Friday 26 July 2013
I have written an overview about Python before here. Python is undoubtably Google's most favourite scripting language at the moment and is a perquisite for most Google Engineers. Much different to other languages such as C or Java, Python is a language that "just works". I use it daily for real simple problems. It competes hand in hand with bash, but personally the Python interpreter is the life-saver here. I love Python and it's simplicity.
Python runs its programs by executing lines at the last minute. What do I mean by that? Well, Python only runs the required lines of code when it is needed. It doesn't check over the entire function or code unless needed in the execution. It runs through each line of code until it either runs into a bug or (hopefully) executes successfully. Fantastic right! Wrong.
I believe the disadvantages can sometimes outweigh the advantages of having each line interpreted during execution. This is because:
- Bugs must be more thorough searched for
- Must have a much more accredited testing system or methodology
- Algorithms may not run properly without immediate realisation
Although this is not a bad thing entirely. This leads to the argument that Python is/is not suitable for large projects. Python can be easily used for large projects and products, take Instagram for example, scalable and today has over 130 million users and 16 billion photos! Go see what their stack is here. The engineers of Instragram kept their values very simple (exactly like the design specifications of Python), don't reinvent the wheel, proven and solid technologies where possible. It has been done before so you can do it right? Yes! Go for it! Python today is becoming a popular language where more support is being offered and start-ups are now considering it for their code-base.
If you sit in the gaming industry you may be already using it for build processes. If not, you better use it quick in fear of not saving enough time for other problems before it comes time to ship.
For those people who develop interesting web applications Django is a based on Python and should be an alternative for all those Node.js people out there.
All in all Python is a great language and should be learned by all engineers and hackers out there. Especially if it's your first language. Use it for those large projects unless computer optimisation and speed is the ultimate key.
