New Python Development Trends

This post is part of the series: Python Development Trends to Watch in the Next 10 Years. Here we take a look at the trends I expect to see in the Python world in the next 10 years, from the way that existing projects are using technology, to new ways to package software and how this will shape the future of Python.

Another issue I expect to see less of is the lack of attention given to making the packaging of software easier. 

  • Over the last 10 years, we have gone from having a plethora of different types of packages to packaging software using the Python Package Index (PyPI) and the setup tools/distribute library. 

  • At the same time, we have started to see the rise of the container as the container (or application) has become smaller, lighter, and easier to create, deploy and run.

In 2023 we will see a lot of new technologies coming to Python. The rise of AI and ML on the horizon will bring with it the rise of modern programming languages. 

 

Python developers have unique set of skill sets that allow them to develop and maintain large systems while providing their teams with the rapid prototyping and iteration capabilities needed for developing software. Here are some of the most promising Python development trends to keep an eye on in the coming years.

Python for Data Science

Python is often used for developing machine learning models and data science tools but some companies and researchers are looking to develop more applications for Python specifically for use in data science. Why? Python has excellent support for machine learning and Python 3.6 supports more data science tools. 

  • The most popular data science tool in Python today is an amazing machine learning library called Scikit-Learn. 

  • The Python community is leading the way in data science and we’re only going to see this grow.

A Shift to Data Science

We’ve seen companies that are focused on data science start to grow, and companies that are focused on engineering start to grow, but in a few years, we’ll see a large increase in companies being built around data science and a smaller increase in companies being built around engineering. 

  • Data science and engineering are not mutually exclusive, however, data science is a set of tools that an engineer uses to analyze and model data. 

  • In the future, we’ll see more and more software and services that are centered around data analysis and data science.

Modern Programming Languages

Programming languages come and go, and Python is still a great language, but the rise of modern programming languages will force Python to evolve.

 

  • Python’s core set of packages that we use every day for data analysis, machine learning, and product building will remain on the core list of Python, but new modern languages will start to rise in popularity. 

  • These modern languages will solve different problems. Python is going to need to adapt and evolve to accommodate modern languages.

Automation and Robotization

Python is used for various automation and robotics purposes in the product development industry, testing, extracting data from websites, and automating tedious human tasks. 

  • By automating such activities, employees can save more time and focus on important matters. 

  • It is expected to be one of the most important Python development trends in 2023.

Python 3

  • We will continue to see Python 3 slowly creep into the core product lines of companies and organizations, but it will remain primarily a modern language and tool for data science and building fast products. Python 3 is slowly growing and becoming more popular.

  • But, as with any modern technology, there will be adoption challenges. As the adoption of Python 3 grows, there will be a period of migration in which the team will have to decide whether or not to make the switch to Python 3.

Python 3 Tooling

In the future, we will see Python 3 tools and libraries become more popular. It’s been a struggle for most modern Python packages to move to Python 3 and even those that did were often lagging behind the adoption curve. But that is starting to change.

 

  • Over the next few years, we will see a wide range of tools for Python 3. These tools will take advantage of the latest technologies in the Python 3 ecosystem. 

  • Many of the Python 3 products on the market today are still Python 2 products that are just being translated into Python 3. These products are also often very buggy and lacking in important features.

Python for Cloud Native

Developing and deploying applications on the cloud is quickly becoming a way of life. While Python and web development tools are fantastic, being a great language for building web applications, there is no reason why it can’t be a language for building cloud-native applications as well.

  • As cloud computing becomes more prevalent, we will see more companies building apps that are cloud-native. 

  • Cloud-native applications can take advantage of many of the cloud features like computing, storage, and networking and many Python developers already have this experience and skill set.

Python on the JVM

Python developers are excellent with Java, and some interesting projects are happening with Java and Python.

  • This is in part due to the popularity of Java and because Python has a strong runtime environment for the JVM.

  • Python developers are also experienced with many languages for the JVM. In 2023, we’ll start to see more of these developers move to Java or Clojure in the Java ecosystem.

Python for IoT and the Internet of Things

Python developers are excellent at building products that work with the world and it will only become more powerful as Python integrates into the IoT and continues to rise in popularity.

As more Python developers have IoT or M2M experience, we’ll see more IoT-based applications built with Python.

Python in game development

When creating a computer game, one of the most important things developers need to consider is which programming language to use will make the game more efficient. Various games like World Of Tanks, Battlefield, The Sims, and many other notable games have been developed using Python programming language.