Top Python-Based Software Giants: 8 Global Powerhouses

With over 500 programming languages existing in the world today and more emerging every day, it can be overwhelming to choose which one to focus on, especially if you intend to pursue it professionally. While some of these may share similarities or be intended solely for educational purposes, deciding which language to learn is a crucial element of coding. It’s like learning a foreign language – but which one would be the most advantageous to prioritize?

Since you have ventured onto a website that concentrates on Python, it is likely that you are already acquainted with the various benefits that come with learning this programming language. Additionally, you might be aware that Python is the top choice amongst the Raspberry Pi community since the language is typically pre-installed on their devices.

Upon realizing the potential that a Raspberry Pi kit combined with the functionality of Python can offer, you may wonder how this tech can be implemented to cater to the requirements of businesses and applied in practical scenarios.

In this article, you will discover eight well-known corporations that utilize Python, thereby gaining an insight into the current professional opportunities accessible to Python programmers in the industry.

The Application of Illusion and Magic in Various Industries

George Lucas founded Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) in 1975 to develop the visual effects for the Star Wars franchise. Since then, ILM has been closely associated with the film and commercial industry, frequently cited in discussions about special effects (FX).

ILM was quick to realize that CGI was the future of the industry and, consequently, set up their CGI department in 1979. Their debut CGI effect was the Genesis Project explosion in the Star Trek sequel, The Wrath of Khan.

At first, ILM’s CGI studio relied on a Unix shell, which had limitations on the work that could be done. In anticipation of future growth in CGI, the studio sought out a technology that could effectively handle the projected growth.

ILM opted for Python 1.4 over Perl and Tcl because of its ease of integration with their existing system. Python’s compatibility with C and C++ facilitated its seamless integration into ILM’s lighting program, thereby enabling new possibilities for using Python; this was especially useful for software component wrapping and expanding their base graphical software.

Following a thorough evaluation, ILM concluded that Python is the best-suited solution to fulfill their requirements. Python’s open-source framework and capacity for receiving updates guarantee that ILM can depend on it for an extended period.

Google

Python has received Google’s backing ever since its creation. Their former motto was “Python where we can, C++ where we must.” This conveyed that C++ was best suited for situations necessitating precise control over memory and low latency, while Python was preferred for its easy maintenance and rapid delivery.

Despite initially using other languages such as Perl and Bash, Google now regards Python as their preferred scripting language. The decision to make the switch was driven by Python’s ease of deployment and maintenance. According to Steven Levy, the author of “In the Plex,” Google’s first web-crawling spider was initially written in Java 1.0 but was so complicated to maintain that it had to be redeveloped in Python.

Python is currently one of Google’s four official server-side languages, alongside C++, Java, and Go. Guido van Rossum, the creator of the language and its Benevolent Dictator For Life, was employed at Google from 2005 to 2023, reinforcing its significance within the organization.

Facebook

Python has gained significant popularity among Facebook’s production engineers, positioning it as the company’s third most frequently used language (after C++ and their proprietary version of PHP, Hack). Facebook employs its infrastructure, binary distribution, hardware imaging, and operational automation on a daily basis, with more than 5,000 contributions to utilities and services.

The use of Python libraries empowers Facebook’s production engineers to minimize the amount of code they need to produce and manage, enabling them to concentrate on enhancing deployment. This approach ensures Facebook’s infrastructure can expand without impacting efficiency.

According to a 2023 Facebook post, Python is utilized to manage the company’s infrastructure in various ways. For instance, FBOSS is leveraged to create white box switch CLIs, Dapper is used to schedule and execute maintenance, and TORconfig is employed to manage network switch configuration and imaging.

Facebook has recently revealed a vast array of open-source Python projects created using Python 3, such as the Facebook Ads API and a Python Async IRC bot framework. Facebook’s developers are making use of AsyncIO to transition from version 2 to version 3.4 of the organization’s architectural and handler frameworks.

Instagram

As of 2023, Instagram’s engineering team had implemented the largest deployment of the Python-based Django web framework. It is probable that this still holds true today. Min Ni, a software developer at Instagram, remarked on Instagram’s operational usage of Python, stating:

Initially, Python was selected due to its track record of being user-friendly and practical, which aligns smoothly with our philosophy of “doing the basic thing first.”

Subsequently, the Instagram engineering team has invested significant resources into guaranteeing that their Python implementation can competently manage the platform’s vast scale; currently, there are more than 800 million monthly active users.

Our endeavors to devise an effective architecture for Instagram’s web service have bestowed us with the assurance that we can keep on developing our Python-based service infrastructure. We are currently investigating the feasibility of upgrading our Python implementation from version 2 to version 3.

