Why is Python, Data and AI world's preferred mother tongue?

In layman's terms, a mother tongue is the first language a person learns to speak after being born into this world. Similarly, in computer science, Data, and AI ki duniya, Python has become the initial language that almost every newbie programmer learns to speak naturally in this habitat.

Hello, dear readers, come with me as we journey through the story of Python’s rise, from its modest beginnings to its place as one of the most beloved languages in the programming world.

What is Python?

Any wild guesses? Well, Python is a type of reptile programming language that is general purpose, high-leveled, and interpreted. The language was founded by a developer named Guido Van Rossum in 1991.

Python is considered a high-level programming language because it is more human-readable and easier to learn than any of its peer languages. It abstracts away the complexities of computer hardware, allowing programmers to focus on problem-solving rather than low-level details.

…but why has Python gained so much popularity?

Python is undoubtedly the most popular language today, and the reasons for its popularity are endless. Let’s highlight some of Python’s most talked-about features.

1. Python is a cross-functional language, i.e., it is platform-independent

2. Python is an interpreted language, i.e., finding, fixing code here is much easier when compared to any other compiler-based language.

3. Python has the largest set of well-maintained standard libraries, which play a vital role in developing machine learning, data science, data visualization applications, and more.

4. Python code to be integrated with the code written in other languages? You got it because Python knows it all. It can invoke C/C++ libraries, communicate with Java code, and seamlessly interact with databases or web services.

5. Python's error handling is robust due to its powerful exception handling system, allowing developers to manage errors and unexpected situations.

USPs of Python

1. Quick Feedback: Python is an interpreted language, which is the reason why it makes the execution process of code(running the code, finding and fixing the errors, re-runs) quite effortless as compared to other languages like C/C++. Hence faster prototyping

2. Code Simplicity: Python has a simple syntax similar to the English language. It allows developers to write programs with fewer lines than other programming languages, promoting readability.

3. Dynamic Typing: In Python, dynamic typing means the data type of a variable is determined during runtime, not when the variable is declared. This means the same variable can hold values of various kinds as the program executes. Let’s understand this with an example:

    #Unlike any other language, we haven't assigned any data type to 'var' variable
    #Thumb rule: In case of multiplea ssignments, a variable object shall always point to the latest assigned value.  
    var = "Shiro"
    var = 2.786
    var = 'a'
    var = 8+10j
    var = "Khichdi"
    print(var)                #output -> Khichdi
   

4. Memory Management: Python employs automatic memory management, freeing developers from manual allocation and deallocation tasks. This is achieved through a private heap, a system of reference counting, and a garbage collector. These mechanisms ensure efficient memory usage and prevent memory leaks. As programs expand, efficient memory management becomes crucial to maintain speed and efficiency, especially in Python, which powers large-scale applications in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science.

Applications of Python

Python is everyone’s beloved language, a fact that is not hidden anymore. One of the reasons for its popularity is its applications. Though the list is endless, let’s talk about a few.

1. Web development: Python comes up with a wide range of frameworks like Django, Flask, Bottle, and a lot more that provide ease to the developers. Furthermore, Python has built-in libraries and tools that make the web development process effortless. The use of Python for web development also offers:

   • Amazing visualization

   • Convenience in development

   • Enhanced security

   • Fast development process

2. Data Science and Analytics: Data science involves data collection, data sorting, data analysis, and data visualization. Python has built-in libraries that provide convenience to data science professionals to tackle statistics and complex mathematical calculations. Some of the popular libraries that provide ease in the data science process are TensorFlow, Pandas, and scikit-Learn. These libraries provide an ecosystem for fine-tuning data models, data preprocessing, and performing complex data analysis.

3. Machine learning and Artificial Intelligence: Python, with its inbuilt libraries and tools, facilitates the development of AI and ML algorithms. Further, it offers simple, concise, and readable code, making it easier for developers to write complex algorithms and provide a versatile flow. Some of the built-in libraries and tools that enhance AI and ML processes are:

   • Numpy for complex data analysis

   • Keras for Machine learning

   • SciPy for technical computing

   • Seaborn for data visualization

4. Game development: With the rapidly growing gaming industry, Python has proved to be an exceptional option for game development. Popular games like Pirates of the Caribbean, Bridge Commander, and Battlefield 2 use Python programming for a wide range of functionalities and add-ons. The presence of popular 2D and 3D gaming libraries like pygame, panda3D, and Cocos2D makes the game development process effortless.

