Why should you learn python?

Introduction to Python

Python 0.9.0 was first released in 1991 and was designed to be a easier to develop in language for quick programming needs.

Today we are on Python 3.7.3 and have the ability to create full fledged automation programs in few lines of code using human relate-able language.

Want to create a container for storing data. Simply use the python built in datatype to do:

mydata = list()

and add data by doing mydata.append(“new data”). You can also declare and initialize lists and dictionaries with easy to remember code and commenting.

# List are used to generically hold data types such as shopping 
# lists or a series of numbers
my_list = ["older data", "new data"] 

"""
Dictionaries hold data in a way where the computer can instantly 
find your "value" by looking for the specific "key". 
This is helpful to keep your program running fast while 
working with data
"""
my_dictionary = {"key" : "value"}

Want to quickly loop through your data? That can also be done with ease:

for data in mydata:
    print(data)

Compare this to doing the same thing in one of the other most used programming languages, Java.

import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Iterator;

List<Integer> list = new ArrayList<String>(); 
list.add("foo"); 
list.add("bar");
Iterator iterator = list.iterator();
while(iterator.hasNext()) {
    System.out.println(iterator.next());
}

Common Use Cases

Today Python is one of the most loved languages as shown in the 2019 Stack overflow developer survey due to it’s flexibility in running similarly on Windows, Mac, or linux based systems and it’s usage to be used as a procedural, objected-oriented or functional programming language.

It is also used in top companies for the following

Automating frequent workflows
Web applications using Django or Flask libraries
Machine learning
Image processing
Maintaining database systems
Algorithm prototyping
Math analytics and graph plotting

Example Python Program

input_variable = input("Please enter your name")
print("Hello " + input_variable)

More detailed introduction script and tutorial here

About Stefan Bradstreet

Stefan is a Senior Software Developer at Amazon with 8+ years of experience in tech. He is passionate about helping people become better coders and climbing the ranks in their careers, as well as his own, through continued learning of leadership techniques and software best practices.