Lofty header? Don’t believe it? No problem, let’s dive in and find out why we’re saying so. As reported by David Robinson on the Stack Overflow blog, you can use the platform’s Trends tool to view and measure the growth of various development languages, for which Python is no exception.
Out of five major languages – CSS, HTML, Android, and jQuery – Python has shown incredible growth in high-income countries. In June 2017, Python became the most visited tag on Stack Overflow, among high-income countries. That’s an impressive sight, compared to 2012 when it was the least visited tag of the five languages. In just five years, popularity for the language has more than doubled.
Let’s have a look at some facts on why Python is the “IT” programming language right now.
- A September 2014 report from Dice lists Python as one of the fastest-growing skills based on increased job opportunities.
- On AngelList, Python is the 2nd most demanded skill and the skill with the highest average salary offered.
- The research data from MS Gorroo shows some of these interesting shifts. For instance, from 2014 to 2015, the average US salary of a Python programmer has grown from $85K to $108K, a whopping 23% increase in base
- By the end of 2017, Python was delivering some impressive numbers. A recent Indeed.com inquiry also revealed at least 55,000 Python jobs in the USA with exponential salary figures.
- According to PayScale.com, below are graphs depicting the average Python salary for India and the US.
- One of the most prominent indexes, TIOBE, calculates programming language popularity based on the volume of search engine results. The latest TIOBE index ranks Python third with a 7.6 percent popularity share — behind the venerable Java (17.4 percent) and C (15.4 percent). Notably, it marks the first time Python has cracked the top three.
- Other indexes such as the PyPL and the IEEE’s 2018 Top Programming Languages have already crowned Python as the king. Both indexes place Python in their No. 1 spots — above Java and C++.
Popularity means increased relevance. So, if the TIOBE index is any indication, more organizations will adopt Python which will ultimately drive the demand for Python skills. So, if you’re interested in programming, starting with Python is a safe bet. Whether focusing on Python or using it as the first step towards a broader coding career, it’s the best language for beginners. It is a widely-used general-purpose, dynamic, extensible, high-level programming language. Its design philosophy emphasizes code readability, and its syntax allows programmers to express concepts in fewer lines of code that would not be possible in languages like C or C++.
Python supports multiple programming paradigms, including object-oriented, imperative and functional programming or procedural styles. It features a dynamic type system and automatic memory management and has a large standard library. Python can be used for any programming task, from GUI programming to web programming with everything else in between.
Not convinced yet?
Let’s get philosophical on it with “The Zen of Python”!
The Zen of Python is a hallowed document that is the best indicator of the intentions behind Python’s philosophy. It is a list containing 19 principles meant to guide developers in adopting Python’s philosophy of coding. Some of these principles are:
- Beautiful is better than ugly.
- Explicit is better than implicit.
- Simple is better than complex.
- The complex is better than complicated.
- The flat is better than nested.
- Sparse is better than dense.
- Readability counts.
Good luck finding such clarity-inspiring nuggets in a C, C++ or Java beginner’s guide!
With all the facts and details that we have discussed so far, it is fair to say that Python is one of the trendiest, most in-demand and most popular programming languages. And clearly, it will continue to reign in terms of relevance and has a pretty good future thanks to its large community. With all this in favor, why go with any other language?
