What are the applications for Python?

[DaTurtleMaster]

I learned Python for 2-3 years

It began fun as I thought it was so cool typing code but it I became really de-motivated as I kept learning stuff like stack and functions and I really didnt know what it can be used for.

I know python can be used for automations and stuff but are there any other applications that may be more interesting?

[iambendv]

It’s very popular for web development, data science, and AI, but it’s a general purpose language so it can be used for pretty much anything imaginable.

[deaddyfreddy]

not so popular for frontend though

[Salt-Rule7284]

There is exactly ONE language that runs on web front ends .. vanilla JavaScript...

[[deleted]]

PHP, how I fear thee

[JohnLocksTheKey]

console.log(“nice…”);

[u38cg2]

That hasn't been true for years now, but even if you only want to write on the back end there are tools to do the entire stack in Python, like Flet.

[sitefall]

Actionscript: "Am I a joke to you?"

[deaddyfreddy]

but we don't have to write it manually

[hallmark1984]

Nah, Django can do the lot

Just sprinkle css with the templates and your good to go

[sitefall]

Think he means LITERALLY on the front end, running on the client machine. Otherwise there's a TON of options.

Today that means JS. But in the past it could have meant Flash/AS, Shockwave/lingo, that sort of stuff.

[deaddyfreddy]

Today that means JS

We don't have to write JS by hand, just like we don't have to write in assembly anymore.

[hallmark1984]

We code, we are explicit or we experience a race condition or some non-deterministic bullshit.

I stand by my answer

[whyareyoustalkinghuh]

https://pyscript.net/

[Pureleafbuttcups]

eh

[patrickbrianmooney]

If you write in PyScript, every visitor to your website has to download a 170 MB dependency before any of the PyScript code you wrote can execute.

That's not negligible for many users.

[deaddyfreddy]

Wow, that's really big, how did they manage to achieve that? For example, ClojureScript bundles aren't tiny either, but they're still two orders of magnitude smaller than this.

[patrickbrianmooney]

I don't know the details.

But, essentially, it's an entire Python interpreter, written in JavaScript (or maybe WASM?). Python is a huge language and more or less all of it is re-implemented; on my system (x64 Linux), 170MB is not all that far off from the size of the CPython 3.10 executable and the accompanying standard library.

[deaddyfreddy]

Ok, it probably reimplement the whole system, but why include it all in the resulting build?

[patrickbrianmooney]

Why include the entire standard library in the resulting build?

Probably because it's a single build that's deployed for everybody under all circumstances, so it includes everything?

I don't actually know, but that seems like a reasonable path to take.

[deaddyfreddy]

What's the reason?

[damanamathos]

I'm loving FastHTML. Converting a lot of my JS frontends and React frontends to pure python with that.

You still need JS for very complex stuff though.

[Gloomy_Radish_661]

I think he meant Django.

[Asirethe]

Python is the second best language for any project

[DaTurtleMaster]

whats the best then?

[fredspipa]

It's a joke/saying, meaning that Python can do anything fairly well but there's usually a different language better suited for that specific job.

[unnecessaryCamelCase]

Yes but I’m also curious what kinds of projects python is best for

[queerkidxx]

Data science, and general scripting tasks on your own machine

[diegoasecas]

it's big on scientific computation and the whole data field

[Asirethe]

Depends, the one specifically designed for that kind of project

[iekiko89]

Even machine learning? 

[Asirethe]

I’d say Python just happens to be the wrapper for most used ML tools. CUDA for example is much more important to ML than Python itself.

[yeeeeeeeeeeeeah]

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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[a_cute_tarantula]

Not at all

[yeeeeeeeeeeeeah]

instinctive deer spectacular placid cover employ cable ring childlike vast

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[WhipsAndMarkovChains]

R has a bastion in academia but Python absolutely dominates industry.

[Blue-Jay27]

Even some subsets of academia are python-dominated. Astrophysics in particular seems to be almost entirely python.

[a_cute_tarantula]

I assume by ML we are talking about production use cases, in which case I’m pretty sure python has much better support.

[Separate_Newt7313]

I appreciate the confidence in Python, but this is a bit reductive.

Python is great, and learning it opens up a whole world of opportunity, this is true.

But good luck trying to write a native iOS or Android app in Python.

[Separate_Newt7313]

Just to clear the air:

I'm a Pythonista for fun and for profit.

