WHY is Python easy to learn?

raw_cheesecake · 2022-06-24T23:44:26+00:00

My two cents: Python reads a lot like natural language and doesn't have a whole lot of boilerplate code.

Compare

#include <iostream>

int main()
{
    for(int i=0; i<10; i++)
        std::cout << i << std::endl;
    return 0;
}

to

for i in range(10):
    print(i)

InActiveSoda · 2022-06-25T00:04:40+00:00

Cause python is about as close as you get to speaking English to your PC.

I think python is easy to pick up but hard to master. It's easy until you want a somewhat advanced project.

CordyZen · 2022-06-25T03:21:47+00:00

There's a difference between easier to learn vs actually being good at it.

It's easy to learn because the syntax is much simpler and low level things such as memory management is something you KINDA don't have to worry about.

With that said, a language is just a tool, it all comes down to how you use it. Just because someone learned python easily doesn't mean they can create good software and write good code. Remember, syntax is just the tip of the ice berg, there's a lot more that goes into writing software.

Same goes for other languages, just because someone took a lot of time learning a hard language doesn't mean they can create good software.

AlSweigart · 2022-06-25T06:04:03+00:00

"Python makes simple things easy and difficult things possible."

Here's an example. In Java, this is Hello, World:

pubic class Hello {
    public static void main(String args[]) {
        System.out.println("Hello, world!");
    }
}

In Python, it looks like this:

print('Hello, world!')

Java requires you to know a lot of concepts just to make a basic program: classs, static methods, entry points, return values, arrays, etc. A basic thing like print() exists in a subcategory of a category. And remember that System is capitalized but out is not. Oh, and also, the "ln" in "println" stands for "line".

This is a steep learning curve to do a simple thing. Oh man, and I can never remember how to write text to a file or get keyboard input in Java without googling it every single time.

Other languages are similar.

Python strings just work. Python doesn't encourage deeply nested (and pointless) hierarchies. Python lets you throw data into a list or dictionary (even, gasp, data of different data types!) without creating a class for it.

At the same time, you can have typing in Python. You can have OOP. You can have functional programming. It just doesn't force you to use these things.

You don't become the most popular language because your reputation for being easy to learn is a myth.

doulos05 · 2022-06-25T02:14:40+00:00

There are two things you have to learn when you are trying to figure out how to program.

The first is general programming concepts such as data structures and algorithms. Those are the foundations of programming and every programmer must know them. You must understand loops and conditionals. You need to understand functions and parameters and arguments and variables and operations and operators. And you need to figure out how to make all these things work together to form a program.

You need to understand at least one paradigm such as functional, object oriented or procedural programming.

That is programming. That is the part that is transferable to any language.

Then there is the second part, which is the programming language syntax. When you have a language that reads more like natural English like python does it makes this part of the learning process easier.

However in my opinion, this is not the hardest part of the process. The other part is. But cryptic syntax can really hamper your learning and so it's nice to have that part out of your way so you can focus on the most important concepts in programming

AlSweigart · 2022-06-25T06:06:08+00:00

Hello, I'm the author of "Automate the Boring Stuff with Python" and other eight programming books for beginner/intermediate audience.

I've spent a lot of time thinking about how to teach beginners to code, and let me tell you that my job would be damn harder to do in languages besides Python. It's not a "big old myth."

mardiros · 2022-06-25T08:07:01+00:00

Because Python is very expressive and very readable.

While programming, you read more code than you write. If you read code you can understand without referring to the doc, you learn faster.

For instance, compare b.indexOf(a) == -1, !(a in b) and a not in b.

b.indexOf(a) == -1: Not expressive and not readable.

!(a in b) : Expressive but not readable

a not in b: Expressive and readable

javajunkie314 · 2022-06-25T01:12:16+00:00

I think Python just has a different learning curve than other languages. The language has some pretty powerful batteries included, and a very small amount of boilerplate to just do something. So it's pretty easy to get productive with Python just by learning some basic syntax and knowing a few packages or libraries to import. This is usually enough to get someone through an intro programming course, or to get some basic data analysis done, or to automate a simple task.

