Tuesday 2 May 2017

Python vs. Flask: A brief comparison


At present, Python is a widely used popular general-purpose programming language. Unlike other programming languages, Python enables programmers simplify development and maintenance of software applications by writing clean, concise, and readable code. Hence, many developers use Python for development of desktop GUI applications and web applications. But the developers have to use a number of Python frameworks and libraries to simplify and speed up development of various software applications.
Flask is a lightweight web framework written in Python programming language. Like other micro-frameworks, Flask enables programmers to build a variety of web application that perform smoothly without relying on third-party libraries. However, it allows programmers to add functionalities to a web application by adding plug-ins. At the same time, the libraries, tools and modules provided by Flask make it easier for programmers to build websites and web applications without putting extra time and effort.
Understanding Important Differences between Python and Flask
Programming Language
In addition to being a general purpose and high level programming language, Python also supports object-oriented, functional, and imperative programming. It further features a dynamic type system, and supports automatic memory management. At the same time, the simple syntax rules of the programming language makes it easier for programmers to build and maintain applications by writing clean, readable and concise code. At present, Python is being used by programmers for building both desktop GUI applications and web applications.
Many programmers use Python as web scripting language to build and maintain a variety of web applications easily. But Python lacks the built-in features required to build web applications efficiently. Hence, developers have to use web frameworks additionally to write web applications rapidly in Python. Flask is a modern and lightweight web framework for Python which comes with a built-in development server. The built-in development server make the web applications run smoothly with minimal third-party dependency.
Web Framework
Python is not designed with built-in features to facilitate web application development. Hence, developers have to use various web frameworks while using Python as a web scripting language. Based on specific needs of the project, the Python programmers have option to choose from several full-stack and micro web frameworks including Django, TurboGears, web2py, Bottle, Pyramid, Hug and CherryPy.  Flask is a micro and non full stack web framework for Python. It enables programmers to create web applications that function without depending on many third-party libraries and plug-ins.
Design Rule
The web developers have option to choose from several lightweight web frameworks. But the libraries, modules and tools provided by individual micro frameworks differ. Flask is designed based on two Pocco Projects - Jinja2 and Werkzeug WSGI toolkit. The developers can use Jinja2 as a robust template engine for Python. Jinja2 makes it easier for programmers to render dynamic web pages by combine specific data sources with particular templates. At the same time, the developers can use Werkzeug WSGI toolkit to facilitate client-server communication by executing various utilities functions like request implementation and response object generation.
Specific Features and Tools
The features and tools provided by Flask make it different from other lightweight web frameworks for Python. In addition to allowing users to take advantage of Werkzeug WSGI utility toolkit and Jinja2 template engine, Flask comes with built-in development server and debugger, and supports RESTful request dispatching, integrated unit testing, secure client-side cookies, and Web Server Gateway Interface (WSGI). These features help programmers to enhance the user experience delivered by the website without writing additional code. Also, they can assess the functionality and performance of the application easily by performing integrated unit tests.
Usage
As mentioned earlier, Python is a general purpose programming languages. In addition to being used a web scripting language, Python is also used widely for scientific computing, artificial intelligence tasks, and big data applications. But the Python developers have to use a variety of frameworks and libraries according to the nature and usage of each software application. For instance, they have to use libraries like SciPy, NumPy or Matplotlib while using Python for scientific computing. Flask is a web framework for Python. Hence, the developers can use Flask to use Python more efficiently as a web scripting language.
However, one must not forget that comparing Python with Flask is similar to comparing apples and oranges. Python is a general purpose programming language which is used widely for web application development. On the other hand, Flask is a lightweight web framework written in Python. No programmer can build web applications with Flask without being familiar with Python.  


No comments:

Post a Comment