Data Analytics What Is Python Used For?

A Beginner’s Guide

What Is Python Used For? A Beginner’s Guide

Written by Coursera Staff • Updated on Jul 16, 2025 Share

Python has become one of the most popular programming languages in recent years. It's been
used in everything from machine learning to building websites and software testing. Developers
and non-developers alike find it useful.

Python, one of the most popular programming languages in the world, has created everything
from Netflix’s recommendation algorithm to the software that controls self-driving cars. Python
is a general-purpose language used to create a range of applications, including data science,
software and web development, automation, and improving the ease of everyday tasks.

This versatility is one reason Python ranks as the most used and studied programming language
in the TIOBE Programming Community index in 2025 [1]. Let’s take a closer look at what Python
is, what it can do, and how you can start learning it.

Professional Certificate
Average time: 6 month(s)
Google IT Automation with Python Learn at your own pace
Learn in-demand skills like Python, Git, and IT automation to advance
your career Skills you'll build:
GitHub, Web Services, Python
4.8 (39,767 ratings) 825,107 already enrolled Advanced level Programming, Scripting, Bash…
(Scripting Language), Version
Control, CI/CD, Cloud Computing,
Learn More Infrastructure as Code (IaC), Git
(Version Control System), Cloud
Services, Debugging, Unit Testing,
Technical Communication,
Automation, Professional
What is Python? Development, Configuration
Management, Puppet
(Configuration Management Tool),
Python is a computer programming language often used to build websites andSkills,
Interviewing software,
Email
automate tasks, and analyse data. Python is a general-purpose language, not Operating
Automation, specialised for any
Systems,
File Management, Linux
specific problems, and used to create various programmes. This versatility
Commands, andTestitsDriven
beginner-
friendliness have made it one of the most used programming languages today.(TDD),
Development In 2024, a Statista
OS Process
survey found that Python was the third most popular programmingManagement,
language amongShell Script,
software
Development Environment, Unix
developers worldwide, with 51 per cent of developers using it [2]. It Commands,
continuesUnixto topShell,lists of the
most desired programming languages in India. Command-Line Interface, Unix,
Scripting Languages, Load
Balancing, Scalability, Cloud
Storage, Docker (Software),
DevOps, Kubernetes,
Containerization, Infrastructure
Did you know? The name Python comes from Monty Python. WhenSystem
Architecture, GuidoMonitoring,
van
Continuous Integration, Code
Rossum was creating Python, he was also reading the scripts from
Review, BBC's Monty
Collaborative Software,
Python's Flying Circus. He thought the name Python was appropriately
Issue Tracking, Software and
short
slightly mysterious. Versioning, Software Development
Tools, Data Structures, Computer
Programming, Computational
Thinking, Integrated Development
Environments, Performance
Tuning, Application Performance
What is Python used for? Management, System Support,
Network Troubleshooting,
Incident Management, Technical
Support, Technical
Documentation, Problem
li i
Python is commonly used for website and software development, task Management,
automation,Application
data
Programming Interface (API),
analysis, and data visualisation. Since it’s relatively easy to learn, Python
Restful has beenAnalysis,
API, Image adopted by
JSON
many non-programmers, such as accountants and scientists, for a variety of everyday tasks, like
organising finances.

"Writing programs is a very creative and rewarding activity," says University of Michigan and
Coursera instructor Charles R Severance in his book Python for Everybody. "You can write
programs for many reasons, ranging from making your living to solving a difficult data analysis
problem to having fun to helping someone else solve a problem."

What can you do with Python? Some things include:

Data analysis and machine learning

Web development
Automation or scripting
Software testing and prototyping
Everyday tasks

Here’s a closer look at some common ways Python is used:

Data analysis and machine learning

Python has become a staple in data science, allowing data analysts and other professionals to
use the language to conduct complex statistical calculations, create data visualisations, build
machine learning algorithms, manipulate and analyse data, and complete other data-related
tasks.

Python can build various data visualisations, like line and bar graphs, pie charts, histograms, and
3D plots. Python also has many libraries that enable coders to write programs for data analysis
and machine learning more quickly and efficiently, like TensorFlow and Keras.