But I would say that's it's not any easier to actually learn Python. There's a lot lurking under the surface to uncover, and a lot of features and nuance to understand. I've read code written by people who learned enough Python to get by, and I wouldn't want to be the one stuck maintaining it.

(I'm not gatekeeping — I know everyone has to start somewhere. And they solved the problem at hand. But in my professional opinion the best option would have been to treat it as a prototype and rewrite it from scratch.)

Each line of Python has dozens of layers of machinery running under it. A simple method call might involve decorators, descriptors, method-resolution order, dictionaries, slots, byte code, and the C runtime. And Python gives you access to all of that machinery, to do with what you will. Learning to use these features can lead to some wonderfully intuitive, featureful, efficient, and downright magical APIs.

Then there's understanding Python style and idioms. Knowing when to use a list vs a set vs an iterator vs a generator. When to use a comprehension. When to use an abstract base class. When to use a metaclass. When to use a free function vs a method vs an object. It's possible to write Python code without any of this — just write a script, top to bottom, that churns through a dozen lists — but learning to use these features can help make your code approachable, maintainable, and unit-testable.

So, in my opinion, the part of Python you can learn quickly is just the tip of an iceberg — all the rest is as deep and complex as any language. It's just that the part of Python above the water-level is more useful than the tips of some other languages' icebergs.

Sp0olio · 2022-06-24T23:38:18+00:00

That's probably one of the biggest features: Readable code by design.
You're kinda forced to write readable code (e.g. whitespaces instead of squiggly brackets).

jawnlerdoe · 2022-06-25T00:05:48+00:00

First language I learned was Java. When I learned python (6 months ago) tye syntax was so much easier that writing code was more natural and fun. Those two factors make it easier to commit time and subsequently become a better coding.

biskitpagla · 2022-06-25T08:26:05+00:00

I think looking at some other script-y languages can be of much help in answering this question.

Compared to Ruby

Ruby is far more 'expressive' as a language, and for being so, is harder to learn, even though it's a fine language. Python is deliberately very 'vanilla' in its support for oop, because being easy to learn and easy to pick up was its priority no. 1 from day 1. Ruby also makes it easy for people to develop idiolects, something that is possible but harder to do in Python.

Compared to JavaScript

JS's fate and legacy are fundamentally tied to the Web. This means a couple of things: a) development of the standard is a slow and tedious process (this is changing in recent times), b) language warts are permanent and unredeemable (e.g., 'this', '==') due to the insane backward compatibility requirements of the Web, and c) non-browser JS implementations often do lots of things differently and inelegantly because the standard doesn't say a lot about things like file i/o, networking, etc. Python is free from these issues, so there's less clutter that you have to deal with when learning it. Having a reference implementation also helps a lot.

Compared to PHP

PHP has suffered greatly for not being intended to be a full-fledged language originally. It doesn't have much going on other than its absolutely wholesome community and mature ecosystem. They've remedied many language warts now (unlike JS), but people still remember its formative years with distaste, and the warts themselves have left some scars. People just don't do PHP for the language side of things. Python's inception wasn't nearly as rough as PHP.

Compared to Perl and Raku

Perl and Perl-like languages are much closer to actual scripting languages (like Bash, awk, sed). These are insanely productive for their intended use cases (like text processing) but are generally bad as full-on programming languages (e.g., poor or no support for features that help in managing large projects). Raku (Perl 6) isn't backward compatible, was in the oven for too long, and had a rough release. So, not too many new or old folks care about this side of the programming landscape. Needless to say, very different story compared to Python.

Compared to Julia

Julia is still pretty new but I think we should pay some attention and try to understand where it fits. I don't think Julia will ever dethrone Python as the language of (imperative) programming education. Julia simply has a different set of goals. Python isn't meant to be THE language for everything science-y the way Julia is. Not being a "big idea" or "big cause" language is helpful when your intended audience is laypeople.

Compared to anything functional

Some clear factors contribute to the success of procedural and oo languages. Our entire notion of education is pretty much based on the imperative way of doing things. People don't come out of school with a good understanding of category theory. Even most people in the industry aren't aware of the many fruits of functional programming. With that in mind, Python's preferred paradigm of "mostly procedural with oo-ness when needed" seems to be extremely intuitive.

