What is the state of Python in 2024?

June 3, 2024 Roberto Magalhães

While it's impossible to declare Python completely future-proof, it's safe to say that the language has longevity and persistence in the modern landscape.

“ I don't think we've hired an employee yet who knows Phyton ,” said Steve Huffman , the CEO and co-founder of Reddit. “ I just say, 'Everything you write needs to be in Python .' Just so I can read it. And it's amazing because I can see from across the room, looking at the screen, whether the code is good or bad. Because good Python code has a very obvious structure. ”

Originally coded in Lisp, Reddit switched to Python just six months after its launch in 2005. And it's just one of a large number of companies adopting the hugely popular language.

Python tied for first place among Stack Overflow is one of the company's “most sought after” technologies for 2021. It is also highly ranked as one of the most popular technology languages and tools. In May 2024, it is not. 1 in the TIOBE Index ranking which it also held in 2021.

Python has gained enormous popularity since its creation and release more than three decades ago. In 2024, what is the market for the language? Who is using it? And why is it still relevant today? Let's take a look at why Python is such an important language to know.

Who is using Python?

Tech giants, startups, government agencies, financial companies, and many other organizations from all fields and industries turn to Python. By 2024, some of the world's top companies have the language in their stacks – many of them have been using it for years and years. Some big companies' most iconic products are even written in Python.

In addition to Reddit, these companies all use Python:

Amazon
Dropbox
Facebook
Google
IBM
Industrial Light and Magic
Instagram
JPMorgan Chase
Lyft
NASA
Netflix
PayPal
Pinterest
Pixar
Quora
Shopify
Spotify
Stripe
Uber

These are just a few examples of the many companies, large and small, that use Python around the world. Given the huge community of developers and technology professionals around Python, it's safe to say that people from all industries and fields are using the language for professional and recreational purposes.

Python in a nutshell

There are hundreds of programming languages to choose from these days. But Python stands out from the masses.

The high-level, easy-to-use, general-purpose, object-oriented interpreted language is widely used for back-end or server-side development, although it can also be applied to front-end development. One of its main advantages is that it allows dynamic typing. It also incorporates garbage collection, which means it automatically manages memory. Furthermore, it is open source and free to use and distribute, leading to low-cost development as well.

But perhaps its most important feature is readability. This quality is present in Python's design and makes the language syntactically simple and intuitive to understand and use. Furthermore, it makes great use of white space, further contributing to its readability.

Python is relatively easy to understand and write. It comes with extensive libraries and frameworks, further facilitating a simple development process.

For what is used?

Python has several uses. These are the most important ones to mention.

Web development

Most commonly, Python is applied to web application development, particularly when you want the process to be fast. Frameworks like Django speed up development.

Data Science

Python is also active in the world of data science. Professionals in the field take advantage of the language's ability to facilitate complex calculations and extract, process and build visualizations, thanks to features such as its simplicity and direct syntax. Scientists and data analysts often use Python in their work because of these qualities.

Machine Learning

As machine learning, a subfield of artificial intelligence, gains traction, Python is also on the rise among developers in this field. In fact, the vast majority of machine learning developers and experts use the language, which helps them achieve goals like product personalization and gaining a greater understanding of consumer habits and behaviors through crafting algorithms. Think about personalized recommendations from Netflix and Amazon, for example.

And the rest

Less commonly, developers use Python in areas such as mobile apps and game development.

What's different in Python 3.10?

On October 4, 2021, Python 3.10.0 was released. The new version offers several features and optimizations compared to version 3.9. According to the Python website they include syntax features, library features, interpreter improvements, and typing features, plus some additional removals and restrictions.

Python version 3.10.4 is the current stable release, the fourth maintenance release of Python 3.10, published on March 24, 2024. Among other additions and improvements, this release provides accurate line numbers for debugging and other tools, aliases explicit types, variable parameter specification, and more.

The future of Python

Python is often in the news, and for good reason. It is often one of the first programming languages that novice developers learn, thanks to its many qualities, including simplicity and easy learning curve, as well as its wide applicability and speed.

There are always rumors about once-beloved programming languages losing appeal, but it's almost certain that Python isn't going anywhere anytime soon. It has persisted for several decades and, in that time, it has only grown in popularity, becoming a constant presence in major companies around the world.

We see how machine learning and data science are growing and gaining momentum, and Python plays a key role in these disciplines. It will most likely continue to be the language of choice for these important areas of focus, helping developers automate, scale, and improve products.

While it's impossible to declare Python completely future-proof, it's safe to ensure that the language has longevity and persistence in the modern landscape – and it's a tool that your company should certainly have in stock for years, and possibly even decades, ahead.

If you liked this article, check out one of our other Python articles.