Python Advantages and Disadvantages

In this python tutorial, we will learn the advantages and disadvantages of python that will help you in knowing benefits of learning Python programming.

Let us see Introduction to Python.

Advantages of Python

Let’s see why Python is cool.

Extensive Libraries

Like we mentioned in our article on Python features, it downloads with an extensive library. These contain code for various purposes like regular expressions, documentation-generation, unit-testing, web browsers, threading, databases, CGI, email, image manipulation, and more. So, we don’t have to write the complete code for that manually.

Extensible

As we have seen earlier, Python can be extended to other languages. You can write some of your code in languages like C++ or C. This comes in handy especially in projects.

Embeddable

Complimentary to extensibility, Python is embeddable as well. You can put your Python code in your source code of a different language, like C++. This lets us add scripting capabilities to our code in the other language.

Improved Productivity

The language’s simplicity and extensive libraries render programmers more productive than languages like Java and C++ do. Also, the fact that you need to write less lets more get done.

Learn more about the comparison between Python and Java.

IOT Opportunities

Since Python forms the basis of new platforms like Raspberry Pi, it finds the future bright for Internet Of Things. This is a way to connect the language with the real world.

Simple and Easy

When working with Java, you may have to create a class to print ‘Hello World’. But in Python, just a print statement will do. It is also quite easy to learn, understand, and code. This is why when people pick up Python, they have a hard time adjusting to other more verbose languages like Java.

Readable

Because it is not such a verbose language, reading Python is much like reading English. This is also why it is so easy to learn, understand, and code. It also does not need curly braces to define blocks, and indentation is mandatory. This further aids the readability of the code.

Object-Oriented

This language supports both the procedural and object-oriented programming paradigms. While Python functions help us with code reusability, classes and objects let us model the real world. A class allows the encapsulation of data and functions into one.

Free and Open-Source

Like we said earlier, Python is freely available. But not only can you download python for free, you can download its source code, make changes to it, and even distribute it. It downloads with an extensive collection of libraries to help you with your tasks.

Portable

When you code your project in a language like C++, you may need to make some changes to it if you want to run it on another platform. But it isn’t the same with Python. Here, you need to code only once, and you can run it anywhere. This is called Write Once Run Anywhere (WORA). However, you need to be careful enough not to include any system-dependent features.

Interpreted

Lastly, we will say that it is an interpreted language. Since statements are executed one by one, debugging is easier than in compiled languages.

Refer top 10 Books of Python to learn more features of python.

Disadvantages of Python Programming Language

So far, we’ve seen why Python is a great choice for your project. But if you must choose it, you should be aware of its consequences as well. Let’s now see the downsides of choosing Python over another language.

Speed Limitations

We have seen that Python code is executed line by line. But since Python is interpreted, it often results in slow execution. This, however, isn’t a problem unless speed is a focal point for the project. In other words, unless high speed is a requirement, the benefits offered by Python are enough to distract us from its speed limitations.

Let us see why should you learn Python.

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