2022 is a difficult year and Python meets its challenges as strong as ever. For the first time in its history, Python has a real chance to hit first place in the TIOBE Index and become the most searched programming language in the world. The gap between the current number one and Python is only 0.7%. The other evidence of Python’s popularity is the results of the StackOverflow survey. 66% of developers mentioned that they enjoyed working with the language. 30% of engineers who have never before worked with Python replied that they would like to apply the language for their next project. Similar results are shown by Coding Game Developers Survey 2020. 36% of respondents marked Python as their most favorite programming language which provided Python with first place in the rating for the third year in a row.

Although it is hard to count the exact number of Python developers operating in 2022, we can make a rough estimation. According to SlashData, in 2018, there were 8.2 million Python developers in the world. The forecast for the next three years is the infusion of 6 more million new developers into the Python community.

 Although the language was released 30 years ago, it is still a relevant tool for the development of applications. Python in 2022 is widely used by many IT giants, for example, by Google. 33% of company’s job advertisements mention Python which makes knowledge of the language the most required skill by Google. Golang, the coding system developed by Google themselves and optimized for the company’s needs, is mentioned only in 19% of the advertisements.


Python 3.10

After a month of beta-testing on July 2nd, 2021 the Python 3.10 stable version was released. There aren’t many new features in a new version of the language, but the one we have may be the most significant addition to the syntax since async. This feature is structural pattern matching.

So what structural pattern matching exactly is? The closest analogy is the switch-case operator from other languages, like Java. It allows performing actions based on the assertions on the input data. With such a feature, the range of possible scenarios is enriched. To apply

structural pattern matching, two new keywords, match, and case, are required. To learn more about how structural pattern matching works, check the official tutorial.

In addition to new features, on version 3.10 the existing methods are further developed. A new attribute to the dictionary methods dict.keys(), dict.values(), and dict.items() was added. Previously, a return of those methods was a different view of a dictionary. Now, with the mapping attribute, it is possible to wrap around the original dictionary and return it when called as it is.

Python Libraries and Frameworks

A benefit of being the most popular programming language in the world is the assistance of the community in the development of libraries and frameworks. The use of pre-written samples of code significantly shortens the development time and improves the final product. The quality of the final product is also better since tested by the community code usually has fewer bugs and vulnerabilities. Currently, there are around 137,000 Python libraries available for download. The most popular libraries are Requests, NumPy, Pandas, and Scikitlearn. The most significant frameworks are Django, Flask, and Kivy.

When to Use Python in 2022?

As a technology, Python is indeed a universal programming language. It is a good solution for the back-end of web applications, mobile applications, data science, and machine learning.

Web Development

The sphere where Python is applied most commonly in web development. A rapid tempo of life in 2022 puts high demands on the development pace. Quoting Hui Ding, Director of Engineering at Instagram, “Performance speed is no longer the primary worry. Time to market speed is”. From such a perspective, Python is a perfect tool for the development of a strong competitive web product. It will take only 5-6 hours for an experienced developer to build the basic blog website! More complex projects may be deployed in a month.