a multi-paradigm language, and it also follows Object Oriented Programming paradigm. This paradigm is one of the most widely used techniques in programming. This approach allows the programmers to implement the concepts of inheritance, encapsulation, polymorphism, etc.

Python is portable

Python is portable, this simply means that we can use the same code on different machines. So, if you write Python code on a windows machine, and now you want to execute it on a Mac, then you can do it without making any changes. So, you do not need to write multiple programs for different platforms.

Extensive Built-in libraries

In python, we get an extensive standard library that anyone can use. Due to this, we do not have to write programs for everything, since we have different libraries(or modules) for doing different things, related to Machine learning, mathematical operations, unit testing, and much more.

Support for Graphical User Interface (GUI)

Graphical User Interface is one of the key features of a programming language, through which, a user can easily interact with the software. In python, we have various toolkits for Graphical User Interface, like Tkinter, wxPython, and many others, which allow easy development for Graphical User Interface.

Benefits of Python

Now, that you are familiar with the history of Python programming language, and also with what can be done with Python, we are now going to take a look at the benefits of learning Python programming language. As of now, we know that Python is one of the most popular programming languages, and is very widely used, in various domains. So, there are a number of benefits of learning Python programming language, and here are the benefits –

• • • • • • • • • • • • •  
• Python is easy to learn
• Python community
• Portability
• Open-source.
• Used in many industries.
• Easy to learn
• Wide applications
• An easy introduction to programming.
• Future scope in terms of learning and jobs
  And numerous other benefits.

So, when we have listed the benefits, let’s now try to have a look at them in brief, so as to understand them in a better way.

Python is easy to learn

Python is very easy to get started and very easy to learn. Anyone can get started with learning python, and shape their career. Many people who are beginning to learn programming choose python as their first programming language since it is easy to learn, it is used in various industries, and many other such reasons.

Python community

One of the most important benefits of using Python is the massive community of Python developers. The community helps develop Python, and Python developers in a number of ways.

Portability

This is one of the features in Python, which simply means that we can use the same code on different machines. So, you do not need to write different codes for different formats.

Open source

Python is free and open source. This means that anyone can use it for free, for commercial uses as well.

Used in many industries

There are so many features of Python programming language, that this language is used in many different industries. Here is a brief list of what you can work on if you learn Python.

• Web development.
• Security.
• Computer Graphics.
• Finance.
• Scientific Computing.
• Game Development.
• Machine learning.
• Data Science.
  And many others.

Wide Applications

Python is used in a wide range of domains, like Machine learning, Data Science, Web development, Application Development, Game development, and much more. So, when you learn Python, you open the doors to opportunities in learning and working in various domains.

An easy introduction to programming

Many people who are beginners, and want to get started with programming choose Python as their first programming language, because python is very easy to learn, and its wide applications in various domains, and there are many other reasons. The thing is that Python is very simple to learn, so it gives an easy introduction to the programming world, which helps the student to get going into further concepts and explore more. So, learning Python does give an easy introduction to programming.

Future scope in Learning and Jobs

As mentioned earlier, when you learn Python programming language, you can open the doors to learning and working in various domains, like Machine learning, Data science, web development, and much more. So, there is a wide scope of opportunities when you learn Python. Also, not only in learning more but there are also many opportunities in working. You can get a job if you have a good knowledge of Python programming language. You have job opportunities as a Machine Learning Engineer, Data Scientist, Software engineer, and others.

As can be seen, there are many different benefits of learning Python programming language. As we move ahead, we would go through some advantages of learning Python programming language, which would make this point more clear. But the thing is that learning Python has a number of benefits.

So, when you learn Python, and some other supportive frameworks and/or libraries, you can work in various different areas according to your interests.

Applications of Python programming language

There is a wide range of applications of Python programming language. This is one of the reasons behind python being so popular and widely used. Let’s have a look at some of the applications of Python programming language, in various areas. First of all, we would list them, and then we would have a brief look at each of them.

• Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
• Web Development.
• Game Development.
• Desktop GUI applications.
• Software Development.
• Image Processing.
  And many more …

So, now that we have listed some of the applications for Python programming language, let’s have a brief look at them one by one.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

If you are willing to learn and build your career in and around Machine Learning, getting started with learning Python can be the key. Python is one of the most popular programming languages, with its application in Machine learning. Machine learning is around us in many cases, like in our music streaming platform, in the case of our Google search, or in our Shopping Apps. It is there to make our life easier.

So, if you wish to learn Machine learning, and build your career in Machine learning, you can simply choose to learn Python.