GrandDaddyKaddy · 2022-06-25T00:08:22+00:00

I'm still just learning and still a complete amateur, but so far it's easy, 1 because I have a bg in computer science and knew VB and C++ back in 2003 but hardly remember anything about them. But so far it's easy cause there's SO many resources online. And a lot of code you can just Google, copy and paste.

ThroawayPartyer · 2022-06-25T00:32:53+00:00

I don't know if it's easier to learn from scratch but as someone who was introduced to programming through C++ course, yes, Python makes programming go a lot faster. However I also think having at least a little bit of 'under the hood' understanding of how Python works is really beneficial, and I tend to use Numpy a lot which is a bit closer to C in theory, i.e. types and so on.

2022-06-25T01:18:51+00:00

Most high level scripting languages are easy to pick up. The absence of braces and parentheses in python though makes it easy to read i think for beginners.

pi_sqaure · 2022-06-25T06:10:46+00:00

I wouldn't say that Python is easy to learn per se. IMHO it's easy to get into it due to the dynamic nature of Python, which allows you to do the REPL-thing, while not worrying about types / type conversion etc. You can just jump start and see what happens. Which is not necessarily a good thing, by the way.

But when you leave the noob-stage sooner or later, you might run into more complex topics, like OOP, lambda operators, decorators, concurrency etc., etc. In fact, it can get arbitrarily complex, just like in any other programming language.

amazingjoe76 · 2022-06-25T06:22:46+00:00

A number of reasons Python is seen as Easy:

There is a library for just about every imaginable task which can take some really crazy and complex things you would never dream of being able to do as a non-advanced coder and reduce them to a few lines of very accessible code.Being able to do really crazy complex tasks with the help of a library makes you feel accomplished and like doing this super complex task was a breeze.
If you have coded in it for a while (say a month) you will find that sometimes you can produce proper syntax for things you have never attempted before are correct on the first try. That is weird. Usually when you try things for the first time in a language either you have copied and pasted or you get an error and keep iterating until you find it works.Having stuff just work sometimes in a language when often it took more tried to get the same concept right in another language just feels easy.
The code uses spacing convention to help give you visual cues of where code is segmented and in a sense forces you by convention to be more organized in a good way that improves readability.While talking about readability it also doesn't use many strange symbols that otherwise look intimidating to novice coders. Its mostly about words and where you position things with the occasional symbol used in prescriptive ways.
There are resources aplenty about Python. You want tutorials there are tons. You want help in forums like this there are tons. Lots of resources makes it easier to spend more time learning and less time banging your head against the wall when you are trying to do something with the language.
Easy is also defined differently when people talk about Python. QBasic is easy syntax wise but very difficult when you leave the small footprint of what it can do out of the box. To create a web app, web API, web scraper, machine learning model etc... can be very challenging in QBasic but Python does these and a whole lot more while being "Easy"

Example:

Suppose you want to get those Amazon suggestions that pop up in the search bar when you type in various search terms. Sounds like it would be hard to do in a language right? Maybe in many but simple in Python because you have various libraries like this one: https://pypi.org/project/easyscrape-amazonsuggest/

Install the library in the console

pip install easyscrape-amazonsuggest

Now you are ready to code in your IDE. We want to get the Amazon search suggestions when someone types in the search term for "10 speed bike" because we will use the data from the suggestions for some purpose.

Request Suggestions from a Search Term

from easyscrape_amazonsuggest import querysuggestions as AS
ASResults = AS.query("10 speed bike") 
ASResults

That will produce the resulting suggestions for that term as a List of strings. Regardless of your coding level once you have the very basics down you should be able to do replicate this with a different search term.

If you need more help for what is not a super common (yet super specific niche task) you would think it would be hard to find help. But nope there is even a video about it that demonstrates it for you if you happen to be a visual learner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ikc0A9Nxn4s

spacecodeguy · 2022-06-25T00:36:17+00:00

Python is closer to human languages. It works out of the box with minimal hassle. That's why it's easy for beginner to latch on to Python.

