How to use Python and Selenium for Web Scraping
Tags: webdev, programming, tutorial, python
Published: 2023-08-25 13:14:26

For developing robust web applications and smart IT solutions, software programmers often have to learn more than one programming language in order to succeed in today’s tech industry.

How did Python become the most used programming language?
In 2022, Python was awarded Tiobe’s programming language of the year for the second  consecutive year, and was identified as the language with the highest increase in ratings for the year of 2021. 

Are you ready to explore one of the most popular computer programming languages? In this article, we’ll go over the basics and continue with 10 reasons why Python is one of the best languages.  

## What is Python?
Easy for beginners because of its readability, Python is a free, open-source computer programming language that is popular with machine learning and deep learning applications. 

Python also happens to be the language behind industry-leading 2D imaging and 3D animation software like Inkscape, Blender and Autodesk, as well as science apps like FreeCAD and Abacus.

The average annual salary of a Python developer is about $109,092. Still wondering what makes this language so popular with developers? These are some of Python’s  key characteristics:  

- Readable coding
- Extensive support modules
- Community development 
- Easy web service integration
- User-friendly data structure
- Dynamically-typed
- Object-oriented
- Platform-independent
- GUI-based desktop applications

From machine learning to web development, it’s time to have a closer look at 10 reasons why Python has become  a top choice for software development across a wide range of industries.

## 1. Easy to learn
Newcomers in the software development industry will certainly appreciate how easy and cost-effective it is to get started with programming in Python. With a simplified syntax and an emphasis on natural language, this is one of the most accessible programming languages currently available – essentially enabling the writing of code and its execution at much faster rates than other languages.

## 2. Community Support
We are not just exploring one of the world’s most popular programming languages, but also one of the industry’s oldest and most established. Python’s learning curve is less steep than other languages out there, simply because its development community offers an abundance of learning resources and guidance opportunities – from online seminars and tutorials, all the way to books and developer forums.

## 3. Corporate Sponsors
Any computer programming language that is backed by renowned corporate sponsors will tend to thrive and develop more efficiently than other languages. As Python is widely adopted and backed by tech giants such as Google, Facebook and Amazon, the list of useful support tools and libraries available for developers will only continue to grow in the near future.

## 4. Libraries and Frameworks
Python developers can take advantage of the free availability of hundreds of  libraries and frameworks, designed to cater to every programming requirement, and ultimately to save time and resources for companies of all sizes. Some of Python’s most popular libraries with software developers include NumPy, SciPy, Django, Theano, Pandas, Keras, PyTorch, TensorFlow and many others.

𝔻𝕠 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕟𝕖𝕖𝕕 𝕒 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕥𝕟𝕖𝕣 𝕔𝕒𝕡𝕒𝕓𝕝𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕕𝕦𝕔𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕙𝕚𝕘𝕙 𝕢𝕦𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕪 𝕀𝕋 𝕕𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕡𝕞𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕒𝕟𝕪? 𝔸𝕥 𝔹𝕠𝕔𝕒𝕤𝕒𝕪, 𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕕𝕖𝕕𝕚𝕔𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕥𝕖𝕒𝕞𝕤 𝕠𝕗 𝕕𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕡𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕧𝕚𝕕𝕖 𝕔𝕦𝕥𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕖𝕕𝕘𝕖 𝕤𝕠𝕗𝕥𝕨𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕠𝕝𝕦𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟𝕤 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕒𝕟𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕕 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕. 𝔾𝕖𝕥 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕠𝕦𝕔𝕙 𝕥𝕠 𝕗𝕚𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕦𝕥 𝕙𝕠𝕨 𝕨𝕖 𝕔𝕒𝕟 𝕙𝕖𝕝𝕡 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕟𝕖𝕩𝕥 𝕡𝕣𝕠𝕛𝕖𝕔𝕥.

## 5. Cross Platform
Regardless of the type of digital environment or platform, Python can deliver fast and  robust software solutions without loss of performance. Becoming a one-stop programming language for developers around the world,  Python’s built-in versatility can easily provide software solutions for mobile applications, desktop applications, web development and hardware programming.

## 6. Data Science
Python is used extensively in data-science applications within the scientific and research communities. Its ease of use and simple syntax make this language an ideal and easy choice for those without an engineering background. Handling the vast amounts of data generated by data analytics tools, it’s no wonder today’s developers can benefit from versatile languages such as Python.

## 7. Web Development
When it comes to the often complicated process of designing, building and maintaining websites, it’s no surprise that Python is a top-choice amongst developers. Offering dynamic typing capabilities and easy application debugging, Python is an adaptable, versatile and highly efficient programming language that enables software developers to provide IT solutions for both front-end and back-end web environments.

## 8. Machine Learning
From IT development to deployment and application maintenance, Python’s access to great libraries and tools, as well as its simplicity and consistency, make it a top-choice for developers working in machine learning and AI-based projects. Being a general-purpose language, Python can perform sets of complex machine-learning tasks and enable you to build prototypes in order to test your product.

## 9. Automated Tasks
Do you want to automate several industrial tasks that require too many complex tools and modules in order to function properly? The simple solution is Python. By being a major performance-booster in automation software testing, developers can use Python’s Selenium library for example, as a way to automate web applications for testing purposes,  or for performing web scraping processes.

## 10. Python Academia
By combining all of Python’s important benefits listed above, it should be clear by now that this is a great first-choice programming language. That’s why it is widely taught in schools and colleges around the world. Simply because of its wide range of applications and ease of use, and irrespective of a student’s career orientation, the Python language is a great first-time portal into the amazing world of computer programming.