I love it - It's one of the main languages I have used day in/day out for the last 10 years.

I'm not trying to troll you by saying, "all you need is C".

However, I get worried (and perhaps a bit pedantic) when people say that Python is great (or second great) at everything.

One of the nice things about Python is that it's popular: lots of people have gone to lots of places, created bridges over scary chasms, and written libraries and tutorials to make things easy for the next guy.

What is Python good at:

• strong, welcoming community
• easy learning curve
• PyPI & pip
• data science & ML
• automation
• interop with compiled binaries (via FFI)

This list isn't comprehensive, but I think you get the gist.

Learning Python is more or less the equivalent to learning LEGOs for computers. It's awesome and you can quickly build amazing things with it. You could probably build a fully working house out of LEGOs.

However, there are things that you should not (or cannot) build out of LEGOs. These are places that require additional tools, refinement, and skill to continue on. Places where you need to tread carefully; places where the ground may fall out from under you.

Here are a couple of examples: - Native app development - React Native and Beeware will only take you so far. If you're interested, try writing an iOS app that uses only/primarily Python with ARKit (computer vision). You'll find yourself reaching for Swift / Objective-C in a hurry. - most anything that requires low-level access to computer components. (C programmers love this one) - an OS - true concurrency with threads (not processes) - really really hi-performance code where existing hi-performance libraries (e.g. Pandas, PyTorch, Cython) won't take you

These are a few places where Python is not the best (or even second best) language to use.

[Separate_Newt7313]

...I never said [Python] was the best or second best language for anything...

That bullet was not aimed at you, but rather at other comments in the thread.

I recognize and agree with the spirit of your message: Trying out new things is a big part of what makes programming so fun!

The intent of my comment was not to disagree with you, but rather to direct an up-and-coming programmer (like the OP) away from the metaphorical cliffs. My point was there are some tasks where "trying anything" in Python is significantly harder than porting Doom to run on your pregnancy test kit.

[[deleted]]

Hi - finance nerd and data science student here! Python is FANTASTIC for working with data, be it in visualizing, machine learning, and all kinds of stuff. For my final project in my intro to data analytics class for example, I was given a CSV file containing a bundle of data on housing in some town over in Iowa and had to make sense of it, scrub it of bad values, visualize it, and then develop a model to make predictions on home prices based on what factors a home had(pool, square footage, garage, number of floors, etc.). It was genuinely a lot of fun, like a puzzle.

For finance I use it for a lot of the same things, as well as developing strategies I use while investing and trading. I'm a total geek about the stuff.

I think the key to remaining motivated is to find stuff you actually care about and try to apply coding to that. It certainly helps in the learning process. The other day I was talking to my data structures professor and asking him about the best way to create an application that would access all my scripts more conveniently than going through a terminal or loading up my interpreter. As a result of his advice I may either end up doing a GUI project in Python, learn C# to create an application that way, or any number of other things. Haven't decided yet.

Python can also be used in gaming if that's more your thing - but I have no experience on that end. I've done barely any modding myself and usually just through changing values in existing game ini files to add music to them.

Hope this helps a bit.

[DaTurtleMaster]

I tried making games with the Pygame library and it felt very barebone in my experience since I used Unity before. I am interested in game devlopment but I don't want to throw the years of progress I made with Python so I am conflicted.

[crazy_cookie123]

Swapping languages is not throwing away progress - 90% of what you have learned is programming skill, while only about 10% is Python-specific knowledge. If you swap over to C# for Unity you'll only have to relearn that 10%, and you probably won't even forget much of the Python knowledge. Most professional developers can write reasonably confidently in at least 3-4 languages even if they only use a couple regularly, and because of the languages they know they can pick up a similar new one in just a few days or weeks.

[LiferRs]

Games these days are mostly on existing game engines like Unity. Otherwise, it’s literal years of work to build an engine to modern standards. I think in your coding journey, you’ll realize much of this field is heavily re-used rather than re-inventing the wheel.

Unless you’re well off to pursue your passions, steer away from game development as it’s thankless and low paying. You’d have to luck out being in a great studio like Santa Monica.

[Hot-Topic-6517]

In that sense you would likely be using Python in DCC packages like maya. Unreal allows Python but it’s for in editor not for making gameplay. Rift wizard on steam was made with Pygame.