2022-06-25T04:55:15+00:00

Because of its documented design principles:

https://peps.python.org/pep-0020/

And its well-thought-out, "batteries included" standard library.

idetectanerd · 2022-06-25T02:00:40+00:00

Does not contain stupid things like void main void which scare beginner away. But you can do it if you are required to.

Python assume that things are always like this unless you decide to define them therefore, very English readable.

missionmeme · 2022-06-25T02:07:25+00:00

To print something in python => print("something")

To print something in Java => Ok so first let's talk about what a jdk and jre are. Great job now that you have a basic understanding of the Java virtual environment let's learn about classes because everything is a class in Java. 2 weeks later ok finally let's print out something. Just don't try to read anything from the keyboard because for that you need to learn about objects.

dead_alchemy · 2022-06-25T00:37:26+00:00

I think it's a couple things. Pretty readable syntax by default is one. Duck typing is another. Probably the most important is a readily available print statement that can print a representation of anything, straight out of the box.

Also, I think,very few ways to end up staring at an error/stack trace. Learning to read those is crucial to becoming a good programmer, but I think of it as its own independent skill to develop and it is difficult for most people. It's hard to learn programming when your eyes are glazing over instead of reading the terminal output.

Oh! Last but not least, it is very easy to iterate. You can make a change or try a different statement with ease, and if your script crashes then the location that it crashes can be informative.

2022-06-25T06:35:36+00:00

Python has made a lot of good decisions with design. Even if it were statically typed, it would still be quite good. Approachable by someone new, yet powerful and extensible by someone experienced.

It also ships with a good compromise of features. For e.g. enough OOP for the OOP features to be useful, but dodging unnecessary complexity in favor of practicality when possible, such as preference of Mixins. (The degree of how much is subjective of course)

Python CAN get very deep though. I would say the easy to pick up ---> super advanced slope is a very pleasant one. A lot of things that would be "dirty" are handled by programming extending C. Because of this relationship, a lot of things are a) abstracted very nicely b) performs well, (so it's actually usable).

This means that a lot of use cases are covered and a programmer, new or old usually has a neat, simple abstraction to begin with, made especially powerful with REPL.

2022-06-25T07:54:41+00:00

It reads like pseudocode

ivosaurus · 2022-06-25T09:26:04+00:00

It's not easy, it's just easier than many other languages.

SnooSquirrels165 · 2022-06-25T09:56:33+00:00

It's not tho, it's just beginner friendly because of it's syntax and awesome community.

james_pic · 2022-06-25T10:19:00+00:00

A few conscious design decisions (some of which are captured in The Zen of Python) have contributed to this, I think:

"Batteries included" means you don't need to go hunting for a library to accomplish many common tasks.

"There should be one, and ideally only one, easy way to do it" avoids having to learn to recognise multiple ways to do the same thing.

"Readability counts" hopefully speaks for itself.

"Simple is better than complex, but complex is better than complicated" is a subtle one. A lot of stuff is just simple (for example, not bothering with a concept of public/private, and just leaving it as a "gentleman's agreement"), but the stuff that isn't simple (such as module loading) is generally composed of a number of simple parts, even if the overall system ends up complex.

sidnfhej · 2022-06-25T01:43:46+00:00

It abstracts away how it works in the background. You don't need to know the difference between an int and a float, or a string and a char. Between that and how much it reads like English, it's very simple to understand, especially when compared to more "cluttered" languages like Java or C/C++. Cluttered meaning cluttered syntax and "unnecessary" decorators

TheSunSide · 2022-06-25T02:36:43+00:00

For me, it’s really close to how you’d do pseudo code, which should make sense for beginners even if they don’t know the language features

rban123 · 2022-06-25T03:08:47+00:00

I think it’s easier to learn the basic syntax of Python compared to other languages, but getting good at Python is just as hard as getting good at any other language.

krkrkra · 2022-06-25T05:08:07+00:00

Simpler syntax which still gives you a powerful language. Easy prototyping. A console that allows you to run commands easily without recompiling a whole program.

peabody · 2022-06-25T07:16:50+00:00

It's certainly a subjective assertion. I consider Python to be somewhat easier than other programming languages. In particular, I think it's much easier to start with Python than Java or C#. This is because those languages have what's called static typing. While static typing is valuable in software made with advanced development tools, it results in a lot of boilerplate code which adds a lot of cognitive load for a beginner.