Professional Certificate
Average time: 6 month(s)
Google Advanced Data Analytics Learn at your own pace

Skills you'll build:

 Learn in-demand skills like statistical analysis, Python, regression models,
Feature Engineering, Data
and machine learning in less than 6 months. Storytelling, Data Visualization,…
Data Analysis, Python
4.7 (5,756 ratings) 223,930 already enrolled Advanced level Programming, Statistical
Hypothesis Testing, Sampling
Learn More (Statistics), Statistical Analysis,
Advanced Analytics, Regression
Analysis, Data Science, Tableau
Software, Exploratory Data
Analysis, Data Visualization
Python web development Software, Machine Learning, Data
Ethics, Descriptive Statistics,
Interviewing Skills, Object
Python is often used to develop the back end of a website or application—the parts that
Oriented Programming a user
(OOP),
Data Presentation,
doesn’t see. Python’s role in web development includes transferring data to and from servers, NumPy, Data
Structures, Pandas (Python
processing data and communicating with databases, routing URLs, Package), and ensuring security.
Scripting, Algorithms,
Python offers several frameworks for web development. Commonly used ones include Django
Data Manipulation, Debugging,
Artificial Intelligence, Machine
and Flask. Learning Methods, Business
Analysis, Project Design, Portfolio
Some web development jobs that use Python include back-end engineers, Management, full-stack engineers,
Predictive Modeling,
Statistical Modeling, Variance
Python developers, software engineers, and DevOps engineers. Analysis, Business Analytics,
Probability & Statistics, Supervised
Learning, Scikit Learn (Machine
Professional Certificate Learning Library), Correlation
Average time: 8 month(s)
Meta Back-End Developer Analysis, Analytical
Learn at your own
Unsupervised
Skills,
pace Random
Learning,
Launch your career as a back-end developer. Build job-ready skills for an Forest Algorithm, Applied Machine
in-demand career and earn a credential from Meta. No degree or prior Skills you'll
Learning, build:Tree Learning,
Decision
experience required to get started. GitHub, Computer
Data Validation, Programming,
Classification And
Front-End
RegressionWeb TreeDevelopment,…
(CART),
4.7 (6,156 ratings) 170,640 already enrolled Beginner level Python Programming,
Performance Version
Tuning, Workflow
Control,
Management,RestfulCommunication,
API, Cloud Big
Hosting,
Data, DataManagement,
Project Structures, Git
Learn More (Version
Analytics,Control System),
Data-Driven Full-
Decision-
Stack Web Development,
Making, Stakeholder Database
Design, Unix Commands,
Communications, SQL,
LLM Application,
Bootstrap (Front-End Generative
Prompt Engineering, Framework),
Django (Web Framework), Web
Automation or scripting AI, Google
Design and
Gemini, Planning,
Development,
Professional Development,
Relational Databases,
Problem Solving, DataBack-End
Cleansing,
If you perform a task repeatedly, you can work more efficiently by automatingWeb Development, Object
it withTechnical
Data Transformation, Python.
Oriented Programming
Communication, (OOP),
Data Quality,
Writing code used to build these automated processes is called scripting. Database In the coding
Management world,
Systems,
Data Processing, Statistical
automation can be used to check for errors across multiple files, convert Data files,
A/Bexecute
Validation,
Inference, simple
Authentications,
Testing, Probability
Application Programming
math, and remove duplicates in data. Distribution, Probability, Statistics,
Interface
Statistical(API), Authorization
Methods, Statistical
(Computing),
Programming Debugging, Software
 Programming g gg g
Relative beginners can even use Python to automate simple tasks onDocumentation,
the computer, such as
Performance
renaming files, finding and downloading online content, or sendingTuning, emailsTestorTools,
textsAPI at Design,
Extensible Markup Language
desired
intervals. (XML), JSON, Unit Testing, MySQL,
User Accounts, Web Applications,
Server Side, Databases,
Professional Certificate Application Development,
Average time: 6Algorithms,
Software Testing, month(s)
Google IT Automation with Python Learn at your
Technical own pace
Communication,
Learn in-demand skills like Python, Git, and IT automation to advance Computational Thinking,
your career Skills
Computeryou'll build:Programming
Science,
GitHub, WebSoftware
Principles, Services,Visualization,
Python
