Python experts talk Python on Twitter: Q&A Recap

To celebrate the launch of Python Interviews, we ran a Q&A session on Twitter with some of the key contributors to the book. Author and interviewer Mike Driscoll (@driscollis), and experienced Python contributors Steve Holden (@holdenweb), and Alex Martelli (@aleaxit) got together to respond to your questions.

Here's what happened...

https://twitter.com/PacktPub/status/979055321959358465

https://twitter.com/aleaxit/status/979055993874104321

https://twitter.com/holdenweb/status/979056136199593984

https://twitter.com/driscollis/status/979056963987361793

The future of Python

We then asked Mike, Steve and Alex what they thought the future of Python is going to look like.

https://twitter.com/aleaxit/status/979057847660003328

https://twitter.com/holdenweb/status/979059669699309569

https://twitter.com/holdenweb/status/979059813459034112

https://twitter.com/driscollis/status/979059276017815554

How to get involved with the Python community

We then asked what our experts think is the best way for someone new to the Python community to get involved. With the language growing at an immense rate, more people are (hopefully) going to want to contribute to the project.

https://twitter.com/aleaxit/status/979059707389231105

https://twitter.com/holdenweb/status/979060708276137985

Advice for anyone new to programming

Programmings popularity as a career choice is growing. That's not just true of new graduates but people looking to retrain and take on a new challenge in their career. But what should anyone new to programming know when starting out?

https://twitter.com/aleaxit/status/979063034202107905

https://twitter.com/holdenweb/status/979061878554054658

https://twitter.com/driscollis/status/979061529575346177

Switching from Python 2.7 to Python 3

There's been considerable discussion within the community on the merits of shifting from Python 2.7 to Python 3. But whatever the obvious advantages are, there will always be resistance to change when it requires an investment of time and effort. And if you don't need to switch then why would you?

Here's what Mike, Steve and Alex had to say...

https://twitter.com/aleaxit/status/979063346665107457

https://twitter.com/holdenweb/status/979062974450192384

https://twitter.com/driscollis/status/979062547935571969

What gives Python an advantage over other programming languages?

Why is Python so popular exactly? If it's growing at such a fantastic rate, why are developers and engineers turning to it? What does it have that other languages don't?

https://twitter.com/aleaxit/status/979063792276471808

https://twitter.com/holdenweb/status/979064210608001025

https://twitter.com/driscollis/status/979063896173699072

Future Python releases

If Python's going to remain popular, it's going to need to adapt and evolve with the needs of the developers of the future. So what capabilities and features would our experts like to see from Python in the future?

https://twitter.com/driscollis/status/979064329864695813

https://twitter.com/aleaxit/status/979064880757063680

https://twitter.com/holdenweb/status/979064474496913408

What problems does Python face as a language?

https://twitter.com/driscollis/status/979065953949552640

https://twitter.com/aleaxit/status/979065864539357184

https://twitter.com/holdenweb/status/979066065706725376

Why is Python so useful for AI and Machine learning?

AI is a growing area that has expanded beyond the confines of data science into just about every corner of modern software engineering. Python has been a core part of this, and in part it explains part of the rise of Python's popularity - people want to build algorithms in a way that's relatively straightforward.

https://twitter.com/driscollis/status/979066778771914752

https://twitter.com/holdenweb/status/979069094862389253

https://twitter.com/holdenweb/status/979069100831006721