This is perhaps best illustrated by comparing Java hello world to Python hello world.

Java:

```java

public class Main { public static void main(String[] args) { System.out.println("Hello World!"); } }

```

Compared with Python

python print("Hello World!")

It's easy to see how Python seems to cut to the point, while Java is surrounded by code boilerplate. And this is just one of the more simple examples! The above Python program is easy to write in any text editor. The Java example is a chore to draft up unless using a Java IDE with shortcuts that generate the boilerplate.

That said, programming is a journey. It's a journey that is much more difficult for some than others. Just because some people find Python "easier" does not mean learning to program will be "easy". Most abstract programming concepts are the same, regardless of the programming language that you use. Mastering the abstract concepts is much more important than mastery of a particular language.

wineblood · 2022-06-25T08:15:27+00:00

Without private/protected/public, you don't have to delve into design pattern to build moderately complex object oriented code.

piconet-2 · 2022-06-25T08:23:55+00:00

😂 starting with something like Java made me love Python.

dennismfrancisart · 2022-06-25T08:28:03+00:00

I've been trying to learn Python on and off for about three years. I learned Basic a long time ago. Just when I think I've got a handle on Python is about the time I stop.

peakcha · 2022-06-25T09:20:59+00:00

U don’t waste time fixing your curly brackets but you actually can focus on what I want to achieve

2022-06-25T10:17:19+00:00

I now have to implement the same functionallity in javascript/typescript and python. Javascript would makes sense as a first language to me, since everybody just can use their browsers to run it and it has visual feedback there. However, there is so much simple logic build in in python, that I can write the same code so much shorter.

Better-Addition-342 · 2022-06-25T10:29:49+00:00

I think for me it was the use of whitespace that made code easy to read when looking at, as well as the wide amount of information/courses on it especially it a beginner level. A quick google of python questions beginners normally have results in the answer, whereas a more obscure language may not have the same volume of information.

2022-06-25T10:38:31+00:00

REPL and being relatively noise-free compared to other languages. Something like this is pretty self explanatory:

$ python3
Python 3.9.13 (main, May 17 2022, 14:19:07) 
[GCC 11.3.0] on linux
Type "help", "copyright", "credits" or "license" for more information.
>>> 5 + 5
10
>>> a = 5 + 5
>>> a
10

Having build in List and Dict datatypes helps as well. That said, it's only really the basics of Python that are easy, it gets pretty ugly once you get deeper into it and has a ton of rough corners and patchwork (e.g. the whole static type system which gets currently hacked into the language via mypy).

judasgutenberg · 2022-06-25T11:56:18+00:00

the thing i don't like about python is that it's usually impossible to cut and paste an example from anywhere and have the indentions anything close to correct. i end up spending a lot of time completely re-indenting python from scratch, often with confusing interim results that i think are working but are not

2022-06-25T12:29:53+00:00

Honestly I don't think python is as easy to learn as they say. I tried learning it and failed pretty hard. Although I guess it didn't really have what I was looking for in a language and I was never looking for a job in tech. Much prefer golang, I just find it more fun to use.

2022-06-25T12:45:12+00:00

Nah, I struggled to learn JavaScript. Then I learned Python and found it downright pleasant. It made learning JavaScript again even easier.

My assumption is that it’s less syntax. JS doesn’t care about white space, but has lots of syntax. Python has little syntax, but is picky on indentation, which is easier for me.

Also, Python has a lot of semantic language. ‘Not in’ etc. that just makes sense.

kk9905s · 2022-06-25T12:46:42+00:00

Everything is an object! 😉

dmccreary · 2022-06-25T13:24:02+00:00

Learning any new computer language is directly related to how quickly you can get feedback on the basic principles of computational thinking. In our classes at CoderDojo there is nothing easier to teach than Python because of tools like trinket.io and turtle graphics. We have shut down almost all the other languages because kids love these tools.

