Over the past few years, the proper functioning of many sectors has become dependent on smoothly running software. Technology has greatly influenced industries such as banking, education, science, entertainment, and scientific research. Most of the equipment or services that support the operation of these fields rely on code that is well-built in a programming language. There are many languages like this today, however, in this article, we will focus on one – Python, which undoubtedly had a major impact on the world around us.
Python is a very popular programming language. It was created in 1989 by Guido Van Rossum, and it is considered advanced technology, allowing programmers to achieve high performance with less code. Python works well with all major operating systems such as iOS, Windows, and Linux, so it can be used to create numerous applications. Python is an open-source language and combines features of functional, structured, and object-oriented programming. The language implements the DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself) principle, which makes Python code more readable. A rich collection of libraries that satisfy a wide range of Data Science and development requirements, an extensive community, and simplicity of understanding make it one of the most popular programming languages according to Stack Overflow.
In this article, we’ll introduce you to applications that we’re sure you’re familiar with, but you may have had no idea they were developed using Python!
Dropbox
The concept behind Dropbox is that it offers file storage services in the “cloud” that is, online. With it, users can store most of their files without any need to upload them to an external drive. To access your photos, videos, documents, etc., all you have to do is connect to the network and log in.
Dropbox co-founder Drew Houston is a big fan of Python and values its flexibility and simplicity. For this reason, the company used Python to build the backend and client software. The developers also integrated history options, using the Django framework, synchronized accounts around devices, and included a file sharing option.
It’s probably impossible to not be associated with Instagram. In 2021, according to Statista.com, there were up to 1.21 billion monthly active users of the Met’s Instagram, which represented more than 28 percent of the world’s Internet users. Instagram is an application that was originally used to share photos alone, but its functions have expanded significantly over the past few years. Nowadays, Instagram is used to publish very rich content, which is still based on visual qualities.
Many programming languages were involved in building Instagram, but their application servers were built using Python with Django Web (as a web framework) thanks to which developers were able to highlight the UI/UX more. Instagram is by far the most popular application, showcasing the capabilities of Python!
Spotify
Spotify is a very popular streaming service and one of the best uses of Python. With Spotify, we can find our favorite music, save it and download it to listen to offline. It is thanks to the Python programming language (including its Luigi module) that Spotify can implement features such as Discover or Ratio, or recommendations, which are based on the music preferences of individual users. Python is used in Spotify’s backend, and in data analysis. Spotify has prioritized speed in its services – and Python easily achieves it.
Everyone knows what Google is and if you don’t… google it ;). It is definitely the world’s most famous web browser, which provides a wide range of services including different software. Python has been Google’s official language since its beginning. Because a browser of this scale needs a huge amount of computing power to manage, it is Python that is responsible for handling a number of different applications along with the main site.
IBM
IBM or International Business Machines Corporation is an absolute technology giant, offering software, hardware, and cloud services, among other things. Although it is probably not as widely recognized as entertainment applications, this example should not be missing from our list. With its quick method of testing and implementing old and new algorithms, IBM chose Python for its services.
Netflix
For many of us, it’s hard to imagine relaxing in the afternoon without Netflix. For quite some time, it has been one of the most popular video streaming platforms. Python in Netflix is used from security tools to recommendation algorithms. Netflix’s developers are keen to use Python because it easily manages to achieve business goals thanks to its extensive community, transparency, and rich libraries. Moreover, most of Netflix’s network devices, are managed by Python-based applications. These are used for tasks such as application state and location management, or device inventory.
YouTube
YouTube for a long time has been breaking records in the number of visitors. The website allows users to upload, and watch, countless videos. Although the site was originally developed using PHP, to the growing needs of users, YouTube programmers decided to move to the Django Community. Currently, every time you watch a video, you use Python code. Functions such as streaming and embedding live-streaming were created using it.
Facebook could not be missing from our list! Python is the third most popular language used by this remarkable social networking platform. Since Facebook has a technology stack consisting of a huge amount of technology that needs to control the flow of a gigantic amount of user stories (including photos, and videos) – Python perfectly responds to these needs. The Python language works well with Facebook because it allows for a greatly streamlined engineering process and efficient communication with the API.
Uber
Uber currently offers numerous ride services in as many as 65 countries around the world. With the ability to control large amounts of data, Uber’s developers decided to use the capabilities of Python, among others, to build their software. In addition to it, Uber also uses Java, Go, and Node.js.
Pinterest is one of the most inspiring apps in the world – literally! Using it, logged-in people can save and catalog inspiration from all over the Internet. It is one of the most popular examples of Python websites, as it is through Django that Python users can subscribe to other accounts or share their discoveries, among other things.
Contact
Do you want to find out more about Python?
More applications in Python!
Now you can see that Python is a language that can handle a complete variety of applications, and supports basically all development requirements. Thanks to its large number of libraries, Python greatly increases productivity. However, what attracts programmers to this language the most is its simplicity and readability. At Applover, we greatly appreciate Python, and if you are wondering whether you should develop a product in it, check out our recent blog post!