During Py Con 2023, Lisa Guo and Hui Ding will be delivering a keynote speech discussing their involvement in the immense project of transitioning the majority of Instagram’s Python codebase from Python 2.7 to Python 3 in 2023.

Spotify

As a major contender in the music streaming industry, we are ardent supporters of the Python programming language. It is widely used for data analysis and the creation of back-end services. To facilitate communication between multiple services running in the background, we utilize 0MQ (Zero MQ), an open-source networking library, and a framework written in Python and C++, among other languages.

Spotify selected Python as their service language because of its ability to expedite development. They have recently updated their infrastructure using event, a high-level event loop and synchronous API that streamlines the process.

Spotify employs a substantial amount of data analytics to provide personalized song and album recommendations to its users. To interpret these signals, the streaming service utilizes Luigi, a Python tool that interacts with Hadoop. This open-source component manages library integration and consolidates error logs to streamline troubleshooting and redeployment procedures.

Spotify utilises over 6,000 individual Python processes that intercommunicate across the nodes of the Hadoop cluster.

Quora

Following thorough contemplation, Quora’s originator, Charlie Cheever, scrutinized the last four programming languages available for use: Python, C#, Java, and Scala. Despite Python being slower and lacking type checking, it was ultimately the language of choice.

According to Adam D’Angelo, they opted not to use C# since it is a proprietary Microsoft language, and they wished to avoid being constrained by any forthcoming updates. Moreover, the support for open-source software was subpar.

The team had reservations about the challenge of writing in Java compared to Python, as well as the interconnectivity of Java with other applications. Moreover, they were unsure about the future growth and development of Java, given that both languages were relatively new.

In developing Quora, the creators adopted Google’s approach, utilizing C++ for areas where optimum performance is critical and Python for areas where the ease of writing and readability were beneficial. They devised unit tests to simulate the impact of type checking, thus overcoming the limitations of Python.

The existence of powerful frameworks, such as Django and Pylons, was a significant factor in electing to utilize Python. Additionally, the effective cooperation between Python and JavaScript was advantageous as it allowed for server-client interactions that did not require full page reloads.

Netflix

Netflix, like Spotify, utilizes Python for server-side data analysis. However, this is just the beginning; Netflix software developers have the autonomy to select their preferred programming language, and the company has seen a significant increase in the number of applications utilizing Python.

Netflix’s engineers have praised the use of Python for its standard library, dynamic development community, and extensive range of third-party libraries. It’s versatility and easy-to-use development has been an integral part of many of Netflix’s other offerings.

The Central Alert Gateway relies heavily on the use of Python. This RESTful web application streamlines the transmittal of alerts from any location to the pertinent individuals or organizations.

The software can also independently resolve certain problems, for example, restarting inactive processes, terminating unstable applications, as well as suppressing duplicate alerts that have already been resolved.

The app is a remarkable accomplishment for Netflix with regards to notifications. If these requests are administered resourcefully, it will prevent developers and engineers from receiving superfluous emails.

Netflix utilizes Python for its Monkey applications, which captures the changes and history of the company’s security policies. Whenever adjustments are made to any EC2 groups, these monkeys are utilized to notify the appropriate personnel.

Dropbox

Dropbox has exemplified their dedication to Python by composing their desktop client using the language. This was further emphasized in 2023 when they were able to attract Guido van Rossum, the creator of Python, away from Google to join their company.

Before joining Dropbox, Rossum made it clear that he aspired to be an engineer rather than holding a lead or managerial position. In his first year at the company, he aided the Dropbox community in synchronizing and sharing data.

Even though the majority of Dropbox’s libraries and internal systems are not open source, the company has provided a top-performing API written in Python. This API has provided visibility into the inner workings of the company’s developers. Dropbox’s significant dependence on Python for their server-side programming is obvious during conversations with their developers.

It is crucial to note that distinct libraries are required for Mac and Windows computers to maintain a consistent user experience when utilizing Python for client-side coding. The reason for this is that Python is not pre-installed on Windows devices, and the version of Python installed on Macs can vary considerably.

Reddit

In 2023, approximately 542 million people per month visited the site, ranking it as the seventh most visited website internationally and the fourth most visited in the USA.

Python served as the fundamental programming language enabling the site to manage 73.15 million submissions and 82.54 billion pageviews in 2023.

Reddit’s Lisp source code was rewritten in Python, six months after its initial release in December 2005.

The key reason for this shift was Python’s increased development flexibility and vast assortment of code libraries. Web.py web framework which was originally leveraged to run the site, is now offered as open-source software.

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