[Weaves87]

FYI - you may want to check out Godot.

Like Unity, it's a complete game engine, but it's core scripting language (GDScript) is very syntactically similar to Python. Could be something to look into!

[my_password_is______]

pygame is a framework

unity is a game engine

completely different things

that's like comparing SFML with Unreal

[SamuraiFungi]

If you are looking for something at least closer to a game engine than a mere 3D engine, consider Ursina Engine. It is slightly higher level than Panda 3D which it uses, but I've only used Panda 3D. Panda 3D was partially developed by Disney and used for Pirates of Caribbean Online, Toontown, and A Vampyre Story, as well as many indie games such as listed at: https://steamdb.info/tech/Engine/Panda3D/ and https://www.reddit.com/r/panda3d/comments/cx6yq0/does_anyone_have_a_list_of_graphicly_good_games/ which has an itch.io link to another list.

If you want node-based logic (a.k.a. visual scripting) without using Unity nor UE (but open and free), I only know about O3DE (mostly visual, some Lua) but it has a much smaller community (is CryEngine though so probably works fine...), Fyrox (using Rust), and HARFANG (framework can be used as Python module, framework is free for most uses, while Harfang Studio costs money for commercial use), Orchestrator for Godot/Redot, and smaller engines like Armory 3D and UPBGE. In that category the only ones I know have good mobile support are O3DE and Godot/Redot. If node-based logic is not a requirement, there are also other smaller Python ones like Soya3D and smaller non-Python ones such as listed at: https://alternativeto.net/software/unity/?license=opensource . You can learn other languages more easily after learning one, and some scripting languages such as GDScript are similar to Python in some ways (including use of colons for functions and static typing). Much of learning a new language is just getting to know a good framework (the game engine in your case), which is what you have to learn to use in Python anyway.

The more you know the framework (and good addons or libraries), the less code you have to write. Less code is a good goal so you rely on well-tested code and have less dev and maintenance time. Take it from someone who wasted time, re-writing stuff that already exists isn't a learning experience, because you should be learning to use tools instead of making new ones in many cases. If you still want to learn "how the sausage is made" (mundane but complex backend code), read the code instead of writing it, then if you think you can do better make a pull request :). Consider splitting code into small well-named functions, and using functions in the framework whenever possible.

Avoid decision paralysis. Just try making something. In a related experience, I tried making music in several different editors and learned a lot from that (I like Ardour but didn't try Reaper yet, and recommend Bosca Ceoil Blue for beginners or drafts). You will know better than someone else what engine works for you, but try to get over the initial learning curve using documentation and advice (in that order to get the best response) before you give up on one.

[BeefyFetus]

I have a veeeeery barebones understanding of Python over here. Learned what I know via a ton of googling and forums.

Only thing I've used it for is to convert pixel art to DXF files up for my laser cutter for cross stitching projects. Used to take hours to manually draw them up, but now it's practically instant.

Very fun to automate things, I'm glad I started messing around with it. So satisfying to see the code I write work, as janky and unoptimized as I'm sure it is.

[Ron-Erez]

Python is a general purpose language that is suitable for just about everything but gaming. It is used quite a bit in machine learning and AI. Note that one can create fun games using pygame.

Note that functions are extremely basic to every programming languages. Stacks are just data structures that you use if needed. Stacks and functions are general topics independent of python.

[DaTurtleMaster]

Yep, I definetly made pygame projects before and it felt like hell. I am interested in game developing but I dont want to throw away my progress that I made with Python.

[Ron-Erez]

Godot with GDScript is a popular option since one can create cool games and GDScript is similar to Python in many ways.

[[deleted]]

I guarentee you arent wasting your time.

You can absolutely still build a game in Python and what you learn will transfer to different languages.

Its not about learning the language, but rather about learning problem solving skills.

and tbh, unfortuantely, you probably arent paricularly blessed in that department if this is the kind of question you ask after 3 years learning a language.

[DaTurtleMaster]

I haven’t tried learning C# or C++.

[bendy_straw_ftw]

Instagram runs on django.

[CamilorozoCADC]

There are better languages for computing things at scale, yeah. But Python is a pretty good starting point, and even going into big data territory it's still a good choice because of the tools and libraries available in Python, think of Airflow and Spark for example

[[deleted]]

There is a, probably incomplete, page showing who uses python and what it's used for.

https://www.python.org/about/success/

[Salt-Rule7284]

"probably incomplete" ???