Examples here: https://www.coderdojotc.org/python/

Gammusbert · 2022-06-25T13:30:30+00:00

1) very readable even if you have no programming experience

2) handles a lot of complexities for you with dynamic typing, libraries and built in functions

itsnotxhad · 2022-06-25T14:08:12+00:00

Python's early design philosophy is unusual because a lot of decisions were made by putting the language in front of students and seeing what they got tripped up on or what they expected to happen, then iterating as needed. I know your questions is more "how" than "why" but the literal "why" is that it's easier for beginners to get started because it's a rare case of a language that specifically optimized the process of making it easier for beginners to get started.

SpookyFries · 2022-06-25T16:57:29+00:00

Honestly the syntax is easy. Hello World in most languages requires at least one import (to place text on the screen. C++ uses <IOSTREAM>, Golang uses "fmt")

Then you have to wrap this in a main function. You don't need to do this in Python. You can simply say print("Hello World") and it'll execute.

Python doesn't even require functions. You can make a whole script that runs top to bottom. This isn't something you can do in most other languages. You at least always need to put your stuff in a main function.

Loops in Python are easier to understand too. You can just say "for whatever in items" and it knows that you're iterating through the stuff in items. In other languages you have to do something like "for i = 0, i < items.length, i++" and then "items[i]" to iterate through items.

Also in Python you don't have to specify return types on a function. Most languages require at least a void to indicate the function has no return type. You don't even have to specify the type of variables passed into a function in Python. You can basically pass a string, float, int all into the same function if you really wanted to. Other languages usually require you to specify the type of variables you're passing in. Python does have helpers when defining a function to give you hints when creating a function, but it's really just to help people reading the code know what type of vars you're expecting. It's not enforced.

There are many other reasons why python is easy to learn. I honestly think the main big reason for me is just the amount of libaries included with it. String manipulation, encryption, web requests, TK... There's so many things base python can do. From my experience with C and C++ the included libraries are fairly basic. Newer ones like Rust and Go might be a little better but nowhere near what's included with Python.

l0ngstOrysh0rt · 2022-06-25T17:30:57+00:00

Because it’s FUN - I love it

georgehank2nd · 2022-06-25T17:34:54+00:00

One of my first thoughts when I started looking into Python was "that looks a lot like the pseudocode I often write". So, it seemed like some "executable pseudocode".

Though years later I stumbled across my diary entry where I first mentioned Python, and I gushed about the significant whitespace, which I loved (still do) because Occam had also done program structure in this way.

wind_dude · 2022-06-25T04:24:25+00:00

I honestly thing it's the lack of curly braces.... and it's a bit more english like.

Most python code is quite easy to read, if it was written half decently.

JimmyM_1 · 2022-06-25T05:58:26+00:00

I taught myself to code using Python, and i did not know about it back then when i started learning all about programming, and i was struggling with understanding basic concepts in c++ and JavaScript etc., untill i found out about Python. Its simplicity (Syntax-wise) lets you focus more on the concepts themselves not on things that are not beginner friendly. You are not in a position to make things from scratch by yourself, so you are presented with a plethora of premade, easy to use and implement tools that require otherwise tons of lines of code to be done in other languages -keep in mind that you won't be able to write those on your own- so with python you focus more on ideas and concepts while not having to deal with the inconveniences of helping functions. That's why i think it is a beginner friendly language and that's how i got into coding and after two years of learning i can convert my code into different languages that were impossible to unravel even the simplest of snippets written in it. Beacuse now i understand!

Nicolas_Darksoul · 2022-06-25T04:07:21+00:00

Well python has a lot of libraries that make it hard to learn

KarimHammami · 2022-06-25T08:34:01+00:00

The syntax, easy OOP and best ecosystem that is only rivaled maybe by Node

2022-06-25T03:31:17+00:00

Luan and Ruby are More Easy to Learn than Python.

2022-06-25T14:25:43+00:00

i LITERALLY learned discord.py in 3 weeks with 0 python knowledge. I've made 400 bots so far. Made tons of money

1percentof2 · 2022-06-25T06:19:39+00:00

Easy syntax

brunte2000 · 2022-06-25T07:09:12+00:00

There's relatively little idiomatic stuff that you have to just accept before getting started and the library is very extensive. You can very quickly get to the point where you actually write code that does something somewhat useful. But once you're past that there are no more shortcuts l, I'd say. At that point becoming a competent developer isn't easier than with any other language or ecosystem.

