Python: 3.10
Release Date: September 01, 2020
Modern technology solutions have been reshaping the world around us. Increasing usage of smartphones and wide access to the internet has changed customers’ preferences. Their demand is also increasing from brands and brands, leaving no cornerstone untouched when it comes to delivering the best product interface and experience. The technology world keeps evolving, and when we talk about programming languages, it continues to morph each day.
Coding languages like JavaScript, Java, Python, C++, and many others have dominated the programming world in recent years as millions of developers use these languages to accomplish various tasks. A number of programming languages exist that directly or indirectly help programmers to develop a product more accurately.
According to the report published by TechAcute, a tech analyst firm, RedMonk has completed its study and mentioned that Python is the second most popular programming language followed by JavaScript. But why Python is popular and what features its latest version offer, let’s discuss.
Python is one of the popular programming languages; it has become the first choice of developers who work on machine learning and data science projects. But what makes Python so popular? Its attractive features such as libraries, high productivity, etc. More than 27% of advertised jobs need Python as a core skill, as per a recent study.
What is Python 3.10 Version
Python 3.10, the recent in-development version of Python, has released its first beta version. The final version will be released in August; it has also introduced some exciting set of features, and developers are eagerly waiting to run their code against the latest version.
A new version of Python will be released soon, around August or October. It means before 2021 ends; Python can be used on your machines. But right now, it has released its beta version and will launch the full version soon.
Popular apps such as Instagram, Shopify, Pinterest, etc., are developed with Python. Even well-known on-demand apps Uber and UberEats are also developed in Python. This is why technical managers now advise entrepreneurs to build food delivery apps in Python as it takes less time to develop apps. This is why it has bagged a lot of attention from the developer community.
The new version comes with some exciting features and modules. It will be interesting to test the code with the new version. Till then, let us introduce you to some features and functionalities its final version is going to offer you. Are you excited to know? Let’s dive in.
What’s New in Python 3.10
There is no doubt that Python is one of the best programming languages used by developers for web and app solutions. The current alpha version of 3.10 is 3.10.0a6 which also offers some advanced features. Without any ado, let’s have a look at the Python 3.10 version’s features and functionalities.
Now before discussing features, let’s go through how to install the Alpha/Beta version of Python.
###Installing Alpha/Beta Version
New features usually excite developers because it improves code readability and allows them to experiment with cool features that eventually make the product perfect for end-users. If you want to experience all the latest Python version features, you need to install its Alpha/Beta version first. So in order to install 3.10, you can perform the following tasks:
Go to : https://www.python.org/ftp/python/3.10.0/Python 3.10.0a6.tgz
tar xzvf Python-3.10.0a6.tgz
cd Python-3.10.0a6
./configure –prefix=$HOME/python-3.10.0a6
Make
make install
$HOME/python-3.10.0a6/bin/python3.10
After running the above code, you will be welcomed by the Python 3.10 Alpha IDLE Mode:
Python 3.10.0a6 (default, Mar 27 2021, 11:50:33) [GCC 9.3.0] on Linux
Type “help”, “copyright”, “credits” or “license” for more information.
>>>
Python is installed; now, we can look at all the new features coming with it.
Structural Pattern Matching
We can say that this is the most important feature that has been introduced to this latest version of Python. The pattern matching feature has been integrated into match statements and case statements of patterns with linked actions. Patterns mean chronological number, data mapping, and also class instances.
It will help programmers to extract data derived from various data types. An object with a property set to a certain value. It will expand the range of possibilities and allow you to write clean code that quickly comes with different scenarios. For instance:
command = input()
match command.split():
case [“quit”]:
quit()
case [“load”, filename]:
load_from(filename)
case [“save”, filename]:
save_to(filename)
case _:
print (f”Command ‘{command}’ not understood”)
Better Error Messages
In the previous version, it was very challenging for developers to emit the error, but now the parser can generate more useful errors. When parsing code that includes unclosed parentheses, the interpreter now includes the situation rather than just displaying Syntax Error. For example:
File “.\test.py”, line 1
print (“Hello”
^
SyntaxError: ‘(‘ was never closed
Many of the errors passed by developers have been fixed in this version- it will inform you about errors and help you know where the error actually occurs.
Pop count
Another handy feature is Pop count, which is also known as a Population count. You can use int.bit_count() to calculate the count in the binary representation of an integer.
No doubt, this is a small feature, but it is not difficult to implement; you only need to write a line of code:
def bit_count(value):
return bin(value).count(“1”)
It is another useful feature that makes the development process easy and smooth. This is why it is popular everything is available out of the box.
Other Valuable Features in Python 3.10
X|Y union types will be replaced with Union [x.y] for brevity. (PEP 604)
“Line” numbers for debugging and other tools
Now developers need to use OpenSSL 1.1.1, or a recent version is required to build CPython. This is another valuable feature of Python 3.10. (PEP 644)
As we have seen, Python 3.10 comes with many cool and exciting features, but this is the Alpha version; you need to wait until its final version is launched in October. Indeed, the new version is great for developers and the Python community.