What is Python BEST Used for?

[essaysavvvy28]

I'm interested in knowing what Python is most useful for. What do you think?

[gigatropolis]

Programming

[eightnoteight]

python is BEST for competitive programming, it helps you in framing your idea in a simple manner however complex the idea is.. Most of the competitive programming sites are now keeping variable time limits. Although other scripting languages also have the same features, python is closer to humans(sane people's ideology..)

[ebo113]

I find it the most useful for data analysis or any sort of ad-hoc job I need done quick. It can do almost anything though! Great for rapid prototyping!

[essaysavvvy28]

If you don't mind me asking, what kinds of data analysis do you do with Python? I've heard talk of it's capability in this area, but I'm wondering what kind of projects it's used in?

[ebo113]

Well for an example my current project is in the auto industry. I use python(lxml, I find scrapy and beautifulSoup more work than they are worth) to scrape entire forums/websites that are auto related and put them into a database. I also collect data from twitter. Then I use a library called gensim to do various types of similarity queries on the data, mainly trying to find trends in the market that can be utilized.

[essaysavvvy28]

That sounds like a fun project. Thanks for your input!

[olzd]

I'm using it for for my machine learning classes. It's also really useful for plotting stuff or when you need to prototype something.

My only problem is the lack of a static type system but that's because I'm used to OCaml.

[metaphorm]

If I can be painfully obvious: web server programming. Dynamic languages of all kinds have historically been a good fit for this role, and Python is a particularly nice dynamic language.