Why scientists should learn to program in Python

Journal Article · Mon Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 2014 · Powder Diffraction

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1017/S0885715614000931· OSTI ID:1396251

Ayer, Vidya M.; Miguez, Sheila; Toby, Brian H.

Scientists have been central to the historical development of the computer industry, but the importance of software only continues to grow for all areas of scientific research and in particular for powder diffraction. Knowing how to program a computer is a basic and useful skill for scientists. The article introduces the three types of programming languages and why scripting languages are now preferred for scientists. Of them, the authors assert Python is the most useful and easiest to learn. Python is introduced. Also presented is an overview to a few of the many add-on packages available to extend the capabilities of Python, for example, for numerical computations, scientific graphics and graphical user interface programming.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science - Office of Basic Energy Sciences
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-06CH11357
• OSTI ID: 1396251
• Journal Information: Powder Diffraction, Journal Name: Powder Diffraction Journal Issue: S2 Vol. 29; ISSN 0885-7156; ISSN applab
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING
Python
numerical analysis
programming
software