Why Does Python Play a Big Role in Data Science

Nikita Joshi

Content Curator

Python is a general-purpose programming language that is used in the development of both web and desktop applications. Python offers functionality to deal with statistical, mathematical, and scientific functions. It provides several libraries to deal with data science applications. With this kind of versatility, it is no surprise that Python is one of the most in-demand programming languages in the world.

Python programming language is taught as the core programming language in schools and colleges due to its countless uses in Data Science, Deep Learning, Artificial Intelligence, etc. The average salary of a Data Scientist is INR 10.5 lakhs per annum. If a Data Scientist has a background in Python, the average salary increases.

Python is widely used by Data Scientists because of its ease of use and simple syntax. It also comes in handy for Data Scientists who do not come from an engineering background. The article further explains how Python plays a big role in Data Science.

Why Python for Data Science?

Python has grown its popularity as a programming language in recent years. Its use in data science, AI, IoT, and other technologies has increased its popularity. Python is a programming language that data scientists recommend because it is user-friendly, has a large community, and has a good library. Other reasons why Python is one of the most popular programming languages for data science include:

Great choice of libraries

Python libraries provide their user's with base-level items so users don’t have to code from scratch every time. AI and Machine Learning require continuous processing of data and Python helps you access, manage and transform the data. Examples of the widespread libraries used for AI and machine learning are: 

• Machine Learning– Keras, Scikit-learn, and TensorFlow
• Data Analysis – NumPy and Pandas
• Data visualization – Seaborn

Easy to Use/Simplicity

While working on data science and machine learning, professionals deal with big data sets that need to be processed effectively and conveniently. The simplicity of the Python language makes it easy for data scientists to learn before they start using it for AI and ML development.

Versatility

Python can easily run on different platforms and operating systems like Windows, Linux, macOS, Unix and others. Python is a general-purpose programming language, meaning it does need any major modifications in the code when it is used on different platforms.

Community/Enough Support

Being an open-source language, Python gives both beginners and professionals access to several resources, which are mostly available online. Python communities and forums are great places for programmers at both beginner and professional levels to discuss errors, support, and help each other solve problems. 

Popularity

Python is among the top programming languages because of its simple syntax structure. Hence, Python can help Python developers in data computation projects. Moreover, in a developer survey by StackOverflow, Python was found as one of the top 10 most popular programming languages.

Most Popular Python Data Science Libraries

Some of the most important Python libraries are:

• NumPy: NumPy library gives the best mathematical function required for handling the maximum dimension array. In addition to this, this library also provides methods or functions for metrics, arrays, and linear algebra.
• Pandas: Pandas is one of the libraries possessed by Python, which is particularly designed for data manipulation and analysis. Besides, the function of this Pandas library is useful for manipulating data on a large scale. Also, developers would feel comfortable handling it.
• Matplotlib: Matplotlib library is specially designed for data visualization. By utilizing this library developers can use different methods for visualizing the data effectively. Besides, the Matplotlib library makes it easy to create graphs, pie charts, and other popular universal grade figures.
• SciPy: SciPy is one of the best Python data science libraries because this library is specifically designed to carry out scientific computing operations and data science. 

Conclusion

Python is a perfect fit, especially for beginners. Its syntax is simple. Although Python is an open-source language, it is used by tech giants such as Facebook, Google Microsoft, and Netflix. This is another indication of the success and popularity of Python. The support of tech giants will further enhance Python and ensure its success. Python is currently one of the most popular programming languages and scores points, especially for its quick learnability. Python will continue to be a popular programming language with good earning potential.