Python has emerged as the swiss knife of programming languages – whatever you might need, you’ll get it here. Be it for GUI-based desktop applications, computational applications, games, graphic design applications, test automation scripts or to develop web frameworks and web applications, statistical programming or operating systems, Python has something for everyone.
It is hardly a surprise that this language has been steadily climbing up the popularity charts to consolidate its position as one of the top three programming languages.
Having gone through some drastic changes over the last two decades, Python today is popular in programming circles due to its versatile features and easier programming options. But apart from this, what makes Python, the object-oriented, general-purpose interpreted, interactive and high-level programming language, a favorite for product owners?
Fantastic Readability
Python has a very well-defined syntax. This makes it very easy to understand the code. Since the syntax usually follows the “pseudo-code” format used by programmers to describe their solutions, it makes the life of the product owner much easier. It does not focus on the formal verbosity of the code as found in some other programming languages. It can also be used to prototype and test code, something that has to be done later in other programming languages.
Greater Productivity
Look a little closer and you will find a close resemblance between python and human language. This is what makes Python a high-level language. This feature also contributes to developer productivity and gives them the capability to program faster. Most of the highly-used programming tasks are already scripted into it thereby reducing the length of the code to be written in Python. The extensive support libraries which include areas like internet protocols, web services tools, and clean object-oriented designs also contribute to developer productivity.
Vast and Well-Maintained Open-Source Environment
Python is an open-source programming language that also has a vast repository of free tools and frameworks. These tools cover a variety of application areas such as data science, GUI, etc. The variety of tools in the Python Package Index contribute to the development speed as developers can take advantage of ready-made modules to accelerate the development process.
Great Integration Features
Python also boasts of some great integration features that product owners find immensely beneficial. It integrates the Enterprise Application Integration. This makes it easier to develop Web Services by simply invoking COBRA or COM components.
Given its powerful control capabilities, it can call directly through C, C++ or Java leveraging Jython, for .NET using IronPython or PHP using PiP (Python in PHP). It can also run easily on modern operating systems using the same byte code as it processes XML and other markup languages.
Additionally, in case of already existing large and complex infrastructures (like in enterprise mobile solutions), project owners can get the development team to glue old and new infrastructure elements together.
The ‘Object-Oriented’ Advantage
The Object-Oriented programming in Python helps developers easily create reusable data-structures. This reduces the amount of repetitive work that needs to be done in the development process. The object-oriented techniques can be used in the design of most software and implemented in almost any programming language.
Product owners also love the support Python provides for object-oriented programming. This support is a boon for new programmers and helps them get up to speed fast.
Sensibility
Python also has an extensive collection of freely available add-on modules, libraries, frameworks, and tool-kits. These extensions usually conform to similar standards and conventions. This makes it much easier to modify a program using Python.
For example, if you need to modify a Python program to support a database engine, your developers can easily do so. How? Because almost all of the database adapters conform to the Python DBAPI, they can be easily accessed using the same code.
Awesome for Prototyping
Owing to its high development speed, Python becomes a great weapon in the project owner’s arsenal. Given this advantage, product owners can use Python in cases that require checking of the solution viability first.
Python also allows you to switch smoothly from a prototype to a working solution without losing any previous work. This reduces migration time.
Accelerate Code Reviews
Among the main concerns for project owners are development speed and the quality of code. Owing to the extensive repository of tools and superb syntax Python reduces the time spent in code reviews. Using Python, developers can easily check if a fragment of code is well-written and is bug-free.
Build and Scale Your Development Team
Python has a simple syntax. That’s why it’s not hard to learn. This comes as a huge boon to project owners as the language is easy to pick up even by developers who do not have extensive professional experience. Project owners can thus build and scale a development team fast.
Versatility
Talk about versatility and you have a clear winner in Python. It can be run easily on Linux, Mac or the Windows operating systems. It can also be run on embedded systems such as BeagleBone Black, Gumstix or Raspberry Pi.
This aspect gives developers immense flexibility. Python is dynamic, especially when it comes to evolution. Python comes up with new features, fixes, and improvements almost every month. This works in favor of the developers, especially when working on complex and feature-intensive enterprise projects..
Python also boasts of one of the most vibrant and active programmer’s community. Some of the best minds contribute to the language and the support forums. Chosen by some of the best companies such as Facebook, Google, and Microsoft, Python is fast becoming an obvious choice for machine learning, data analysis, and visualization projects. Having been battle-tested in large organizations across a broad range of solutions, it promises to add significant value, especially in an enterprise environment.
So, are you planning to use Python in your next project? There are at least 10 reasons to do so!