4.8 (39,767 ratings) 825,107 already enrolled Advanced level Programming, Scripting, Bash…
Program Development,
(Scripting Language),
Communication, Version
Pseudocode,
Control, CI/CD, Cloud Computing,
Database Administration, Query
Learn More Infrastructure
Languages, NoSQL,as Code (IaC), Git
Javascript,
(Version
Cascading Control System),
Style Sheets Cloud
(CSS),
Services, Debugging,
Hypertext Markup Language Unit Testing,
Technical Communication,
(HTML), Scalability, Cloud
Automation, ProfessionalWeb
Computing, Responsive
Software testing and prototyping Development,
Design, Virtual Configuration
Environment, Data
Management, Puppet
Modeling, Model View Controller,
Python can aid in software development tasks like build control, bug(Configuration
Web Development,
tracking, Management
and [Link]),
Application With
Interviewing
Frameworks,Skills, Email Security,
Application
Python, software developers can automate testing for new productsAutomation,
or features.
Database SomeSystems,
Operating
Development, Python
Web
tools used for software testing include Green and Requestium. File Management,
Servers, Database Linux
Management,
Commands, Test Driven
Object-Relational Mapping, Linux
Development (TDD), OS Process
Commands, Software
Management,
Development, Shell Script,
File Management,
Everyday tasks Development
Linux, SoftwareEnvironment,
Versioning, Unix
Commands,
Command-Line UnixInterface,
Shell,
Command-Line
Software Interface,
Development Unix,
Tools,
Python isn't only for programmers and data scientists. Learning Python can
Scripting open
Languages, new Load
Collaborative Software, Test
possibilities for those in less data-heavy professions, like journalists,Balancing,
smallDevelopment
Driven business
Scalability,owners,
Cloud or
(TDD),
social media marketers. Python can also enable non-programmers to Storage,
IntegratedDocker
simplify (Software),
Development
certain tasks in
DevOps, Kubernetes,
Environments, Development
their lives. Here are just a few of the tasks you could automate with Containerization,
Python: [Link],
Environment, Infrastructure
HTML and
Architecture,
CSS, JavaScript System Monitoring,
Frameworks,
Send yourself a text reminder to carry an umbrella anytime it’sContinuous
General
Review,
Integration,
Networking,
raining
Collaborative
UserCode
Software,
Interface (UI)
Update your grocery shopping list Issue Tracking, Software
Versioning, Software Development
Rename large batches of files Tools, Data Structures, Computer
Convert text files to spreadsheets Programming, Computational
Thinking, Integrated Development
Randomly assign household tasks to family members Environments, Performance
Fill out online forms automatically Tuning, Application Performance
Management, System Support,
Network Troubleshooting,
Incident Management Technical
 Incident Management, Technical
Support, Technical
Specialization
Average time: 2Problem
Documentation, month(s)
Python for Everybody Management,
Learn at your own
Application
pace
Learn to Program and Analyze Data with Python. Develop programs to Programming Interface (API),
gather, clean, analyze, and visualize data. Restfulyou'll
Skills build:
API, Image Analysis, JSON
Web Services, Computer
4.8 (217,105 ratings) 1,855,715 already enrolled Beginner level Programming, JSON, Data…
Visualization, Python
Programming, Application
Learn More Programming Interface (API),
Restful API, Databases, Data
Modeling, Data Structures, Data
Cleansing, Database Systems,
Database Design, SQL, Web
What are the key features of Python that make it so Scraping, Data Processing, Data
Store, Relational Databases,
popular? Network Protocols, Programming
Principles, File Management, Data
Manipulation, Development
Python is popular for several reasons. Here's a deeper look at what makes it versatile
Environment, Virtual and easy
for coders to use. Environment, Database
Management, Data Visualization
Software, Object Oriented
It has a simple syntax that mimics natural language, so it’s easier to read (OOP),
Programming and understand.
Data
This makes it quicker to build projects and faster to improve on them. Exploratory Data
Collection,
Analysis, Algorithms, Data
Analysis, Extensible Markup
It’s versatile. Python can be used for many different tasks, from web development
Language to
(XML), TCP/IP, Hypertext
machine learning. Markup Language (HTML),
Software Installation, Data Access,
Data Capture, Data Import/Export,
It’s beginner-friendly, making it popular for entry-level [Link] Thinking

