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Programming language Python is about 10 years younger than Kim Kardashian. In this case, age really does come before beauty. One is versatile, predictable and has earned growing popularity. The other, well, not consistently.
Google searches for Python have outstripped those for Kim Kardashian in the United States last year. (Though it’s worth noting perhaps that she rallied in popularity with those topless Instagram pics in January.)
Queries for the language, long a favorite with open-source folks, have tripled since 2010 while searches for other programming languages have been flat or declining, according to The Economist. In our own quicky search of Google Trends, Python also appears to be more sought after in liberal states than conservative ones.
Python provides the backbone for YouTube, DropBox, Instagram, Reddit, plus organizations like CERN and NASA. Some 286,701 users have contributed 147,123 projects to the “cheese shop,” the nickname for the Python Package Index, a nod to Monty Python that runs through so much of the language. The APIs have been dubbed the best-kept secret of OpenStack, too.
Currently Codecademy’s most requested language, it’s considered a great starter language for kids, marketers and otherwise command-line shy journalists — including this one. Python has also been the most popular beginner programming course at U.S. universities since 2014. You can “Learn it the Hard Way,” “Learn it in One Day” or try out the crowdfunded New York Times bestseller and “Learn Python Visually.” Along the way, Python has also influenced other languages such as Go, Swift and Ruby.
Python recently celebrated almost 30 years of all-purpose programming — and weathered the decision of creator and benevolent dictator Guido van Rossum to step down.
Hi Guido, here's a message from the EuroPython 2018 Attendees for you … all the best from all of us!#EuroPython #Python #GuidoVanRossum pic.twitter.com/q1xx4QF0Mt
— EuroPython (@europython) July 26, 2018
Citing the demise of once-popular programming languages such as Fortran and Basic, The Economist doesn’t go so far as to predict an always shining future for Python. Then again, as Kim Kardashian once said, “I love when people underestimate me and then become pleasantly surprised.”
Full story over at The Economist
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