5. Test Automation: Automation is crucial in today's fast-paced world as it can help you save time by eliminating repetitive tasks. Automation in Python may refer to the use of the Python programming language to create programs, scripts, or various tools that perform automatic tasks with manual intervention.

How can you define code blocks in Python?

Python uses curly braces indentation to define code blocks. This means that the amount of whitespace at the beginning of a line determines which statements belong to the same block (e.g., within a loop or function). The image below will give you a better understanding of the concept.

In the first image, both print statements are a part of the “if” block, whereas in the second image, only the first print statement is a part of the “if” block.

If we Skip Indentation at an expected place, Python will throw an error similar to what we see in the image below.

“Everything(almost) is treated as an object in Python”

A phrase, you must have heard quite a lot if you have studied Python even a little bit. It is not just a phrase but a fundamental characteristic of the language. It is a whole new topic in itself.

From simple integer variables to functions, classes, and even operators, Python treats everything(almost) as an object. While most things in Python are objects, certain keywords and syntax elements (like if, for, and def) are not objects.

Objects are Python’s abstraction for data. All data in a Python program is represented by objects or by relations between objects. Every object has an identity, a type, and a value. An object’s identity never changes once it has been created; you may think of it as the object’s address in memory. The is operator compares the identity of two objects; the id() function returns an integer representing its identity.

How do you declare a legal variable name?

Python is undoubtedly the most celebrated language in the programmer community because it’s user-friendly and readable. Even then, this language is very particular about its naming conventions, like creating a legal variable name. Here we go with the rules:

1. A variable name must start with either a letter or the underscore character

2. A variable name cannot begin with a number

3. A variable name can only contain alpha-numeric characters and underscores (A-z, 0-9, and _ )

4. Variable names are case-sensitive (age, Age and AGE are three different variables)

5. A variable name cannot be any of Python’s reserved words (like, for, print, in, if, etc.)

Let’s look at some examples:

name = "Shiro"
Name = "Shiro"
_name123 = "Shiro"
nAme = "Shiro"
na_me = "Shiro"
Print = "Shiro"      #Print is allowed, Print and print will be treated as 2 different things

Data types and pre-defined functions in Python

Python offers a variety of built-in data types to represent different kinds of data. Key data types include :

x = 10          #int
y = 3.14        #float
z = 2+3j        #complex
a = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]         #list
b = {"name" : "John", "age" : 36}         #dict
c = None        #NoneType
# a predefined function type(var_name) can be used to findout data type of any variable

Predefined functions in Python, also known as built-in functions, are ready-made, reusable blocks of code that come with the Python language itself. They perform specific actions without requiring you to write the code from scratch. These functions can be used directly in your Python code without an import statement.
Here are some examples of pre-defined functions found in Python: print(), input(), type(), etc.

print("apple", "banana", "orange" , sep = ","  #apple,banana,orange
print("Python programming" , end = "!")  #Python programming!
print("Python", "Programming", sep = ".", end = "!")  # Python.Programming!

input("Enter your name:")

How to create comments in Python?

In programming, comments are notes within the code that explain what the code does, without being executed by the program. They are used to make the code more readable and understandable for both the programmer and others who may read the code.

Single-line comments in Python are identified with a hash symbol, #, and extend to the end of the line. Multi-line comments are identified with triple quotes, ‘‘‘ … ‘‘‘ . Let’s understand this with the help of examples.

#This is how we write single line comments
#Adding one more single line comment

''' This is how we create multi line comments. Anything that is written between a pair of
triple quote never gets read by the interpreter.
This type of commenting can also come in handy during the situations where you wish to
hide a code block from the eyes of interpreter but not completely remove it.
print("Comment comment comment") 
''' 
print("Comment comment comment")    # Output -> Comment comment comment

Conclusion

Python is a must-have for programmers today, and it’s earned its reputation, especially in the world of Data and AI. But like anything else, it comes with its own set of limitations. A skilled programmer knows how to make the most of a tool and has the enlightenment to recognize when it’s time to switch to a more suitable language or framework to do a job in the most efficient way possible.

And with that, we wrap up this article. Thanks a ton for taking the time to read through—it means a lot!

Special mentions: Hitesh Choudhary , #PriyaBhatia, #chaicode #geeksforgeeks #W3Schools

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