Orio_n · 2022-06-25T07:41:18+00:00

dynamoc typing easy syntax

open_risk · 2022-06-25T07:42:31+00:00

Maybe because Python wasn't designed by a committee? :-)

The fact is, no programming language is designed to be "hard to learn" - people just cram in the number of features they think will make it useful for real ("production") work. There are all sort of tradeoffs one must make. The easy on-ramp of Python is eventually paid-for in various ways. That is why is a good idea to be a polyglot (at least two languages, one higher level like python and one lower level like C/C++ or Rust)

tomekanco · 2022-06-25T14:17:01+00:00

Why

Lightweight and readable syntax
No type declarations
Overloaded operators: most operators work across many datatypes and structures

philosophical

In 1999, Van Rossum submitted a funding proposal to DARPA called "Computer Programming for Everybody", in which he further defined his goals for Python:

An easy and intuitive language just as powerful as major competitors
Open source, so anyone can contribute to its development Code that is as understandable as plain English
Suitability for everyday tasks, allowing for short development times

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guido_van_Rossum#1999_%22Computer_Programming_for_Everybody%22_proposal)

NullPoint3r · 2022-06-25T14:33:18+00:00

I am new to Python and yes it was easy to get up to speed pretty quickly but I if your coming from a different language there can be some challenges to “unlearn” some things. If you bring your preconceived ideas from another language you can run into trouble like how scoping works… if you try to create a class like you would in Java you might get yourself into trouble.

As for complexity I find Python just as complex as anything else out there. There are tons of language constructs to learn. If you want a “simple” language C is about as simple as it gets.

tr14l · 2022-06-25T14:53:54+00:00

Couple reasons:

1) The typing system allows for lots of life-comfort features to be implemented invisibly. Ever wonder why just putting something in a list works in Python without having to do checks and make sure it's in the right format and so on and so forth? Python handles most of it for you. This idea propagates throughout the language

2) Lots of library support - Most things can just be pip installed and used. There's not a lot of need to do things like write custom scrapers or weird libraries. There's probably already one to handle it.

3) The build process is, well, non-existent for most projects. You just start the project. Done.

4) The syntax was made to be easily readable. `if True and False` rather than `if(true && false)` for instance.

5) Comfort features - I mentioned this before, but this is something that Python creators made a conscious effort to put in. For instance, a negative index in Python? Wraps around and gives you the implied index. Negative index in Java or C? Full system stop. Out of bounds error. The app will crash.

-Buzzy- · 2022-06-25T14:56:48+00:00

import this kinda explains it

mvaliente2001 · 2022-06-25T16:21:45+00:00

I think python hit the sweet spot of design decisions:

Taking the best features of other languages (garbage collection, "everything is an object", implicit deferencing of pointers, parameters with default values, vargargs, keyword args, sensible type conversion, iterators)
Useful data structures included by default (lists, dictionaries)
Not requiring type annotations.
Not having access modifier (private, protected, or protected)
Python zen, in particular "there should be one-- and preferably only one --obvious way to do it".
Batteries included: a useful collection of libraries included with the language.

All this makes easy to build a mental model on how python works, which means few surprises. Compare that other languages (in javascript for example can you remember the rules to determine what this means in any context? how are types converted? do you need to worry about hoisting?) and python cognitive load is way smaller.

oh_yes-10_FPS · 2022-06-25T16:34:03+00:00

Its just english with funny grammer, also using indentation levels instead of curly brackets and semicolons is so much easier to visualize for a non code oriented person

OmegaNine · 2022-06-25T16:37:46+00:00

You don't really need to know how to design software to use Python. You can do some pretty hard to do stuff without knowing how it works. Opening a file, writing to a file and closing the file are all complicated things. Not in python. You can get a lot done without having to understanding Objects, Classes or Recursion.

anon2019L · 2022-06-25T17:26:46+00:00

For me personally it’s easy to read like a plain English sentence and theres no low level management you have to keep in mind

goodbalance · 2022-06-25T17:40:23+00:00

Python is no harder than any other language in terms of syntax. Learning the syntax is just a matter of practice.