Web development

If you are willing to go into web development, you might need to learn many different languages and other components, like HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and some frameworks or libraries related to front–end, and also the languages and frameworks related to back–end. But if you are good at python, you can use Python as a language for the back–end. There are a number of frameworks, which would help you in web development. Some of the popular frameworks include Django and Flask.

Game development

There are many useful libraries in Python, using which, we can easily build games as well. A library like PyGame is widely used in Game Development. Also, we have PySoy, which is a 3D game engine.

Desktop GUI applications

Graphical User Interface is one of the key features in the programming language, and Python has vast support for Graphical User Interface. There are toolkits like Tkinter, and wxPython, with which, we can easily develop Graphical User Interfaces. The user can easily interact with the software using the Graphical User Interface.

Software Development

There are many packages in Python, which help simplify the Software development process. Using python, we can easily develop complex applications, even involving scientific and numerical computing, or Desktop or Web applications as well. There are many giant and famous companies and applications, which use Python in their Software development, like Google, Netflix, and many more.

Why learn Python?

This is a simple, yet important question, why should you learn Python? Since there are many different programming languages to learn, why should I choose Python? So, understanding this, let’s now discuss some reasons why should you learn Python. Firstly, we will just list some important reasons, and then we would try to discuss them in brief one by one.

• Python is easy to learn
• Greater career opportunities.
• Massive community
• Machine learning
• Data Science
• Web development

Well, now that we have listed some of the reasons, let’s try to discuss them in brief one by one.

Python is easy to learn

Python is very easy to learn and easy to get started. In fact, python is so easy to get started, that many beginners choose Python as their first programming language when they begin learning to program.

So, if you too want to get started with programming, you can get started by learning Python. If you are confused about how you can get started learning Python, and that too in an easy way, you can go through our free Python course, through which, you can learn about many fundamental concepts related to Python, and get the base clear so that you can try learning and implementing the further concepts. Apart from this, you can also have a look at our other courses, where you can learn about Data Science with Python, Machine learning with Python, and many other courses. 

Here are the links –

Python Programming Course

Greater career opportunities.

Once you are done learning Python, doors to many opportunities related to jobs and learning are opened in many domains, like Data Science, Machine Learning, Web development, and much more.

So, this can be one of the reasons why would you want to learn Python. There are various opportunities in various domains, once you master your python skills.

Massive Community

Python is one of the most widely used programming languages and is very popular as well. So, it is no doubt that Python is backed by a vast community, contributing towards its continuous growth. The community can help in many terms, like increasing open-source knowledgebase.

Machine Learning

You might have heard about the term Machine Learning, and if you wish to learn Machine Learning, and make your career in Machine Learning, then you should learn Python programming language since python is one of the most in-demand programming languages for Machine Learning.

Data Science

Data Science is one of the most in-demand skills, and if you want to start your career in Data Science, you should learn Python programming language, since Python is one of the top languages for Data Science.

Web development

If you want to go into web development, and you already know Python, you can use Python as a language for the back end. There are many popular frameworks that you can use here. Some of the most popular frameworks include Django and Flask.

So, these were some of the reasons why should you learn Python. Python is a very versatile language, and we can use it in various domains. There are numerous opportunities for you in learning, as well as in terms of jobs if you learn Python programming language.

Advantages of Python

Now, we are going to have a look at some advantages of Python programming language. Python was released in 1991, and now, Python is one of the most popular languages in the world, and with time, Python has highly developed with its applications in many different domains. There are many advantages of Python programming language, and we are now going to address some of the advantages of Python. First of all, let’s list them, and then we would have a look at them one by one.

• Easy to learn
• Open-source.
• Extensive Library support.
• Wide range of applications in various domains.
• Portability
  And many others.

So, when we have listed some of the advantages, let’s have a look at them in brief one by one.

Easy to Learn

We have mentioned this several times, that Python is easy to get started and easy to learn. So, if you want to learn such a language, that is very easy to get started, and easy to learn, with greater career opportunities ahead, you should learn Python.

Open Source

Python is open source and free, which simply means that anyone can download Python from the official Python website, and use it, even for commercial purposes.

Extensive Library Support

In Python, there are many different libraries(and modules)for doing different things. So, many times, we do not need to do everything from scratch, but just use some modules or libraries, and things get much simpler.

Wide range of applications in various domains

Python has a wide range of applications in various domains. So, once you learn Python, the doors to new opportunities related to learning and jobs are opened for you. You can use Python in –

• Machine Learning
• Web development
• Data Science
• Desktop Application Development
  and much more.

Portability

With portability, we simply mean that if you are writing Python program on some platform, and you want to run it on another platform, you do not need to make any changes to the code. So, you can write the code once on some platform, and then you can run it anywhere.