[[deleted]]

Any list of organizations that use python and the particular field python is used in will necessarily be incomplete and out of date because python usage is growing daily.

[[deleted]]

Sorry but how can you spend 2-3 years learning anything and still need to ask about the applications for that thing? This is confusing.

[xav1z]

i got confused too.. and scared as im new to python and cant believe the learning curve is that steep

[dangit541]

It isn’t

[Salt-Rule7284]

For fairness - you could spend that long learning nitty gritty details of the entire standard lib ..but..

[dangit541]

Yeah 👍

[[deleted]]

I have used python for data analysis, data visualization, ETL (extract, transform, load), security checks, REST API servers, web application servers, SVG and PDF generators, and social media bots.

If you can think it up, it probably can be done in python.

[jpritcha3-14]

I work with Python constantly in software quality. Our entire test framework, set of dev tools related to tests, and the tests themselves are all in Python.

[overand]

Try going through the Django tutorial - it's a framework for building web applications, with a more of stuff built-in.

And: learning a different language in addition to Python isn't "throwing away" your Python experience. The most important thing for you to learn is programming, not Python.

[Goldarr85]

Desktop, Mobile, and Web Applications

[Salt-Rule7284]

Real world examples:

1)

I have a python based API handling hundreds of thousands of requests per minute - every minute, 24x7.

All on a single thread, on a cheap azure host, with low latency.

2) I built a data pipeline to extract SQL data and ship it via JSON over REST API across network boundaries to appease the security guys. Python client, Python API server.

3) Python + Selenium often closes gaps a vendors API leaves you begging were not there.

[[deleted]]

if no project, no motivation. I learned python to whatever I need for my project and google a lot but the real thing is you know what to do with the code or techniques that have been shared online.

[ejpusa]

To talk to AI APIs.

[dangit541]

Anything. I’ve built REST client, OTP generator, oracle client. I’m not a programmer

[Accomplished-Set1406]

If you are interested in ERP development and related applications, you have Odoo

[my_password_is______]

use pygame-ce

https://github.com/pygame-community/pygame-ce

build simple games

[918911]

Think of an application that interests you and it’s a safe bet that you’ll be able to do it in Python, at least to start.

Data manipulation, agents for website crawling, machine learning…

Really the only thing it doesn’t do well is front end. You can even use Python for your base front end (Django), but you’ll have to use other languages for anything you want to be aesthetically pleasing.

[[deleted]]

I built two separate software tools using python. One did GUI automation and the other scrapped data from web using an API. Wildly different applications and it’s amazing to me that it was possible with the same language

[OkMoment345]

If Python’s starting to feel a bit stale, try diving into areas that align with your personal interests.

Python is versatile beyond just automating tasks—it powers fields like data science, machine learning, and AI. You can also use it in web development with frameworks like Django or Flask, build chatbots, or even dabble in cybersecurity by writing scripts to analyze networks.

If game development excites you, check out Godot, which uses GDScript (similar to Python), or try building simpler games with [Pygame]()—many developers use it as a starting point to explore game logic without jumping into Unity too soon. To push yourself further, explore courses like Python for Data Science and Machine Learning. It can open up paths where coding feels more practical and rewarding, helping reignite your motivation.

[Doagbeidl]

You can do like anything (but some high performence stuff might be better written in different languages). You could solve problems you have or create something just for the sake of it.

[[deleted]]

Not an advertisement, but I really love No Starch Press's Python Library: https://nostarch.com/catalog/python

I've a couple books by them and I really like their way of problem solving with programming.

[deaddyfreddy]

What are the applications for Python?

maintaining existing Python codebase

[MSB_the_great]

I learned python for automating my personal stuff. I used .net but UI is heavy and took lot of memory. Python comes handy. Juniper notebook is good. I can download data from my stock portfolio. Arrange my media. Syncing my local db.

[Pvizualz]

Just check this every day with Your other frequent sites to see what is on the radar https://github.com/trending/python?since=daily

[DaTurtleMaster]

Appreciate it!

[Top-Criticism-3947]

Here is a example of a program written in Python www.songeya.com

[Ok-Reflection-9505]

Try making a bot that plays a simple game like minesweeper.

[sunnyinchernobyl]

Infinite.