It’s open source, which means it’s free to use and distribute, even for commercial
purposes.

Python’s archive of modules and libraries—bundles of code that third-party users have
created to expand Python’s capabilities—is vast and growing.

Python has a large and active community that contributes to Python’s pool of modules and
libraries and acts as a helpful resource for other programmers. The vast support
community means that when coders need help, finding a solution is relatively easy;
somebody has likely encountered the same problem before.
 Practice your Python skills independently with tutorials
Not ready to commit to a course or a boot camp yet? You can read step-by-step
guides for troubleshooting Python basics like syntax, if-else statements,
exceptions, and working with loops in Coursera's free programming tutorials.

Build your Python skills on Coursera

Python is a valuable skill for professionals in all industries. Whether you have a computer coding
background or are taking your first step into this field, completing a certificate like the Google
Data Analytics Professional Certificate on Coursera can help you build the technical skills needed
to enter the expanding world of computers and software. With this certificate, you can choose to
enter an entry-level role in data analytics or continue building your skills for more advanced roles
such as computer programmer, software engineer, web developer, and more.

Professional Certificate
Average time: 6 month(s)
Google IT Automation with Python Learn at your own pace
Learn in-demand skills like Python, Git, and IT automation to advance
your career Skills you'll build:
GitHub, Web Services, Python
4.8 (39,767 ratings) 825,107 already enrolled Advanced level Programming, Scripting, Bash…
(Scripting Language), Version
Control, CI/CD, Cloud Computing,
Learn More Infrastructure as Code (IaC), Git
(Version Control System), Cloud
Services, Debugging, Unit Testing,
Technical Communication,
Automation, Professional
Frequently asked questions (FAQ) Development, Configuration
Management, Puppet
(Configuration Management Tool),
Interviewing Skills, Email
Automation, Operating Systems,
Should I learn Python 2 or Python 3?‎ File Management, Linux
Commands, Test Driven
Development (TDD), OS Process
Management, Shell Script,
Development Environment, Unix
 Development Environment, Unix
Commands, Unix Shell,
Command-Line Interface, Unix,
How long does it take to learn Python?‎ Scripting Languages, Load
Balancing, Scalability, Cloud
Storage, Docker (Software),
DevOps, Kubernetes,
Containerization, Infrastructure
Architecture, System Monitoring,
Who uses Python today?‎ Continuous Integration, Code
Review, Collaborative Software,
Issue Tracking, Software
Versioning, Software Development
Tools, Data Structures, Computer
Show all 4 frequently asked questions Programming, Computational
Thinking, Integrated Development
Environments, Performance
Tuning, Application Performance
Management, System Support,
Article sources Network Troubleshooting,
Incident Management, Technical
Support, Technical
1. TIOBE. "TIOBE Index for June 2025, [Link] Documentation,Accessed
Problem3 July
Management, Application
2025. Programming Interface (API),
View all sources Restful API, Image Analysis, JSON

Updated on Jul 16, 2025 Share

Written by:
Coursera Staff
Editorial Team
Coursera’s editorial team is comprised of highly experienced professional editor...
This content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research
to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals.

Skills Certificates & Industries & Career

Artificial Intelligence Programs Careers Resources
(AI) Google Cybersecurity Business Career Aptitude Test
Cybersecurity Certificate
Computer Science Examples of
Data Analytics Google Data Strengths and
Data Science
Analytics Certificate Weaknesses for Job
Digital Marketing Education & Interviews
Google IT Support
English Speaking Teaching
Certificate
Generative AI (GenAI) Google Project Engineering High-Income Skills to
Management Learn
Microsoft Excel Finance
Certificate
How Does
Microsoft Power BI Healthcare
Google UX Design Cryptocurrency
Project Management Certificate Human Resources Work?
(HR)
Python IBM Data Analyst How to Highlight
Certificate Information Duplicates in Google
Technology (IT) Sheets
IBM Data Science
Certificate Marketing How to Learn
Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
Certificate Popular
Cybersecurity
Microsoft Power BI
Certifications
Data Analyst
Certificate Preparing for the
PMP Certification
UI / UX Design
Certificate Signs You Will Get
the Job After an
Interview
What Is Artificial
Intelligence?

Coursera Community More Learn Anywhere

About Learners Press
What We Offer Partners Investors
Leadership Beta Testers Terms
Careers Blog Privacy
Catalog The Coursera Help
Podcast
Coursera Plus Accessibility
Tech Blog
Professional Contact
Certificates
Articles
MasterTrack®
Directory
Certificates
Affiliates
Degrees
Modern Slavery
For Enterprise
Statement
For Government
For Campus Manage Cookie
Preferences
Become a Partner
Social Impact
Free Courses
Share your Coursera
learning story

© 2025 Coursera Inc. All rights reserved.