So, these were some of the advantages of Python programming language. When we have gone through some advantages of this one of the best programming languages in the world, should we ignore its disadvantages of it? Not at all! So, understand this, let’s have a look at some of the disadvantages of Python.

Disadvantages of Python

When we are aware of the advantages of Python, now we are going to head toward understanding some of its disadvantages of Python. You should be aware of the disadvantages too before you begin your journey of learning Python.

First of all, let’s list the disadvantages, and then we would try to have a look at them in brief, one by one.

• Slow Speed
• Runtime errors
• Python is very simple
• inefficient memory consumption
  And some others.

So, now that we have listed the disadvantages of Python, let’s have a brief look at them one by one.

Slow Speed

Yes! You read it right. Python, when compared to some other programming languages like C / C++ or Java, is slower. There are some reasons for it being slower comparatively, which are discussed in short below –

• Interpreted language – Python is an interpreted language, which means that, unlike the compiler, the interpreter translates the code during runtime. It results in slower execution than the compiled languages.
• Dynamic typing – Python is dynamically typed. This simply means that we can create variables, and we do not have to specify the type. It is decided at the runtime. Due to this, more tasks are happening during the runtime, affecting the performance.
  And there are some other factors, which affect the speed.

Even if python is comparatively slow, it has got a wide range of applications.

Runtime errors

Python is a dynamically typed language, which means that we can create variables, and we do not have to specify the type. But this can be a problem since this can lead to runtime errors if the type of the data is not of the required type.

Python is very simple

You might be thinking that how can simply be a disadvantage? Well, the thing is that Python is very simple and easy to learn. Many people learn it as their first programming language. There is so less coding that it may become difficult for someone to learn some other programming language, which is comparatively harder to learn and implement. Still, this is not necessarily a problem, but it can affect many people.

Inefficient memory consumption

It is said that there is a lot of effort behind an effortless performance. So, we always say that Python is very simple, but to offer this simplicity to the developers, python needs to do a few things. It uses more amount of memory, and it can be a disadvantage if we are developing something and have a preference for memory optimization.

So, these were some of the disadvantages of Python programming language. The thing is that there are many advantages, and some disadvantages too. We need to keep both in mind before we get started with learning Python.

How to learn python?

Now, when we have seen so many things about python, like benefits, advantages, reasons to learn Python, and history of Python as well, you might be wondering how to learn Python, and too effectively. Well, let’s try to have a look at how can we learn Python in an effective way.

You can follow these tips, which would help you learn Python –

Focus on the fundamentals

If you are an absolute beginner, at least in Python programming, then you should spend some time working on the fundamental concepts, since if you create a good base of Python, it would be easy for you to go to further concepts.

Don’t just read or learn the concepts, but try to implement them

Many learners do the mistake of just learning and not implementing the concept. Don’t be that learner.

Instead, try to implement what you have learned, through different programs and small projects(wherever possible).

Solve a lot of programs

This point is what it says. Just solve a lot of programs, if you want to get better and better at Python programming, or generally in programming.

Explore

Many times, the students just learn from one resource, or just read a book, and then they think they are done with that concept. But it is usually just the beginning. After you have learned something, you need to explore the concept, so that you can understand more about it, or at least get a different perspective on the same topic

So, some of the above tips would help you to learn Python in an effective way. Also, the resources that you are following to learn Python also matter a lot. So, make sure that you are following the good and latest resources so that you can learn the latest stuff.

If you are interested in learning Python, you do not have to worry at all, since we have got you covered.

You can get started for free, where you can learn Python from our introductory course, other than this, if you want to deep dive into Python, we have other courses related to Python programming language, with which, you can learn other things, like Data Science, Machine learning, and there is much to explore.

So, if you are interested and willing to take a step towards learning Python, you can try our free Python introductory course now! Here are the links for the courses –

Python Programming Course

Companies/Organizations that use Python

Are you wondering which companies/organizations use Python programming language? Well, there are many big giants that use Python(along with different other things) in different areas. Just to name a few, here is a list of some of the companies that use Python –

• Google
• Netflix
• NASA
• IBM
• Spotify.
• Quora
• Dropbox
• Amazon
  and many others.

So, we can say that when you learn Python, you can have opportunities to work at some of your dream companies. But the thing is that for this, not just in python, but you should be good at many other things, like Data structures, Algorithms, and some other frameworks/libraries.

Conclusion

So, in this article, we tried to understand various things about Python, like what is Python, the reasons why Python is so popular, the benefits of Python, some history related to it, and much more. If you are willing to learn Python programming language, you do not have to worry, since we have got you covered. You can get started for free, by learning Python through our introductory Python course, and you can explore more through our other Python courses, with which, you can also learn more in relation to Data Science, Machine learning, and there is much much more ahead.

FAQ About Python