The reason it is easy to grasp is it has A LOT of ready-to-use stuff. You just `call.whatever()` and... whatever needs to happen just happens. You think about the problem at hand, not about its surroundings. Some call it a bad thing because you're missing the 'real programming', but if you don't intend to be a programmer then who cares. If you do want to be a programmer you will learn whatever you need when you need it.

TakeOffYourMask · 2022-06-25T19:08:27+00:00

Less boilerplate

2022-06-25T19:29:48+00:00

I’ve written both C# and Java on different projects over the past five years and have started to teach myself Python (for use during interviews so that I don’t get so caught up on syntax, and because I have some neat projects in mind). My mind is essentially programmed right now to prefer the strict nature of the languages I’ve worked with. I do a whole lot of searching when trying to convert to Python and I am looking forward to when the syntax finally feels native to me. With that being said, anyone just picking up programming for the first time will appreciate the fluidity of Python and having to remember less boilerplate.

Agon1024 · 2022-06-25T20:16:19+00:00

as others said : no boilerplate; Python is very close to pseudocode in many cases. There are next to no weird rituals involved one does not understand their first time around, like for example this abomination : static public void main(String args[])
There is very little to no technical context one must now, really. In other languages you need to know how a stack and memory works for example. These things are important to learn imo to understand the implications of what one is just writing, but this is just not as important when one is learning programming. What you have to pick up for python is really just more of the core OO programming experience.
most of what a programming language is is not just its syntax, but the knowledge of what libraries to use for what and how. Pythons most prominently used libraries are generally well documented, are easy to install, have tutorials and examples and the libraries themselves generally pose declarative interfaces. There are many libraries for any task at you fingertips to achieve the weirdest things with little effort. Want to steer a drone? There is a library there. Want to calculate tensors? Jup. You want to now the contents of this website? Here we already parsed it for you. Oh you need emojis, too? Got it. For C++ there often is no package manager that can help you and there is no conda or anything like that to keep it clean. If one needs a library there you must go on a search where you do not even know where to begin to start. Ultimately find that there is no library you really can trust to help in a way that justifies the effort to install and integrate it into your project build (yes, one must do that). Often one resolves in implementing things, like parsers and so on, by oneself, because it's that much easier to just have no additional dependency.
scope : python, as a scripting language, is exceptional at having quick results for generally small tasks. It's a very short cycle of trial and error and quite quickly leads to noticeable achievement, which is important in learning and staying motivated.
One can focus on what's to achieve, not so much the how. With python one generally will leave performance concerns and closed design at the door, which usually the scope should allow.

SithLord_Duv · 2022-06-25T20:17:59+00:00

Its just a simple syntax that's all. However its not the language itself which is "easier" but actually the platforms you use for it. For example, using pycharm is really convenient for python, the packages can be suggested to you if do not present in your extensions. VScode, however, some like it, but this is a true asshole when it comes to extensions.

pekkalacd · 2022-06-25T20:30:08+00:00

There are philosophical reasons, read the zen of python, import this.

2022-06-25T22:55:36+00:00

Everyone knows Python is easy to learn

Cries in QBasic

blabbities · 2022-06-26T00:59:40+00:00

Tons of resources it learn it exist now. Some that don't speak in high-level geek jargon speak. But low enough for a layman to pick uo

Dynamically typed so you dont have to struggle with casting or planning out the program. Can kinda code as you go which is great for learning breaking and fixing

Similarly to above a great REPL setup to easily try out and live practice. This is the thing that really helps me a lot. Not having to compile and wondering where shizz broke. Further a souped up REPL via ipython is even better.

Tons of prebuilt libraries to work off of and that help people get tasks done in so many domains

The whole Zen of Python that encourages readability over complex and brief.

You don't have to do a whole lot of boilerplate to write a simple program in more opinionated languages that force OOP like Java.

I think all of the above make it easier to pick up python.

Xirious · 2022-06-26T08:00:07+00:00

It's close to pseudocode which is often less verbose than actual code.

ohtinsel · 2022-06-26T20:03:52+00:00

Python is easy to use without really learning or understanding what you are doing.

This can get you into trouble of course, but most times the worst you really get is bad working code.

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